Oil Spills, Climate Change, Pollution and Land Decay: Media Framing of Environmental Issues in the Iraqi Media

Iraq is a significant country in the Middle East and significant natural resources in Iraq include natural gas and petroleum. Refining Iraqi oil causes serious environmental issues such as oil spillage, air, water, and land pollution and all of these problems contribute to climate change. Several studies have associated air, water, and land pollution with wars and oil spillage which is a form of pollution that can be viewed from the perspective of intentional and unintentional acts. In many cases, the way the media presents their understanding of the issue instead of how the audiences understand it and should understand it. As a result of the limited comprehensive study dissecting the diverse media frame of oil spills, pollution, and land decay in Iraq, this study is necessary to fill this research vacuum by evaluating the media framing of oil spills, pollution, and land decay in Iraq. Quantitative content analysis in combination with frame theory and agenda-setting theory was applied to examine the reflection of newspapers in media framing of oil spills, climate change, pollution, and land destruction in Iraq. The study concludes that news on environmental issues has been well discussed in the Iraqi media. The reflexivity shown in newspaper coverage suggests that Iraqi investigative journalism may play an advocacy role in portraying environmental problems in a reactive manner that confronts and criticizes Iraq's official goals. The study recommends that since newspapers are a widely used news medium in Iraq, news can now be sent to individual residents via social media 24 hours a day.