Green Journalism in Pakistan: A Study of Challenges Faced by Environmental Journalists

Abstract

Environmental journalism in Pakistan has gained significance over the last decade as the country is facing severe climate related challenges including rising temperatures, floods and heat waves. Despite the urgency, environmental reporting is fragmented and underdeveloped. This study investigates the challenges faced by Pakistani environmental journalists and the nature of those challenges. A qualitative research design was used, with semi-structured interviews of 15 journalists with at-least two years of professional experience in TV, print and digital media. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was applied because it allows exploration of journalists’ lived experiences and perceptions in depth (Smit et al., 2009). Purposive and snowball sampling ensured that only respondents directly connected to environmental reporting were included. Interviews were conducted in Urdu, recorded, and transcribed into English. Findings show that disaster oriented news like floods and heat waves dominates the coverage as it has immediate audience appeal while long term environmental issues are ignored. Key hurdles include lack of financial and institutional support, political and industrial pressures and limited access to reliable scientific data. These constraints hinder journalists from providing sustained and evidence based environmental reporting. The study highlights the need for capacity building, institutional support and closer collaboration between journalists, scientists and policymakers to strengthen environmental journalism in Pakistan.