Global climate change will "not be decided in Duisburg": An exemplary investigation into local journalists' frames and potential contextual factors

In climate (change) communication, frames in the context of local journalism are a relevant and yet rarely studied research topic. Such frames have an impact on how people deal with climate change, on problem awareness, behaviors, and on local climate politics. Frames in local journalism are affected by the framing practices of local journalists, who use their cognitive frames, embedded in individual and editorial contextual factors, to shape the local journalistic image of climate change. Using qualitative interviews with ten local journalists from different regions of Germany, this article identified three cognitive frames of local journalists and explored their connection with contextual factors. The frames differ in terms of their solution -orientation and especially in their degree of progressivity. The frame set of the local journalists also has special connections with the available editorial resources. The article reflects these findings for climate communication and proposes implications for local journalistic practice.