In a scoping study on environmental climate change journalism that included a number of African newsrooms, Barbara Trionfia also found the same trend and concluded: Climate change is, thus, placing numerous pressures on the region’s institutions and finances. (3) Little research exists regarding how Southern African media covers climate change-related issues. “Separating environmental coverage not only contributes to news avoidance but is also misleading as it portrays environmental developments as taking place in a separate space, rather than being intrinsically connected to every other aspect of life, such as finance, politics or culture, to mention a few”. (5) Extant studies show that while climate coverage has improved over the years, most stories about climate change conform to what has been called “climate summit journalism”, which mostly focuses mostly on Conference of Parties (COP) proceedings. Studies of climate change coverage in Malawi and Zimbabwe suggest that climate reporting is happening, but most of it focuses on disasters and extreme weather events (6), resulting in an incomplete and partial portrayal of the climate crises facing the region. For instance, research conducted by Eric Sithole title “Climate change journalism in South Africa: noticeable improvements, less than adequate”, found that while there is an increase in media coverage of climate change in the country, most of it is influenced by climate change events and the topic is treated as a beat in most newsrooms. Sensationalist reporting is prioritised because it attracts attention and may generate quick interest from the public and decision-makers. It might, however, overlook the wider context of climate change, which includes the underlying causes, long-term effects, and possible solutions. As a result, climate is not integrated and mainstreamed in other stories that deal with gender, the economy, health, and other related topics. (4) A report commissioned by the Konrad Adenauer 9 STATE OF PRESS FREEDOM IN SOUTHERN AFRICA 2023