Exploring the Journalistic Epistemologies in Environmental Sustainability Reporting: A Qualitative Study from Sindh, Pakistan

Abstract

Environmental journalism in the Global South plays a critical role in informing the public and politically responding to climate and sustainability issues. This research investigates how journalists in Sindh, Pakistan, one of the world's most climate-vulnerable areas, construct epistemic authority in their reporting on environmental sustainability. The qualitative design comprised semi-structured interviews with 15 journalists, and analysis was conducted thematically through textual/procedural, contextual/performative, and external epistemological modes. Results show that sustainability reporting is obstructed regarding regular newsroom practices and styles of reporting, negotiated legitimacy, and political or institutional pressures. These findings call for epistemically reflexive journalism that critically interrogates knowledge sources, authority, and framing practices associated with environmental narratives. Moreover, the study highlights challenges faced by journalists, including limited access to scientific expertise and the complexities of conveying urgent climate information within socio-political constraints. In this way, the study contributes to environmental communication scholarship by providing a situated, Global South perspective on journalistic knowledge production enduring a climate crisis. The research underscores the necessity for stronger newsroom support and training to empower journalists in navigating these challenges effectively.

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