It’s dangerous to put a number on them. Media coverage of koalas during the 2019–2020 ‘Black Summer’ Australian bushfires

Eleanor Stalenberg; Dan Lunney; Chris Moon

Just Accepted

This article has been peer reviewed and accepted for publication. It is in production and has not been edited, so may differ from the final published form.

It’s dangerous to put a number on them. Media coverage of koalas during the 2019–2020 ‘Black Summer’ Australian bushfires

Eleanor Stalenberg, Dan Lunney , Chris Moon

Abstract

Context: The unprecedented scale and severity of the 2019–2020 Black Summer fires in Australia were an environmental disaster, and koalas became the public face of the fires’ toll on wildlife. Aims: We investigated the media stories on koalas during the fires to identify what was reported, and how the numbers of koalas killed by the fires were sourced and reported. Methods: We searched for media articles published in major Australian print and online news outlets, local sources, press releases and international outlets for the terms ‘koala’, ‘fire’, ‘bushfire’, ‘emergency’, ‘disaster’ and ‘burn’, published between 15 October 2019 and 31 October 2020. We were not counting koalas, rather we were counting media reports containing koala numbers and recording the numbers of koalas in those reports. This places our methods in a qualitative realm of investigation. Key results: We reviewed 371 media articles on the bushfires and koalas in NSW. Almost half included an estimate of the numbers of koalas killed in NSW. Almost a third stated that koalas are going extinct in NSW, however almost two thirds did not mention that koalas were already in decline from threats other than fire. Conclusions: We concluded that it has been dangerous to put a number on koalas. The danger arises from misinformation and half-truths, which can erode public trust in the media, and in neglecting the important role of science and scientists. Implications: The obsession with numbers has left a legacy that can drown out the more considered narrative of science and lead to distortions of policy and management, as well as distract from other critical attributes of koala conservation.

PC24019 Accepted 09 October 2024