Straws, seals, and supermarkets: Topics in the newspaper coverage of marine plastic pollution.

Media attention to marine plastic pollution is increasing, yet it is unclear which topics are being discussed. This paper analyses all 2019 news articles referencing marine plastics in the four leading UK online newspapers. Examining 943 articles in a structural topic model, this is the first analysis to depict what is being reported and how this varied according to political alignment (right vs. left-wing), type (broadsheet vs. tabloid), and publication date. We identified 36 topics, suggesting a large variety in the coverage, with plastic pollution ranging from the primary focus to only mentioned in passing. Greater emphasis was on explaining current issues of marine plastics, with limited reference to actionable reduction measures or producer responsibility. Many topics' prevalence varied across the media outlets. We discuss how this coverage varies across media outlets, and how it relates to a broader context (i.e. potential links to behaviour and current policy efforts). [Display omitted] • Investigates coverage of marine plastics on four leading UK online news sites • Quantitative analysis examined 943 articles published in 2019. • Articles reported 36 topics with plastic as primary, secondary or tertiary focus. • Prevalence of topics related to tabloid/broadsheet, political orientation, and date • Topics are often emotive and there is little focus on consumer responsibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]