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).