Devil’s Advocate or Agenda Setter? The Role of Journalists Covering Sustainable Finance in Europe

Although sustainable finance (SF) has entered mainstream in the financial markets, the public remains fairly uninformed about the trend and its controversies. To understand the role of the news media vis-à-vis the public discourse of SF, 33 interviews with journalists in six European countries (AT, BE, CH, DE, NL, UK) were conducted. Results indicate that most journalists acknowledge the agenda-setting function of the media but perceive their influence in engaging the broader public as limited. If at all, journalists from financial news and specialized trade news outlets ascribe themselves a mediating function in influencing decision- making processes among the powerful elite. Despite journalists’ overall vast criticism towards SF (“greenwashing”), the majority of journalists seemed to remain in an information transmitter and conveyer role. Challenges such as the complexity and dryness of the topic, missing conflicts, the announcement phase of commitments or lacking resources are mentioned as main obstacles that inhibit SF coverage to reach a mainstream audience beyond the financial sector.