Air pollution problems in Mongolia: Analyzing frames and dominant speakers in media coverage

As air pollution increases, the problem is widely discussed in science, politics, and the media. Media coverage both reflects and influences political agenda-setting on air pollution. Yet little is known about how air pollution is represented in the media of highly vulnerable countries. To address this gap, this study examines how air pollution is portrayed in the Mongolian mass media, one of the world’s most polluted contexts. Drawing on a systematic analysis of 170 newspaper articles, the study identifies dominant causal and solution-responsibility frames. The findings show that Mongolian newspapers emphasize individual responsibility for adapting to air pollution, while international coverage in The Guardian highlights collective solutions and political responsibility. Overall, the analysis indicates that politicians—who dominate Mongolian media coverage—tend to marginalize scientific expertise and prioritize short-term, individual-level responses.