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Environment, Health and the MediaEnvironment, Health and the Media(Hansen, 1991)(Hansen, 1991)

Geography 361bGeography 361bEnvironment and HealthEnvironment and Health

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Discussion

• What is the role of the media in environment and health issues?

• To what extent should that role change in your view?

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Media Influence on Environmental Agendas

• Do the media influence public concern about environmental risk?

• Do the media set the environmental agenda (if any), or do they simply reflect public opinion?

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Agenda Setting

• those who determine the importance of issues set the public issue agenda (e.g., education or environment)

• McCombs and Shaw (1972) – 100 decided voter’s top 5 concerns almost exact match with what top 5 issues newspapers were frequently reporting at the time

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Agenda Setting:Evidence

“FOR”• Funkhouser (1973) rank order of media coverage

matched opinion poll of environmental concern• Atwater et al (1985) weak positive relationship

media prominence of 6 environmental issues and “public’s” relative importance ratings

• Brosius and Kepplinger (1990) strong evidence for AS theory

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Agenda Setting:Evidence

“AGAINST”• Lowe and Rudig (1986) longitudinal study

environmental concern does NOT fluctuate with media

• Protess et al. (1987) little evidence re: toxic waste coverage and public opinion– significant positive association with policy-makers

though

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Social Constructionism as Alternative Perspectives

• Hansen: AS is only on way to look at the issue– AS approach too linear, “top down”,

transmission/receiver

– researchers fail to ask alternative questions

– public opinion and mass media highly intertwined

– difficult to disentangle these two domains

– use a social constructionist approach

– acknowledge that diverse publics exist

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Primary Issue Definers

Primary Definers as Sources Used in Coverage (percentage)

Government/Public Authority

Industry Independent Scientists

Advocacy (Environmental) Groups

Greenberg et al. (1989)

28 13 N/A 7

Hansen (1990) 44 N/A 17 6

• Are environmentalists setting the media agenda on the environment?

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Primary Issue Definers

• source consultation is only one way to measure issue definition

• advocacy groups may play a more prominent role following issue definition

• e.g., environmental journalists look favourably on information from environmental advocacy groups (e.g, Schlesinger, 1990)

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Legitimacy, Role and Issue Evolution

low legitimacy

• public pays attention to context in which information is given

• e.g., advocacy groups directing public/political attention to issue perceived worthy of attention

high legitimacy

• consultative role, in well-developed issue environment

• e.g., press seeks out source, rather than other way around

• e.g. consulting Greenpeace today about pesticide use risk

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Cultural Resonance

• “cultural givens” the media rely on in reporting• e.g., human domination over nature and value of

science to solve problems• e.g., western technology and way of life is

superior• e.g., environment as largely a science discourse

rather than a social values discourse• e.g., green, weed-free lawns are important• (note the roughly descending scale)

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Cultural Resonance

• e.g., Bhopal India 1984 – Union Carbide (Dow) methyl isocyanate leak killed thousands

– complicated, dangerous “western technology in incompetent hands of Third World”

– OR post-colonial flight of failed (unnecessary?) pesticide industry

source: http://www.bhopal.org/whathappened.html

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Cultural Resonance

• e.g., Chernobyl disaster– “retelling the myth of western technological

superiority”– West remains assured of safety of their nuclear

technology

Implications of Cultural Resonance• environmental health messages co-created by

existing myths working alongside media reporting – i.e. they are socially constructed messages

• counter messages resisted, not only by media but by various publics

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Lomborg’s Thesis on Media and EnvironmentSee Besley and Shanahan (2004)

• Lomborg: statistician The Skeptical Environmentalist (2001)

• debunks science behind environmental concerns• hypothesis: pro-environmental public opinion due

to “lopsided” media coverage• seems somewhat consistent with agenda setting

theory (if media choose set an environmental agenda!)

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Lomborg’s Thesis on Media and EnvironmentSee Besley and Shanahan (2004)

cultivation theory• the media socializes, cultivates repeated images• prolonged exposure to tv in particular, reinforces

images esp. for heavy viewers • Shanahan and McComas (1997) – contradicts

Lomborg - heavy viewers less likely to be environmentally concerned and less willingness to pay for the environment

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Lomborg’s Thesis on Media and EnvironmentSee Besley and Shanahan (2004)

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Lomborg’s Thesis on Media and EnvironmentSee Besley and Shanahan (2004)

Besley and Shanahan (2004)• test Lomborg’s hypothesis about media directly• 17/126 (13%) possible relationships are significant• tv watching most consistent – 16/63 (25%)• newspaper reading least consistent – 1/63 (2%)• 15/126 (12%) significant in opposite direction

predicted by Lomborg• correlations low (below 10%), inconsistent over

time (three years)• media play minor role if any in creating concern

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Environmental Stigma

• infamy or disgrace associated with a technology (e.g. nuclear) place (e.g., Yucca Mountain) or product (e.g., Tylenol)

• stigma endures over time and space – difficult to change

• media generally reinforce stigma• images powerful

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Environmental Stigma and Images

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Environmental Stigma

• Flynn et al (1993) – study of American Nuclear Energy Council (ANEC) advertising campaign for Yucca Mountain high level nuclear (HLNW) waste site

• e.g., well-known sports caster narrated tv commercials – emphasize safety

• overall support unchanged after messages• why?

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• advertising can both increase and decrease support in an adversarial environment

Environmental Stigma

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Environmental Stigma

• media coverage of the campaign generally scathing – contradicts advertising

• viewed with disbelief (49%) or perceived, not telling whole story (12%), insulting (3%)

• media reflected 75% opposition to HLNW facility• Lomberg supported in this case BUT• local context matters – e.g., if adversarial

– probably more important than media itself– see cultural resonance