Environmentalism and the Mass Media

The North/South Divide

Graham Chapman, Caroline Fraser, Ivor Gaber, Keval Kumar

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2003
• Topic: Social Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9781134732371
• Subtopic: Environment & Energy Policy
• Index: Social Sciences

The mass media in different countries reflects dominant concerns of contemporary societies. Ideas of `environmentalism' are often broad and imprecise, holding neither meaning nor currency.
Environmentalism and Mass Media sheds new light on the diverse ideas of `environmentalism', the way environmental ideas circulate, and public reaction to environmental concerns conveyed by the media. Drawing on unique interviews with journalists, media pictures, and public opinion surveys in both UK and India, the authors outline the differing cultural, religious and political contexts against which `world views' form present a fascinating picture between North and South.
Mass media and communication technology is in danger of locking Northern countries into a ghetto of environmental self-deception, thereby perpetuating poverty in the South. The South's goal remains the attainment of development; the North sees `environmental' problems occuring `elsewhere' - in Eastern Europe and developing countries. Whether or not `environmentalism' becomes a universal cause depends on how and to what extent such sharply contrasting world views can converge.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Maps
• Figures
• Tables
• The authors and the project
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword
• Abbreviations
• 1 The cultural context
• 2 The environmental context
• 3 The view from the newsrooms of the UK and international agencies
• 4 The view from the newsrooms of India
• 5 The messages through the media: The content analysis of media output on the environment in India and the UK
• 6 Decoding the images: Interpretations of environmental documentaries by British and Indian audiences
• 7 Public understanding of the environment in India and the UK
• 8 Conclusions: Which worlds are talking?
• Appendix I: Coder’s handbook
• Appendix II: The dictionary to aggregate from B1 to B2
• Appendix III: Monitoring of broadcasts
• Appendix IV: Public opinion in India: QUESTIONNAIRE