finding pearls in pools: the flow of environmental journalism after the wssd guy berger, rhodes univ...
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Finding pearls in pools: The flow of environmental
journalism after the WSSD
Guy Berger, Rhodes Univ
Conference:
Sustaining Environmental Journalism, Nelson Mandela Gateway, Cape Town, Nov 20-21 2003
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Coming up• WSSD re-defined Enviro journalism
• Enviro journ can – draw from, – contribute to, and – integrate with
Development journ.
• Result: changes in character of journ
= raised relevance.
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1. Tale of two rivers
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Two rivers: environmentalism and developmentalism
• Environment journ springs from1972: Unep
70s civil society movements• Media have been "centrally involved in
lubricating the passage of environment-alism from the political wings to centre stage". (Corner & Schlesinger, 1991).
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On the other side of the mountain:
• During the 1970s a different river was already strongly flowing … “developmentalism”
• Development as a post-WWII concept. (Marshall Plan, Cold War, 3rd World).
• Development = economic growth. Environmental issues were tangential, rather than integral to it.
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Rivers begin to relate:
• 1980s: Some of the headwaters of developmentalism flow into springs of environmentalism.
• 1987 Brundtland: Devt & environ seen as linked. Enviro problems caused by both poverty and wealth.
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1991: Rio “Earth Summit”• Declaration on environmental rights
• Climate change convention
• Biodiversity convention, Forestry
AND• socio-economic aspects (poverty,
consumption, urbanisation);
• strengthening major groups (women, children, youth, workers, business, scientists, farmers).
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Running in tandem• 1970s – people and civil society brought
back into Developmentalism. Poverty and equity concerns arise there.
• Developmentalism shares with environmentalism a global perspective: neither concerns can be addressed on purely local or even national matters.
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Converging waters• 2000: UN Millenium Declaration:
Globalization needs values of freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, respect for nature, shared responsibility.
• Development to eradicate poverty AND protect common environment.
• 2002: WSSD – not “Earth Summit II”.
Integrating economy and ecology
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Whirlpools:• WSSD: Not just equally important
issues, but inter-related ones.
• Chippy Olver:– Pre-Rio: getting green on agenda– During Rio: linking enviro & devt– WSSD: poverty as the 3rd pillar.
• Significantly, most concrete agreement is an interface issue: water-sanitation.
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WSSD - So what?• Will be hard after WSSD for
environmentalism to ignore devt and poverty.
• While converse does not apply, there is at least some “greening” of devt issues.
• Will be hard for 21st Century developmentalism to ignore environmental issues.
• Trends not neat, not complete
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2. Skills issues: Lessons of Environmental
& Developmental Journ
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Media craft: Enviro Journ • Much enviro journ = effective
watchdog• Also mobilized civic activism
– “Save the planet or go under”– Close to people’s hearts– Raises info-access and accountability.
• These traditions can enrich devt journ - it hasn’t had them, nor the same impact
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Meanwhile, devt journ - discredited
• Watchdog replaced by show poodle• Promotion -> propaganda• People as objects, devt as statistics
• Today: praise for enviro journ; scorn for devt journ. • But baby lost out with bathwater
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What env journ offers devt journ• Watchdog role:
– Exposing bottlenecks in spending– Exposing corruption– Questioning military spend– Debating AIDS (and donor aid) policies
• Legitimate advocacy role:– Newsvalues of human rights, solidarity,
explanatory & empowering content– Lead the market, not just follow it.– Democratise public policy
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Way ahead for devt journ• Like enviro journ, celebrate success,
popularize activism. – and keep head high.
• And assess devt journ history – which can enrich enviro journ:– Modernization view: disseminate info– Dependency view: what info -
interconnections– Participation view: whose info?
• Ditch much baggage, keep other cargo
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So devt journ can offer experience to enviro
journ • Despite its limits, devt journ has something to contribute.
• Insights from developmentalism can enrich devt journ
• Enviro journ should spread info, reflect global variation (eg. GM food), consider grassroots voices.
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Summing up: A new Devt journ can draw from Enviro
Journ.
Enviro Journ can be enriched by aspects of Devt Journ.
And in the process, the two journalisms will become more similar – mirroring the object of their coverage: enviro+devt issues.
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3. When undercurrents come together …
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Two rivers 1• If there are aspects of both environment-
alism and developmentalism that are useful to each other, how far should they go in terms of inter-relating?
• Will media still report these separately?
• Will we have people-centred journalism on the one hand, and planet-centred on the other, and nothing on the interdependency?
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One water – what quality?• Will devt-oriented journalists draw from enviro
journ and monitor governments’ compliance with the WSSD sanitation accord?
• Will enviro journalists keep the same issue on their radar screens, alongside issues like greenhouse gases, and will they consider how global info relations impact?
• And another qtn: how well will any of this be reported?
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Headwaters contaminating enviro journ
• Sources: courts, scientists, pressure groups. Elite sources.
• Frames: Chernobyl unique; Bhopal to be expected of India; SA game farms as simple ecotourism.
• Expertise deficit: lack of science training; press releases regurgitated.
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Enviro Jrn toxins cntd• Negativism: Dying seals, alarmism &
Chicken Little Journalism.• Event orientation: crises drive the news• Transcience: “but radon didn’t go
anywhere”• Economics: produce less about more –
not resourced to report a complex subject and lots of dynamics.
• Polarised and reductionist reporting: truth sacrificed to balance or drama
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Pollutants in Devt Journ• Devt journ has similar pollution from
upstream:– Events, not process, focus– Elite sources: what developers do to
developees– Modernist cultural frames– Lack of expertise and resources
• Question: A noxious mixture?– Reinforcing the worst of the two journalisms?
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4. Solutions
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Alternatives• In both Enviro Journ and Devt Journ, the answers
lie in part in journalists’ – hands, – heads, & – hearts.
• Broader issues also come into play, as in Barnett’s study of Durban media covering pollution in the city.
• This is a confluence of factors …
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Durban does it• Media marketing => people-centred, story-
telling narratives.• Enviro activists move to brown issues, from
“Save the rhino” to pollution, sanitation, etc.• Political activists and conservationists join.• Result: extensive coverage that:
– Popularised protest against pollution– Legitimised protesters– Linked daily experience to public policy &
practice
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Integrating envir & devt• Story-telling style linked trends & daily events
• Independence kept journos non-partisan – and led to research into pollution-health connections.
• At first, enviro’s needed media more than vice versa; now media see value in enviro’s.
• Enviro journ moved onto business pages
• Mixed drink of Env & Devt angles was popular on front pages & news bulletins, not only specialist niches.
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5. Conclusion
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Water divination:• Today, 2003, it’s clear that enviro & devt
concerns overlap a lot.
• Not to say they have become identical.
• But there will be increased blurring.
• Example: 21st century issue: genetics.– Whether seen as enviro/science or devt story,
reporting will have to move to integrated whole. – (And deal with secrecy + science for sale).
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Therefore …• Journos should align with the best in
covering both enviro and devt.
• In short, swim in the sparkling pools where the two rivers come together. Remember the two aspects in every story.
• Take a critical look at the swimming skills we’ve been taught, develop new ones.
• Reduce pollutants and redefine our relationship to other H20 stakeholders.
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Thank you:
may the water of your work be highly drinkable!