1. The Flow of Environmental Journalism
Guy Berger, Rhodes Univ

2. Coming up WSSD 2002 re-defined Enviro journalism Enviro journ can
draw from,
contribute to, and
integrate with
Development journ.
Result: changes in character of journ
= raised relevance.

3. 1. Tale of two rivers

4. Two rivers: environmentalism and developmentalism
Environment journ springs from
1972: 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).

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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).

8. 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.

9. 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

10. 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.

11. 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

12. 2. Skills issues: Lessons of Environmental & Developmental Journ

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 3. When undercurrents come together …

20. 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?

21. 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?

22. 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.

23. 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

24. 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?

25. 4. Solutions

26. 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 …

27. 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

28. 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.

29. 5. Conclusion

30. 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).

31. 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.