name: stephen buchanan year: jms 3 course: media policy lecturer: carol christie and prof guy berger due date: 27 october 2003

Name: Stephen Buchanan
Year: JMS 3
Course: Media Policy
Lecturer: Carol Christie and Prof Guy Berger
Due date: 27 October 2003
Word count of body text: 1616 words
Broadly, our aim was to formulate a practical policy to guide
editorial staff and journalists of Grocott’s Mail when dealing with
issues relating to the environment. From the outset, it was crucial
that we should provide as clear a definition as possible of the term
“environment”. A working definition needed to encompass the broad
possible meanings of the term, and help us to understand what was
meant by “the environment” in the context of reporting. In terms of
discussing policy issues themselves, we tried to find existing
industry policies on this issue; however, discovering that there was a
distinct lack of this, it became clear that one of our major aims
should be to outline what a policy on environmental reporting should
look like. Towards this end, we set about trying to gather opinions
and suggestions from the Grahamstown community on environmental issues
and how they felt these should be dealt with in the media. The goal we
had in mind was to formulate a clear and practical set of proposals
for reporting on the environment, backed up by solid theoretical
reasoning.
The choice of research methods was related to both practical
constraints as well as a consideration of the nature of the issues
concerned. Since such a policy is a relatively new idea in the South
African context, it was necessary to employ a research tool that would
“open up” the issues, debates and concepts rather than narrow them
down from an existing framework. We therefore chose to use a series of
one-on-one interviews with people who had significant interest,
perspectives or direct involvement in the environment.
The interviews comprised a two-pronged approach: a series of simple
questions constituted the “structured” approach, whereas the other
half of the interview was consciously made “unstructured”. For the
former approach, we asked each person what their responsibilities were
in terms of their work with the environment, what aspect of their work
needs more coverage in the media, and what sorts of projects they were
involved with that related to the environment. For the latter
approach, we asked questions around previous experiences with
Grocott’s Mail of reporting or failing to report on aspects of their
work, the sorts of environmental issues they felt were worth covering,
and in what ways they felt it would be beneficial to report more on
environmental issues.
In the course of these interviews, it became clear that the definition
of “the environment” was extremely broad, covering a wide range of
issues. The term “environment” came to encompass fauna and flora,
water and air pollution, conservation, commercial policy, research
interests, agriculture and game farms.
Finding existing policy to match this scope of important issues proved
very difficult. Grocott’s itself did not have any formal policy on
reporting on the environment. Other South Africa media did not appear
to have any formal policies either. Some international examples,
however, were able to provide some insight into the way reporting on
the environment has been treated elsewhere.
The Society of Environmental Journalists (www.sej.org) based its
training on the following assumptions:
The public is largely uninformed about environmental issues;
Journalists have a tremendous responsibility to report environmental
news…
This belief in the primarily information-giving role of journalists
was echoed in an article by Susan Musukuma, Vice President of the
Press Association of Zambia. “Many researchers and environmental
experts bombard journalists with a series of facts and statistics and
fail to assemble effective media packs” Hanyona in Musukuma 2002).
In the “Journalist Forum on Environmental Reporting”, held in October
2001, both the importance of reporting on the environmental and the
difficulties were highlighted:
It found that environmental reporting will gain new significance as
the impact of stresses on the planet’s resources, in particular fresh
water and climate, become more evident. In national and global efforts
to mitigate the impact of this, and to develop responses in policy as
well as lifestyle, the news media may find itself in a new and
unfamiliar role.
(http://www.unis.unvienna.org/en/events/2001/forumweb.htm)
Finally, we discovered that Reuters, in association with the World
Conservation Union, had founded an Environmental Media Awards. In a
statement from the jury, the importance of reporting on the
environment was highlighted:
In these last years environmental reporting has gained a voice in
newsrooms. And yet, that voice is still far quieter than it should be.
The public needs to be informed of the threats to all aspects of life,
and why and how they must assume responsibility for protecting social
equity, human rights and the environment. Environmental reporting
requires a certain measure of civil courage as uncovering polluters,
pointing to the causes of forest loss or species extinction, or to
those who benefit from illegal wildlife trade, can expose the writer
to ridicule or retaliation.
(http://www.iucn.org/reuters/2002/awards.htm)
There appears to be a large emphasis on “uncovering polluters” and
“pointing to the causes of forest lost”, which implies a “muckraker”
paradigm for environmental journalism. What emerged from our
interviews and our reflection upon the issues, however, was that a
communication for development paradigm might contribute another
perspective on the issues.
From an interview with Sean Haydock, owner and founder of Grahamstown
recycling, a number of issues were raised which he felt needed
attention in the media. Recycling and problems of waste removal
(including sewage and refuse dumping) were a high priority. He wanted
to see more coverage of entrepreneurial and community activities, as
these were “positive” and “success stories”. The emphasis was thus not
only on exposing abuses (as in a “muckraker” ideal of journalism), but
also to “empower readers through information”.
Kevin Budge, Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation for the Makana
Municipality, expressed a similar opinion on what communication could
achieve. He insisted that paying more attention to the environment in
the media could help the various role-players to communicate with each
other and generally raise awareness in the community about the
importance of looking after the environment. His definition of the
environment was extremely broad, as he discussed everything from
conservation of the environment (inside and outside the town) to
animals and plants, and finally the importance of maintaining water
sources properly.
Mr Budge stressed that “a good environment is important for good
quality of life”, and this served as reminder that the environment is
about people and not just plants and animals. Looking after the
environment also had direct benefits in terms of attracting
visitors/tourists.
In terms of his own projects, he felt that the media should report on
problems with encroachment of alien vegetation, the encroachment of
animals into town, greening programmes and the social-environmental
rationale behind them. Many of these programmes, for example “Albany
Working for Water”, had a strong poverty-alleviation element. He also
cited a number of youth and educational programmes which he felt
should receive more attention from Grocott’s Mail.
Mr Budge believed that the media should report on crimes against the
environment and law enforcement, but that ultimately what would be
most beneficial was a scenario where the media served as a platform
for different views, where people could communicate about the
environment. This, he felt, would allow people to reach awareness not
only about the problems, but also find constructive solutions to these
problems. He suggested that journalists take a more pro-active role,
attending meetings such as the recently-formed “Environmental Forum”
for Grahamstown.
Another, slightly different, perspective came from Johann Esterhuizen,
Head of Department of Environmental Health for the Makana
Municipality. The health perspective on the environment, he said, was
seriously neglected in reporting from Grocott’s Mail. In addition to
exposing various health risks such as stray animals, illegal dumping
and inadequate waste management, he felt the media should also give
more attention to some of the positive aspects of his department’s
work. For example, there were successful youth development and
educational programmes which received no attention from Grocott’s Mail,
even when they were specifically notified about them.
Before laying out the policy proposals, it is necessary to sum up the
general conclusions we had reached through this process. Firstly, it
seemed that there was adequate reporting in some areas of the
environmental, e.g. covering Arbour Week or the fate of the Botanical
Gardens, but many areas were seriously lacking. It also seemed that it
was necessary for Grocott’s Mail to portray a more balanced view of
the Municipality’s work concerning the environment. A strong
“communication for development” commitment informed many of the
proposals offered below.
The policy proposals were as follows:
*
When it comes to the environment, reporters should exercise care
not to report only on failures and abuses (especially with the
Municipality) but also on “success stories” - these can often be
found in ongoing programmes which have a strong social
development, youth and/or educational ethos.
*
When journalists report on the environment, they must always work
from the assumption that the environment is about people and not
just plants and animals. To this end, when conducting interviews
or research they should always ask the questions that relate to
people and not just “conservation” on its own.
*
Journalists should not neglect the environmental health aspect of
reporting on the environment. They should regularly seek out
stories on stray animals, the spread of diseases and waste
management.
*
Wherever possible, journalists should intentionally seek out the
link between an environmental issue and social development/poverty
alleviation opportunities.
*
Journalists should take a pro-active role in exposing crimes
against the environment, attending the “Environmental Forum” and
finding stories that educate the community about important issues.
*
In general, reporting on the environment should be guided by a
sense that:
*
The environment is important for everyone’s quality of life.
*
Communicating about the environment is essential to
facilitating constructive solutions to various challenges and
problems.
Bibliography
Musukuma, Susan. (2002). “Zambia: putting environmental reporting on
the news agenda”. Intermedia vol 30 no 5. Retrieved October 17, 2003
from the World Wide Web:
http://www.iicom.org/intermedia/Dec02/musukuma.html

  • ELEKTRO INSTALACIJE IVAN ČELIGOJ SP PIVKA PROJEKTIRANJE IZVAJANJE IN
  • BUSCANDO A POLICARPIA AQUARI AUTORES JOSÉ FCO CERVERA
  • VEDLEGG 4 SAK 6 FFFHS ARBEIDSPROGRAM FOR 2011 (REVIDERT
  • ANEXO 1 ESTRUCTURA FORMATO EDIFACTIFTMCS CABECERA DE INTERCAMBIO (1)
  • LAS LEYENDAS PIADOSAS DEL CÓDICE 83 (FONDO DE SANT
  • DIPLOMADO DE ESTRATEGIAS PARA LA ENSEÑANZA EFECTIVA DE LAS
  • INVENTAIRE DE PATRIMOINE IDENTITE DE LA PERSONNE PROTEGEE NOM
  • 29 SHOWING THE SCEPTIC THE DOOR WITTGENSTEIN’S WAY WITH
  • ANEXO VI DECLARACIÓN RESPONSABLE Dª D CON DNI
  • ADVANCED INTERAGENCY CONSULTATION PILOT FINAL DRAFT STUDY GUIDE FOR
  • PFARREIENGEMEINSCHAFT SANKT DIONYSIUS KRUFT SANKT ARNULF NICKENICH KRUFT 11032021
  • FLOWCHART PELAKSANAAN PAP BAGI TKI RE ENTRY NO KEGIATAN
  • AN ROINN HR HR DEPARTMENT CÚRAM SLÁINTE POBAIL HEALTH
  • MARCO LEGAL DE LA PROCURADURÍA SOCIAL Y DE ATENCIÓN
  • NACRT ODLUKE NA OSNOVU ČLANA 126 STAV 3 ZAKONA
  • ZAŁĄCZNIK NR 5 DO UCHWAŁY NR XIII126VI2011 RADY MIASTA
  • M ª JOSÉ CORTÉS GONZÁLEZ DIRECCIÓN PASSATGE STA MARIA
  • FITXA DE PRESENTACIÓ DE PROJECTES A L’ESPAI ÀGORA ENTITAT
  • NIMF BORRADOR PARA CONSULTA ENTRE PAÍSES MIEMBRO JUNIO DE
  • NOTA DE PRENSA DOSSIER DE PRENSA PLAZA MARIANO GRANADOS
  • T YPE OF REVIEWER UNIQUE ID COMPLAINT CASE NO
  • UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME REGIONAL OFFICE FOR LATIN AMERICA
  • PESTICIDE SAFETY IN THE NURSERY AND LANDSCAPE THIS DVD
  • LEGEFORENINGENS ORGANISASJONSLEDD DERES REF VÅR REF 106371 DATO 8122010
  • CENTRE DE DIAGNÒSTIC BIOMÈDIC GUIA DE CONTROLES EXTERNOS 2020
  • ZAŁĄCZNIK DO ROZPORZĄDZENIA MINISTRA ROZWOJU PRACY I TECHNOLOGII Z
  • ZPRÁVA O ČINNOSTI KRAJSKÉ RADY OSZSP ČR KRAJE VYSOČINA
  • THỦ TỤC CẤP GIẤY CHỨNG NHẬN ĐĂNG KÝ LẠI
  • TRANSFER – S601AF NOTE YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO SEEK
  • INFORMATION DOCUMENT BRIEF PREPARED BY THE IFCS CHAMPION ON