ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN BRAZILIAN AMAZONIA: PERSPECTIVES IN US NEWS MEDIA* |
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| Authors: | Jacob Bendix Carol M Liebler |
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| Institution: | 1. 1JACOB BENDIX (M.S., Wisconsin) is a Ph.D. candidate in Geography at the University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. His research interests include the study of riparian environments and environmental issues.;2. 2CAROL M. LIEBLER (Ph.D., Wisconsin) is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303-3083. Her research interests center on mass media and society, including media and minorities and press coverage of the environment. |
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| Abstract: | While news media play a major role in shaping public opinion and government policy, existing literature suggests that coverage of both the third world and environmental issues is superficial and crisis-oriented. This study uses the example of Amazonian deforestation to explore the quantity and content of coverage in influential American newspapers. We found that coverage included a wide range of (sometimes) contradictory theories regarding the causes of deforestation, and that the amount, but not the nature, of the coverage changed in response to a “crisis.” |
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| Keywords: | Amazon Brazil deforestation news media |
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