Posted by: Chasqui American Journal of communication
Hernando José Antonio Alcocer
enormous economic development that emerged from the second half of the fifties of last century, has brought a progressive deterioration of the environment on our planet. Gradually, in response to these environmental problems, has been developing an environmental awareness among social groups increasingly numerous (especially in more developed societies). This growing environmental concern noted in the data provided some opinion polls: in Spain For example, a study by the Center for Sociological Research in 1997 gathered that 72 percent of the English considered an urgent and immediate environmental conservation, a recent survey for the year 2002 (conducted by the Institute of Youth) , showed that 88 percent of young people would be willing to work selflessly in defense of the environment.
means of public communication, in social institutions responsible for environmental monitoring, have established themselves as bearers and defenders of these norms and values \u200b\u200bthat each group strives to maintain or preserve. However, with this growing social concern issues environmental there appears to be a consistent response from the media. The poor treatment of these issues is justified communication institutions in the low priority the public attaches to this content, "the interest of the audience for science and the environment is nonexistent or, at best, passive in nature." (Martínez Valdés, M., 2003).
issues related to the environment are still not become part of the daily agenda of the media, compared to other events to which the intended MCM own spaces or sections (politics, society, culture, television, etc.).. When there are news about ecology or nature in the media, often do into sections such as Company or Local, instead of appearing under specific headings that give more to environmental problems. This lack of spaces on the media, environmental treatment, has helped to encourage specialization in journalism. The professionals in charge of the news on ecology are often specialists in other subjects (National, Local, etc.), And eventually, are makers of information on environmental issues. Until very recently, as noted by Arturo Larena (2002) "most of the journalists who were incorporated into this specialty information were self-taught who have specialized vocation and experience."
Today there seems to be from the Faculties of Information and Communication, a clear answer to remedy this lack of academic and professional training. As noted by Dr. Victoriano Garza Almanza communication (1999), this concern has arisen training first in the more developed countries, "in the U.S., more than 25 universities offer from courses and workshops to degrees or doctorates in science communication, science journalism environmental writing, environmental journalism, etc., aimed at journalists, researchers or people interested who want to learn to write on matters of science and the environment, or to make disclosure. "
also from the media themselves seem to begin to grant the environmental journalism professional status it deserves, and from this perspective is emerging from a concern for professionals trained in this scientific discipline. In this regard, the Association of Journalists Environmental Information organizes courses, meetings and seminars as well as having created the first scholarship to major in Environmental Journalism in Spain.
Environmental Information Processing.
With environmental information has been given the paradox that although since the company is growing interest in these issues from the media continues providing a poor response to this demand for information. As noted Martínez Valdés (2003), this has been due largely to "media makers are deciding for the audience before asking her if interested or not the issue." Currently in Spain none of the ten largest circulation daily newspaper offers a special section on the environment, and equally, very few radio and television programs on nature and ecology.
This lack of commitment of the institutions communicative with proper treatment of environmental information has certainly encouraged the audience apathy. This indifference, coupled with other factors as the scarcity of paper, the diversification of advertising, etc., has been reflected for example in the crisis of the literature on nature and environment. Following the English case, as pointed Joaquín Araujo, "in recent years have closed five journals Nature and Environment (Ecosystems, Ecology International, Scenes of the World, Biological and Earth)" which has meant that the number of readers has increased from 60,000 to more than a few thousand. The treatment
catastrophic preventive journalism
Following the treatment of ecological information, has been in the media tend to reduce environmental issues only to news reports and disasters. As noted by Professor Lozano Ascencio (1995), "we all know that the environmental information conveyed in the media, on many occasions, is in the wake of disasters that capture front pages and helps the citizen street pay attention to environmental issues. "
Reducing environmental issues catastrophic events finds its justification in that lack of specialization periodísitica. The lack of specific training to prevent journalists understand and manipulate the elements of the environmental sciences. This situation causes communicators choose the most part by the selection of those facts about disasters and natural disasters, leaving unfilled happenings of environmental significance less flashy but more critical.
Also, this treatment alarmist, on many occasions, has compared the risks contrasted with those purely hypothetical or nonexistent. And at the same time, this negative view has contributed to the media appear to the public as defenders of nature, once the disaster has already occurred, carrying out firefighting efforts.
activity in general information, and environment in particular, should have among its tasks the formation of the hearings on ethical values \u200b\u200band solidarity. This is what some authors called "preventive journalism." As Professor Vincent Romano (2003), "not only ascribed to the media to inform the task of disseminating knowledge. They are also responsible for the training of citizens, extending the democratic will, and critical awareness, differentiating. The fulfillment of this noble mission can be inferred from the contents. "
Public communication is called to play a decisive role in the disclosure of those aspects in line with a balanced development of resources to defend those policies based socio-economic processes and environment friendly technologies, and denouncing and criticizing government policies and business productive development which ignores and degrades the environment. Julen Rekondo (2003) defines environmental journalism as "journalism in establishing complicity with the citizen journalism constant appeal to the attitudes and behaviors of people, who call to action, to behavior modification. "
journalistic specialization
This preventive role requires professionalism on the part of those responsible for the media, especially journalists covering environmental issues. Environmental journalism should aim to train professionals specialized in the treatment of these issues, anticipating events, offering the greatest number of points of view, using sources, providing comprehensive data and information, etc.
The issues that shape the environmental agenda of the media are the most varied, their reference objects ranging from the disappearance of a plant or animal species, to pollution, desertification, the increase in hole the ozone layer or loss of biodiversity. Against this background, the reporter must select those items deemed of particular interest to the entire community.
The environmental community needs to understand and manipulate the elements of environmental science to grant adequate social events transcendence, and to put them in their political, economic, cultural and historical. Should provide an impartial, objective and rigorous assessment of the facts, away from the militant journalism and interested. In its work is needed in an ethical manner and thus act in an ethical manner of reporting.
relationships with news sources
environmental issues, as affecting the population as a whole can not be explained in isolation from the political, economic, cultural, etc. It would be affected. Media media must assess these relationships, and perform a task of mediation between the political and economic institutions, social partners involved in protecting the environment and the public.
To carry out this work is necessary for mediating the relations between different levels are based on trust and mutual need. But unfortunately, the reality has often been quite different: the relationship between political institutions and economic and other social actors involved in environmental issues have been governed by a certain darkness and a lack of fluency. It is also true that since political institutions each time is given more importance to communication issues. As stated from the website of the National Ecology Institute of Mexico, "is essential to have efficient mechanisms to link information society, capable of transmitting what is being done in this area, which means the instruments of policy, programs , plans and decisions are taken regarding the matter. Occasionally, MCM, when defending certain environmental policy initiatives have been carried away by their political adherence (the distance from a particular party or government), rather than a critical view on the true reality of these initiatives on the whole society. "
A clear example of these obscure information practices we find in news coverage that gave the English media about the sinking of the tanker Prestige off the coast of Galicia in 2003. According to the Environmental Movement "treatment of information by official sources, the public media and some private media has been shameful, distorting, manipulating and untruthfully on numerous occasions. Because of this situation has had to rely on sources other European states. The absence of accurate information and attempts to minimize the disaster through the media have been compared, strongly, with the mobilization of citizens against the black tide of mismanagement ... For this and other disasters is necessary to ensure the accuracy of the information from sources and agencies, as well as his journalistic treatment rigorous, open and plural, especially in the public media. "
Despite these information practices interested the different institutions responsible for reporting on the environmental surroundings seem to understand the need for independence between reporters and sources, as noted from the Mexican Institute said: "environmental authorities we have to report more and better, while the media their part to act with real awareness of its social function. "
New scenarios of environmental disclosure
The White Paper on Environmental Education in Spain (1999) suggested guidelines to promote responsible behavior, especially in television programs (cartoons, comedies, soap operas, etc.). The introduction of environmental arguments in children's programs or fiction can contribute to the popularization of environment in audiences of all ages.
Another of the recommendations referred to another of the media less frequently used in environmental diffusion: the movies. Besides eco-film documentary enjoys little acceptance, there have been few films about environmental issues. Although in the light of public response to some of them, such as Romancing the Stone (1984), Erin Brokovich (2000) and The Day After Tomorrow (2004), seems a suitable medium from which to promote environmental awareness.
Internet, a new scenario for environmental communication
New information technologies, especially Internet, are making a revolutionary change in the global information landscape. Although you still need to define the model of development of these technologies, what seems evident is that they are transforming the treatment environmental information. The use of these new expressive resources that will promote to audiences unfamiliar with these new models of socialization (children and young people) are made aware of environmental problems.
Internet and new technologies are expanding the bounds of environmental information, allowing views from local to global. The enormous possibilities for dissemination, and their expressive capabilities (multimedia) and participatory new media make these ideal scenarios from which to disseminate these issues.
The bodies involved in environmental issues have not been beyond the possibilities of distributing them Internet offers. Both political institutions (examples: National Institute of Ecology of Mexico (http://www.ine.gob.mx/), Ministry of Environment of Spain. (Http://www.mma.es/), etc. ), as environmental organizations (examples: Greenpeace (http://www.greenpeace.org/international_en/), Alliance for Protection of Forests (http://www.rainforest-alliance.org), Adena (http:// / www.wwf.es), etc) and media (examples: Biodiversity in Latin America (http://www.biodiversidadla.org/index.htm) Econatura magazine (http://www.econatura. org /), etc.), have been quick to position themselves in these new shopfront the intention of contributing to environmental awareness of the population.
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