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

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.

1. Tale of two rivers

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).

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.

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.

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).

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.

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

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.

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

2. Skills issues: Lessons of Environmental

& Developmental Journ

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

3. When undercurrents come together …

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?

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?

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.

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

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?

4. Solutions

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 …

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

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.

5. Conclusion

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).

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.

Thank you:

may the water of your work be highly drinkable!