The Daily Globe: Environmental Change, the Public and the Media

Description

Arguably the greatest challenges facing humanity are environmental. However, they are routinely under-reported in the media. Pressure groups and governments trying to get information through to the public often blame the media, but the picture is not necessarily this simple. This text presents the state of knowledge about media treatment and public understanding of key environmental issues, above all, climate change and biodiversity loss, which have enormous implications for economic, social and environmental security, yet mean little to the person in the street. The concept of sustainable development, which underpins responses to these problems is also shown to be unknown by most people.

Joe Smith is Lecturer in Geography in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Open University and Co-Director of the Cambridge Media and Environment Programme.

'At a time when far too many people are still starry-eyed about the media's interest in covering the environment, The Daily Globe is a dose of harsh reality. It explains why most environment specialists have to spend their time reporting on disasters... rather than on the long-term developments that are shaping the future. I wish every senior editor would read it.' Alex Kirby, presenter, BBC Radio Four's Costing the Earth, former BBC environment correspondent.