Finding pearls in pools:

1

• 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

2
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.

3
1. Tale of two rivers
4
Two rivers environmentalism and developmentalism

• Environment journ springs from
• 1972 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).

5
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.

6
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.

7
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).

8
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.

9
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

10
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.

11
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

12
2. Skills issues Lessons of Environmental
Developmental Journ
13
Media craft Enviro Journ

• Much enviro journ effective watchdog
• Also mobilized civic activism
• Save the planet or go under
• Close to peoples hearts
• Raises info-access and accountability.
• These traditions can enrich devt journ - it
  hasnt had them, nor the same impact

14
Meanwhile, devt journ - discredited

• Watchdog replaced by show poodle
• Promotion -gt propaganda
• People as objects, devt as statistics
• Today praise for enviro journ
• scorn for devt journ.
• But baby lost out with bathwater

15
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

16
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

17
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.

18
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 envirodevt issues.

19
3. When undercurrents come together
20
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?

21
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?

22
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.

23
Enviro Jrn toxins cntd

• Negativism Dying seals, alarmism Chicken
  Little Journalism.
• Event orientation crises drive the news
• Transcience but radon didnt 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

24
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?

25
4. Solutions
26
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
  Barnetts study of Durban media covering
  pollution in the city.
• This is a confluence of factors

27
Durban does it

• Media marketing gt 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

28
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, enviros needed media more than vice
  versa now media see value in enviros.
• Enviro journ moved onto business pages
• Mixed drink of Env Devt angles was popular on
  front pages news bulletins, not only specialist
  niches.

29
5. Conclusion
30
Water divination

• Today, 2003, its 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).

31
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 weve
  been taught, develop new ones.
• Reduce pollutants and redefine our relationship
  to other H20 stakeholders.

32
Thank youmay the water of your work be highly
drinkable!