Sustainability-related media coverage and socioeconomic development: a regional and North–South perspective

Ralf Barkemeyer, Frank Figge, Diane Holt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

29 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Abstract. With this paper we discuss the differences between sustainability-related media agendas across different countries and regions. Utilising a sample of 115 leading national newspapers covering forty-one countries, we show that typically no homogeneous global trends exist with regard to sustainability-related media agendas. Instead, significant differences exist regarding the national-level prioritisations of sustainability-related issues in the countries under review. To some extent, these observed differences can be attributed to different levels of socioeconomic development as measured by Human Development Index scores and gross domestic product per capita. Here, generic differences can be identified between newspapers from the Global North and South, with a range of issues such as climate change emerging as typically Northern issues, whereas issues such as corruption and poverty show significantly higher levels of coverage across newspapers from the Global South. We conclude with a discussion of the results in the context of global environmental governance.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)716-740
Number of pages25
JournalEnvironment and Planning C: Government and Policy
Volume31
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013

Bibliographical note

SCImago Journal Ranking: 4/42 (Public Administration category) 2010 Impact Factor: 1.126. ABS ranking 3*

Keywords

  • sustainable development
  • media agendas
  • text mining
  • broadsheet newspapers
  • environmental sustainability
  • socioeconomic sustainability
  • Human Development Index

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