Call for manuscripts for special issue of the International Communication 
Gazette

Communicating the Environment

Guest editors: Anders Hansen (University of Leicester, UK) and Julie Doyle 
(University of Brighton, UK)

Manuscript deadline: 1 October 2009

2009 represents a significant year for International political negotiations on 
the environment, marked by the December meeting of the United Nations 
Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, where a new global treaty on 
climate, to replace the Kyoto Protocol, will be established.  As international 
governments seek political responses to global environmental problems, how 
environmental issues are communicated and given meaning is of equal 
importance, helping to shape public and political perceptions, and thus the 
kinds of responses/actions advocated to address environmental issues. 

This special issue focuses upon the role of the media, and mediation, in the 
construction and communication of contemporary environmental issues. As 
social actors, the mass media play a crucial role in defining and communicating 
about the environment. Yet their status and efficacy as environmental actors 
differs according to social, political, economic, national and local contexts. As 
environmental issues are also issues of justice and human rights, and as 
alternative forms of mediated communication seek to empower citizens as 
environmental communicators and activists, the question of democracy and 
power is central to how environmental issues are understood and addressed at 
the local, national and global level. Indeed, as global environmental change 
affects countries both differently and disproportionately, how the media frame 
and debate these issues is of crucial importance.

With this special issue we invite contributions that examine the role of media 
in the definition, construction and communication of environmental issues. We 
welcome work from a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches. 
We particularly welcome papers offering a global and/or international 
comparative perspective, and we are keen that the issue should include 
contributions from Africa, South East Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

Topics may include, but are not restricted to, the following:

·         Environmental justice, human rights and the media

·         Media, governance and environmental citizenship

·         Media representations of global environmental protest/activism

·         Alternative media and (local/national/global) activism

·         The politics of media coverage of environmental issues/environmental 
          disasters

·         Environmental journalism, sources, PR and political spin

·         Environmental pressure groups and the media

·         Cultural constructions of nature and the environment

Manuscripts should be prepared in English in Microsoft Word, and should not 
exceed 8,000 words including notes and references. Manuscripts should be 
accompanied by an abstract of 100-150 words and up to 10 keywords. The 
manuscript must contain a separate title page that should include: the title of 
the manuscript; the name(s) and affiliation(s) of the author(s); full contact 
details of the author(s); the author’s brief biographical information. Please 
send the manuscript as an email-attachment to Anders Hansen [log in to unmask]  
and Julie Doyle [log in to unmask]  by no later than 1 October 2009.