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.
