Article Sidebar

Submitted
October 7, 2023
Accepted
December 29, 2023
Published
December 31, 2023
Download
PDF
Statistic
Read Counter : 248 Download : 190

Main Article Content

Abstract

Despite the continuous efforts made in recent years to improve environmental qualities, pollution still poses a serious threat to human health and harms the planet. Emphasizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Bangladesh is highly determined to achieve all its goals in due time. In this context, given Bangladesh’s current environmental situation, traditional media have a crucial role to play, especially in developing environmental awareness. This study investigates how Bangladeshi print media cover environmental issues and whether they practice proactive or reactive reporting to raise public awareness. There are two phases in this study, combining qualitative and quantitative methods. An analysis of the coverage and treatment of environmental news for one year, January to December 2022, in four major Bangladeshi newspapers, two each in Bengali and English, was accomplished in the first phase using content analysis. The second phase involved in-depth interviews with six senior environment-beat reporters. The study found that Bangladeshi mainstream newspapers are still far away from practicing proactive environmental reporting, as only one-fourth of the news reports are found to be proactive. The study also suggested some recommendations for the editorial body & policymakers.

Keywords

Bangladesh Environmental Reporting Environmental Sustainability Environmental Awareness Sustainable Development Goals

Article Details

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Sanjoy Basak Partha , Meherun Nahar

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
How to Cite
Sanjoy Basak Partha, & Meherun Nahar. (2023). Preferring Reactivity over Proactivity: Exploring the Nature of Bangladeshi Print Media in Covering Environmental News . Asian Journal of Media and Communication, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.20885/asjmc.vol7.iss2.art1
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)
BibTeX
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

References

  1. Al Amin, M. (2021, Jan 25). Bangladesh remains 7th most vulnerable to climate change. The Business Standard. Retrieved from https://www.tbsnews.net/environment/climate-change/bangladesh-remains-7th-most-vulnerable-climate-change-191044
  2. Amend, E., & Secko, D. M. (2012). In the Face of Critique: A Meta-Synthesis of the Experiences of Journalists Covering Health and Science. Science Communication, 34 (2). pp. 241–282. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1075547011409952
  3. Bacon, W., Das, J., & Zaman, A. (2009). Covering the Environmental Issues and Global Warming in Delta Land: A Study of Three Newspapers. Pacific Journalism Review [Online]. 15(2). pp. 10-33. Available from: https://www.academia.edu/49092772/Covering_the_environmental_issues_and_global_warming_in_Delta_land_A_study_of_three_newspapers
  4. Bowman, J. S.. & Fuchs, T. (1981). Environmental Coverage in the Mass Media: A Longitudinal Study. International Journal of Environmental Studies [Online]. 18(1). pp. 11-22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00207238108709919
  5. Carnie, T. (ed.) (2020). A Perspective from South Africa. In Routledge Handbook of Environmental Journalism. 1st, edited by D. B. Sachsman and J. M Valenti. London: Routledge.
  6. Dutt, B., Garg, K. C. & Bhatta, A. (2013). A Quantitative Assessment of the Articles on Environmental Issues Published in English-language Indian Dailies. Library and Information Studies, 60(3).
  7. EPI 2022: Bangladesh’s position slips 15 notches to 177th. The Financial Express. Retrieved from https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/national/epi-2022-bangladeshs-position-slips-15-notches-to-177th-1654953295
  8. Fahy, D., & Nisbet, M. C. (2011). The Science Journalist Online: Shifting Roles and Emerging Practices. Journalism, 12 (7). pp. 778–793. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884911412697
  9. Friedman, S. (2004). And the Beat Goes on: The Third Decade of Environmental Journalism. In S. Sencha (Ed.), The Environmental Communication Yearbook, 1, pp. 175-187. NJ: Erlbaum.
  10. Hansen, A. (2007). Introduction: The Mass Media and Environmental Issues. London: Leicester University Press.
  11. Harris, P.G. (2006). Environmental Perspectives and Behaviour in China: Synopsis and Bibliography. Environment and Behaviour, 38(1). pp. 5-21.
  12. Hoerisch, H. (2002). A Comparative Study on Environmental Awareness and Environmentally Beneficial Behaviour in India. [online]. Retrieved from http://cmsenvis.cmsindia.org/researchstudy/beneficial.pdf
  13. Jalarajan, R. S. & Sreekumar, R. (2017). The Commercial Misrepresentation of Environmental Issues: Comparing Environmental Media Coverage in the First World and the Developing Nations. Amity Journal of Media and Communication Studies, 1(2).
  14. Jjuuko, M. (2016). How Three Communities on Lake Victoria Landing Sites in Uganda Perceive and Interpret the Radio Programmes on the Lake’s Crises. African Journalism Studies, 37 (1). pp.120– 136. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/23743670.2015.1084588
  15. Lublinski, J., Reichert, I., Denis, A., Fleury, J. M., Labassi, O., & Spurk, C. (2014). Advances in African and Arab Science Journalism: Capacity Building and new Newsroom Structures Through Digital Peer-to-Peer Support. Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies, 35 (2). pp. 4–22. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/02560054.2014.919945
  16. Marukatat, S. (1991). A comparative content analysis of environmental news coverage in Time & The Weekly Review. Thesis Dissertation. Iowa State University.
  17. McGeachy, L. E. (1987). Trend in Magazine Coverage of Environmental Issues, 1961-1986. Master’s Thesis. The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
  18. McQuail, D. (1994). Mass Communication Theory: An Introduction. London: Sage Publication.
  19. Mishra, M. (2020). Environmental Journalism in India: Past, Present, and Future. In Routledge Handbook of Environmental Journalism, edited by D. B. Sachsman and J. M. Valenti. pp. 291–305. London: Routledge.
  20. Norma, N. & Hasan, N. (2007). The Representation of Environmental News: A Comparative Study of the The Malaysian & New Zealand. [online]. Retrieved from https://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10092/1904/Thesisfulltext.pdf;jsessionid=9D5CA221FD17EB0562DD74D4A6B8FC88?sequence=1
  21. Okoro, N. & Nnaji, G. O. (2012). Press coverage of pollution in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria: A content analysis of the Guardian, Vanguard, Daily Sun & This Day Newspapers. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 3, pp. 34-46.
  22. Ostman, R. E. & Parker, J. L. (2015). Impact of Newspapers on Environmental Knowledge, Journal of Environmental Education, 19(1).
  23. Parlour, J. W. & Schatzow, S. (1978). The Mass Media & Public Concern for Environmental Problems in Canada, 1960-1972. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 13. pp. 9-17.
  24. Porritt, J. (1991). Global Warming. New Statesman Society, 4(150). pp. 15-16.
  25. Qusien, R., & Robbins, D. (2023). Science Journalism in Pakistan: The Challenges Faced by Environmental Reporters. Journalism Studies. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2023.2201854
  26. Robbins, D., & Wheatley, D. (2021). Complexity, Objectivity, and Shifting Roles: Environmental Correspondents March to a Changing Beat. Journalism Practice, 15 (9). pp. 1289–1306. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2021.1910981
  27. Rojas, D. (2021, Dec 09). How the climate crisis is impacting Bangladesh. The Climate Reality Project. Retrieved from https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/how-climate-crisis-impacting-bangladesh
  28. Sampei, Y. & Aoyagi-Usui, M. (2009). Mass Media Coverage, Its Influence on Public Awareness of Climate-Change Issues, and Implications for Japan’s National Campaign to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Global Environmental Change, 19(2). pp. 203-212.
  29. Schoenfeld, A. C. (1975). The Changing Role of Mass Communication in Environmental Education. The Journal of Environmental Education, 8(3). pp. 60-64.
  30. Shrestha, A. M. (1990). Winds from the West. Gannett Centre of Journals, 4(3). pp. 155-160.
  31. Stocking, H. & Leonard, J. P. (1990). The Greening of the Media: A Progress Report. Columbia Journalism Review, pp. 37-44.
  32. Volkmer, I., & Sharif, K. (2018). Risk Journalism Between Transnational Politics and Climate Change. Cham, Gewerbestrasse: Springer.
  33. Williams, A., & Clifford, S. (2008). Mapping the Field: A Political Economic Account of Specialist Science News Journalism in the UK National Media.