Libby Lester

As more governments, companies and individuals scan the globe for access to primary resources such as minerals and timber, food, power and water, and destinations for work, holidays and homes, pressures on places and communities grow. At the same time, global environmental risks – most notably, climate change – produce new networks and unfamiliar forms of politics. Communication media are integral to this change. This book explores how geographically diverse groups and individuals interact in and through media to influence the negotiations and decisions affecting often distant landscapes and communities. Drawing on extensive fieldwork in the Australia-Asia region, the book includes case studies on the environmental protests that follow the international flow of people and resources, including timber, fish, coal, water and tourism. It asks how ‘communities of concern’ are evoked, which transcend local places and national boundaries.

As more governments, companies and individuals scan the globe for access to primary resources such as minerals and timber, food, power and water, and destinations for work, holidays and homes, pressures on places and communities grow. At the same time, global environmental risks – most notably, climate change – produce new networks and unfamiliar forms of politics. Communication media are integral to this change. This book explores how geographically diverse groups and individuals interact in and through media to influence the negotiations and decisions affecting often distant landscapes and communities. Drawing on extensive fieldwork in the Australia-Asia region, the book includes case studies on the environmental protests that follow the international flow of people and resources, including timber, fish, coal, water and tourism. It asks how ‘communities of concern’ are evoked, which transcend local places and national boundaries.

This book offers a theoretically informed empirical investigation of national media reporting and political discourse on environmental issues in Australia, China and Japan. It illuminates the risks, harms and responsibilities associated with climate change through an analysis of pollution, adopting an interdisciplinary approach drawing on both the social sciences and humanities. A particular strength of the work is the detailed analysis of the data using a range of both quantitative and qualitative techniques, enabling the authors to reveal in rich and compelling detail the complex relationship between risk and responsibility in the climate change discourse.The case studies of Australia, China and Japan are set in the current literature as well as in the historical context of climate change in these three countries. The analysis of the media discourse on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia demonstrates how the mining of coal for overseas markets has led to devastating harm to the life of the reef. A critical discussion of the Chinese documentary, Under the Dome, shows how this medium has played a crucial role in building awareness of the harm from atmospheric pollution among the citizens, shaping attitudes and promoting action. The first case study of Japan elucidates how cross-border atmospheric pollution from China forges a chain of responsibility for responding to climate change, running from the state to society. The other case study of Japan demonstrates how ‘smart cities’ have emerged as a way to mitigate the risks and harms of climate change. The Conclusion draws together the similarities and differences in how climate change is addressed in the three countries.In all, Environmental Pollution and the Media: Political Discourses of Risk and Responsibility in Australia, China and Japan uncovers the dynamics of the triadic relationship among risk, harm and climate change in Australia, China and Japan. By so doing, the book makes an original and timely contribution to understanding comparative media, discourse and political debates on climate change.

This book offers a theoretically informed empirical investigation of national media reporting and political discourse on environmental issues in Australia, China and Japan. It illuminates the risks, harms and responsibilities associated with climate change through an analysis of pollution, adopting an interdisciplinary approach drawing on both the social sciences and humanities. A particular strength of the work is the detailed analysis of the data using a range of both quantitative and qualitative techniques, enabling the authors to reveal in rich and compelling detail the complex relationship between risk and responsibility in the climate change discourse.The case studies of Australia, China and Japan are set in the current literature as well as in the historical context of climate change in these three countries. The analysis of the media discourse on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia demonstrates how the mining of coal for overseas markets has led to devastating harm to the life of the reef. A critical discussion of the Chinese documentary, Under the Dome, shows how this medium has played a crucial role in building awareness of the harm from atmospheric pollution among the citizens, shaping attitudes and promoting action. The first case study of Japan elucidates how cross-border atmospheric pollution from China forges a chain of responsibility for responding to climate change, running from the state to society. The other case study of Japan demonstrates how ‘smart cities’ have emerged as a way to mitigate the risks and harms of climate change. The Conclusion draws together the similarities and differences in how climate change is addressed in the three countries.In all, Environmental Pollution and the Media: Political Discourses of Risk and Responsibility in Australia, China and Japan uncovers the dynamics of the triadic relationship among risk, harm and climate change in Australia, China and Japan. By so doing, the book makes an original and timely contribution to understanding comparative media, discourse and political debates on climate change.

Conflict over issues such as climate change, toxic waste and wilderness provides a key site for examining the shaping and negotiation of public debate. This book offers a new understanding of the relationship between media roles and environmental futures, and of the ways in which news works to influence environmental decision-making across boundaries and over time. Drawing on a range of international examples, Dr Libby Lester invites readers to develop a nuanced understanding of changing media practices and dynamics by connecting local, national and global environmental issues, journalistic practices and news sources, public relations and protests, and the symbolic and strategic circulation of meanings in the public sphere. Media and Environment argues that news maintains a central role in environmental politics. As such, it asks about our understandings of place and community, of local responsibility and global citizenship, and how communication as a society on these crucial issues affects our lives, now and into the future.

Conflict over issues such as climate change, toxic waste and wilderness provides a key site for examining the shaping and negotiation of public debate. This book offers a new understanding of the relationship between media roles and environmental futures, and of the ways in which news works to influence environmental decision-making across boundaries and over time. Drawing on a range of international examples, Dr Libby Lester invites readers to develop a nuanced understanding of changing media practices and dynamics by connecting local, national and global environmental issues, journalistic practices and news sources, public relations and protests, and the symbolic and strategic circulation of meanings in the public sphere. Media and Environment argues that news maintains a central role in environmental politics. As such, it asks about our understandings of place and community, of local responsibility and global citizenship, and how communication as a society on these crucial issues affects our lives, now and into the future.