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Abstract
This paper attempts to highlight the role that Media has played in setting perceptions and
creating awareness on environmental issues. In the past decades, sustainability and
environmental awareness have gained media attention. Due to increasing media coverage, our
society is becoming more aware of the effects that our activities put on the health of the
environment. In this regard the media has a big role to play in making people aware of
environment issues. It is the position of the paper that the media has always covered social and
environmental issues thus it is the most revolutionary device for spreading consciousness
towards environment protection. The paper suggests enough space be devoted in the media to
topics of the environment. When it is, there is a tendency to approach environmental issues from
an alarmist perspective rather than a scientific one. In order for the media to be more sensitive to
the subject of the environment, journalists specialized in environmental issues need to be trained.
The states should work with voluntary environmental organizations in the areas of training and
awareness-raising and promotion activities, and they should use the resources of the mass media
to do so.
Key word: Environment, Environmental issues, Mass Media, Challenges, awareness, journalists.
.
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Introduction
Environment is fundamental for all living things. The Air, water, soil and food quality is
deteriorating day by day, especially in the developing countries, (Aminrad, et al 2013; Sharma,
2012). Both developing and developed countries are facing serious environmental problems.
While some of the problems might be alike due to their global nature (e.g. global warming,
depletion of the ozone layer), others are specifically local ones. Unless the environment is
protected, the existence of life on the planet Earth would eventually be impossible.
Scientist from all over the world point out that environmental issue has serious consequences on
human health. (Hill, 2012; Jarup & Åkesson, 2009;). It is widely recognized that chemical,
physical and biological hazards in the environment may lead to serious health problems.
Environmental pollution has primary confluence in the rise of many types of cancer, respiratory,
Notwithstanding the aforementioned, research (Barr, 2003; Chun et al, 2012; Shivakumar, 2012)
has shown that still a great number of either businesses and citizens are unaware of the
seriousness of the environmental problems and do little or nothing to save the planet. As Louv
(2008) highlights, people and especially children, are alienating more and more from the nature,
mainly due to the lack of safeness in the modern society and the extended use of technology.
According to the author, this alienation leads to a “problematic stewardship” towards nature.
Scientists maintain that, current situation can be changed if people’s environmental awareness is
raised (Lahiri, 2011; La et al, 2000; Yarkandi & Yarkandi, 2012). Environmental awareness
according to Matthies and Schahn (2004) is defined as “a purely cognitive construct, indicating
whether someone is aware of the endangered environment”. Environmental awareness may also
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be defined as the act of helping social groups and individual to gain a variety of experiences, to
Attempts have been made since then to inform and sensitize people and governments about
environmental pollution and other environmental challenges. The core idea of these attempts
was, and still is, that the more people are aware of the environmental problems and the correlated
health risks, the more their motivation to overturn the situation and act with caution towards the
environment.
environmental education creates greater awareness in individuals and communities with respect
to putting environmental resources to use even while conserving them. On the other hand, greater
subject with real understanding of its deeper cause and implications. This demonstrates that
environmental awareness has a great effect on environmental stewardship attitudes and it has an
awareness is its contributions to public support for government action in environmental policy
and management. The main tool for creating such awareness at macro level is by far, the media.
The media, and especially the digital ones, can and should contribute towards this direction as
according to Hansen (2011), people have most of their knowledge regarding the environment
through the media. The power of media lays on the fact that they are widespread and shape, or
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even wield public opinion. As Sharma (2012) soundly states, “there is no doubt that the media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media tools and technologies including the traditional media
(performing arts, folk theatre and poetry), print media (newspapers, magazines and books),
electronic media (radio, television and cinema) and new media (internet and multi-media) which
are used as means of mass communication. Mass media play a significant role in shaping public
perceptions on important social, political, economic and environmental issues, both through the
information that is dispensed through them, and through the interpretations they place upon this
information. Mass communication does not exist for a single purpose. With its evolution, more
and more uses have developed and the role it plays in our lives has increased greatly. The
electronic media and the print media are the major mediums of spreading information about
environment among the populace—educating them about environmental concerns and ways to
address these. News, features, talk shows and discussions on television and radio are increasingly
focusing on environmental themes of today. In this modern knowledge-society, media plays the
Print media, which is still influential media, can play a big role in environmental protection.
Radio is cheap and easily accessible medium. Its signals cover almost the whole country.
There is a growing population of the young that are ardent users of new media (Social Media and
Internet) platforms. With Facebook or Twitter, youths today are very much connected with each
other and other global/local issues can be shared through the internet. Social media platforms are
also utilized by industry and government agencies as a preferred tool of communication with the
general public.
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The print, broadcast, and Internet media can be a powerful ally in educating the public on
environmental matters. In order to perform this role effectively, it is often necessary for the
Government to work with the media (and sometimes educate the media). This is often done
Media has a big role to play in making people aware of environment issues and taking actions to
Environmental problems are among the challenges facing mankind globally. The mass media as
the fourth estate of the realm is socially responsible. Regarding the issue of environment
awareness, media plays a vital role in spreading the true message. Along with bringing it into the
hub of debates and discussions, it tries to suggest alternatives to people and policy-makers. First
of all, the mere awareness also creates a genuine interest to probe into the exact matter. Thus,
environment awareness is one of the important issues which media presents consciously and
effectively to say a few things to the people. The awareness on environment has shown
multiplicity of results in the form different issues of livelihood rights, of displacement and
rehabilitation, of sustainability, of pollution led damages and its control etc. Thus, the all
pervading media has really raised the awareness on environment among people.
Surveillance: Surveillance refers to the news and information role of the media. The first
function of mass communication is to serve as the eyes and ears for those seeking information
about the world. The internet, television, radio and newspapers are the main sources for finding
out what is going on around us. Society relies on mass communication for news and information
The surveillance function can be divided further into two main types
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Warning or Beware surveillance: These occur when the media inform us about threats from
military attack. There is however much information that is not particularly threatening to
useful and helpful in everyday life. News about the weather is an example of instrumental
surveillance. News apps have made mass communication surveillance instantly accessible by
Interpretation: The mass media do not supply just facts and data. They also provide information
on the ultimate meaning and significance of events. Articles that analyze the causes of an event
or that discuss the implications of government policy are also examples of the interpretation
function. Interpretation can take various forms. It could be editorials, Editorial cartoons ,
commentaries etc.
Linkage: The mass media are able to join different elements of society that are not directly
connected. For example, mass media attempts to link the dangers of air pollution as a result of
the mass media. It has also been called the socialization function. Socialization refers to the
ways an individual comes to adopt the behavior and values of a group. The mass media portray
our society and by watching, listening, and reading, we learn how people are supposed to act
Correlation: Correlation according to Innocent et al, (2018) refers to the ways in which the
media explain events and issues and ascribe meanings that help individuals understand their roles
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in the larger society. Correlation addresses how the media presents facts that we use to move
Entertainment: Media outlets keep us up to date on the daily comings and goings of our favorite
celebrities. We use technology to watch sports, go to the movies, play video games, watch
YouTube videos, and listen to iPods on a daily basis. Most mass communication simultaneously
entertains and informs. People often turn to media during our leisure time to provide an escape
from boredom and relief from the predictability of our everyday lives. We rely on media to take
us places we could not afford to go or imagine, acquaints us with bits of culture, and make us
laugh, think or cry. Entertainment can have the secondary effect of providing companionship
and/or catharsis through the media we consume. The media can entertain and at the same time
inform people on environmental issues. Nnamdi (2018) opined that for a journalist to be
successful in communication, his article should convey the information, education and
Transmission: Mass media is a vehicle to transmit cultural norms, values, rules, and habits.
Consider how you learned about what is fashionable in clothes or music. Mass media plays a
significant role in the socialization process. We look for role models to display appropriate
cultural norms, but all too often, not recognizing their inappropriate or stereotypical behavior.
Mainstream society starts shopping, dressing, smelling, walking, and talking like the person in
the music video, commercial, or movies. Have you ever bought a pair of shoes or changed your
hairstyle because of something you encountered in the media? Obviously, culture, age, type of
media, and other cultural variables factor into how mass communication influences how we learn
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Mobilization: Mass communication functions to mobilize people during times of crisis
(McQuail, 1994). Think back to the bomb that rocked Lagos state on January 27, 2002.
Regardless of your association to the incident, Nigerians felt the impact as a nation and people
followed the news. With instant access to media and information, we can collectively witness the
same events taking place in real time somewhere else, thus mobilizing a large population of
people around a particular event. It is obvious that the mass media can be used effectively and
efficiently to help people learn about their environment and how best to protect the environment.
The environmental emergency that we are facing, needs to be addressed and analyzed “within a
social frame of reference” (Arlt et al., 2011). Media seem to be an interesting approach towards
such direction. The great potential of the media in regards to the provision of information, the
construction of knowledge and the cultivation of skills and attitudes, has been proved
scientifically over the years (Prathap & Ponnusamy, 2006; Suoranta, 2003; Tisdell &
Thompson, 2007).
As far as the environmental issues are concerned, media either as a risk communicator, or as a
promoter of data, information and good practices of any kind, should smooth the progress of
(Sharma, 2012; Arlt et al., 2011). Additionally, media (electronic or printed) could help people
associate reasons and effects, thus to get informed and to reflect upon the given information, in
order to understand the origins and the causes of the major environmental problems (Forno,
multidimensional task (Arlt et al., 2011; Hansen, 2011). To achieve this, different kind of
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information and ways of presentation should be exploited (Miranda & Blanco, 2010). Moreover,
as Kapoor (2011) highlights, there is a need to use low cost and environmentally friendly
accomplished by the use of digital media, and especially the Internet. Firstly, the blending of text
and multimedia contributes to the presentation and decoding of complicated situations and
events, and secondly, the proper choice of internet-based approach could be low cost and
“green”.
Some of Internet usages to raise the environmental awareness are the following:
be a difficult endeavor. The power of pictures and videos to illustrate, captivate or shock is
undoubtedly, as according to Ottino (2003), “seeing and representing are inextricably linked to
understanding”. Via the Internet, people have an instant, cost free and unlimited access to a great
Blogs, Forums and educational portals: such websites on the one hand give access to a
vast amount of information regarding the environment and its protection and on the other hand,
provide a virtual space of communication and exchanging of information and ideas without any
Certainly the role of the media in the effort of awakeness for environmental issues should be
addressed by placing critical and skeptical to the extent that a significant portion of the media is
the role of media and their democratic functioning, particularly if the element of
commercialization is mediated in the media products. For this reason it is useful to enhance the
education movement in the media, which in the theoretical and political field works for the
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establishment of a critical reader / viewer and beyond that for the transition of passive recipient
to an active effector who is involved as a player in the process of communication. Key demand
of the movement is to coordinate the various efforts that occur on the side of the state, civil
society, teachers, and their families towards a broad pedagogical use of new information
geared to protect the environment and not the commercialization of environmental problems.
Conclusions
The modern way of living is aggravating the planet. The vast use of carbon and chemicals, the
extended deforestations and the large-scale of agriculture, farming and fishing are deteriorating
the soil, air and water quality. Notwithstanding climate change and environmental pollution
remains for decades a prime subject of International agendas, research indicates that little is done
regarding the communication of such scientific results and their impact on ecology and health
The literature findings indicate that media, and especially digital ones, play an important role in
the enhancement of environmental awareness and the establishment of a more ecological friendly
way of living. In fact, they constitute a flexible environment in order to decompose and explain a
complex issue, as an ecological disaster, via different types of information, cartoons, features,
technologies that assist individuals in monitoring their resource use. The priority of state
environmental policies should be on education and this can be achieved with the help and use of
the mass media. Since digital media are used widely by young people, it’s easier for them to
share environmental issues. Increased training and education of journalists and experts, as well
as increased interest and awareness is important for the public. The media should be used more
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effectively in environmental education and opportunities for increased media involvement.
programs in the media should be prepared. Environmental issues need to be placed on the social
agenda, public awareness has to be raised, and environmental education needs to be provided to
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