Environmental Problems through the Spanish Press: Methodological issues and preliminary results

1. 17th Conference IAPS-2002 Environmental Problemsthrough the Spanish Press:Methodological issues and preliminary results B.Cortés*, MªAmérigo*, J.I.Aragonés# y V.Sevillano# * Dpto. Psicología. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha # Fac. Psicología. Universidad Complutense de Madrid

2. Outline Theoretical background The Qualitative Study Design Preliminary Results New direction of this qualitative inquiry

3. Psychology has an indispensable role in understanding environmental problems and finding solutions... But causes and solutions are varied. They do not lie only in psychological variables; they also lie in external forces operating on classes of individuals or on social systems. (Stern, 2000) Theoretical Background

4. Vitally important for understanding environmental beliefs and values are socialization and social learning.(Zelezny, Chua y Aldrich, 2000) “Consciousness raising” is stimulated and reinforced by societal institutions; it is a necessary ingredient in social learning. (Milbrath, 1986) • Integratives theoretical models of environmental concern presume that value orientations underlie environmental attitudes and behaviour. (Stern, Dietz y Kalof, 1993; Thompson y Barton, 1994)

5. Mass media are powerful socialization agents and create a symbolic universe in which transmitters and recipients are inmersed as members of a society in a concrete context. • They are an excellent way in which to discover how a body of knowledge (e.g. environmental problems) becomes socially accepted as ”reality”. • A substantial part of our experience comes indirectly, through various forms of media exposure. If media reporting is biased, then much of our experience will be biased, too.(Combs and Slovic, 1979; Bonnes et al. 1997)

6. The Qualitative Study Design Primary research questions: • What environmental problems receive newspaper coverage in Spain? • From what perspective are they presented? • How is said perspective expressed in the chosen texts?

7. We presume that: • Newspaper coverage offers social frames • of reference which can reduce or amplify particular environmental problems; • Events occurring on a daily basis condition their presence and/or persistence in newspaper coverage. Method Three national newspapers were selected: ABC, EL MUNDO, EL PAÍS. Different ideological orientation Same period of time

8. Calendar for scheduling sampling dates 53 dates for each journal Total = 159 issues Predefined conditions: “Substantive issues” included as environmental problems in relevant international research. News items where the headlines, subheadings, inserts or highlighted texts (bold face, italics, or larger typographical lettering) correspond to any of the predefined subjects. Editorials, letters to the editor, and articles of opinion where a diagonal reading reveals any of these subjects. Sampling Frame • Exclusion Criteria • Articles related to production or judicial conflicts about agriculture or cattle • Advertising and comic strips • News related to historical-artistic heritage • Suplements from Autonomous Comunities

9. Further Sampling Decisions Based on consideration of the evolution of environmental conceptualization: going from a traditional definition in natural terms to one where there is an interdependence between the social, cultural, and economic dimensions (related to the development model). Check-sampling by independent researchers: aids definitional clarity and is a reliability check. As soon as the field work begins to compile information, challenges appear • Inclusion of articles related to: • Accidents & disasters • Demografic trends • Warlike conflicts • New technologies • AIDS, tobacco • Poverty, globalization, human rights IF there was EXPLICIT RELATION with ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

10. Codes and coding Database design: date-newspaper-page-headline-keyword indicating thematic content (possible bias) Total = 1765 News ítems 168 Keywords 1º Filter: Elimination of differences due to typographical errors Elimination of keywords with less than 5 mentions Thematic grouping; e.g. Pollution  contamination Natural catastrophes natural disasters Woodlands, protected forests & virgin forests 48 Keywords 1536 of the total nº of articles (87%) Early Steps in Analysis

12. Preliminary Results Fr = 48% Particular persistence in newspaper coverage • Analysis of the 5 most frequently used keywords Frecuency Analysis

13. New codes (straightforward category label) = more than 50 mentions Frecuency

14. genetic research-land speculation electrical failure Lexical Analysis: The global Structure (SPAD) floods WTO EL PAÍS nuclear energy Development- Welfare State NHPlan nuclear arms-hurricane- stormy weather ABC EL MUNDO dangerous combustion toxic emissions storm natural disasters greens wind- animals single sky AIDS-conservation of nature-tobacco

15. conservation of nature- animals- natural disasters 1999 Comparativelexicalanalysis: 1999 & 2001 tobacco EL MUNDO nuclear energy nuclear energy poverty AIDS genetic research EL PAÍS floods mad cows foot & mouth disease NHP radiations fox hunting wind- renewable energy-greens land speculation WTO WTO WTO envir-defense EL MUNDO rain EL PAÍS dangerous combustion electrical failure Toxic wasre earthquake ABC single sky nuclear weapons depletion of species depletion of species 2001 population inequality forest-toxic products volcano forest- volcano development hurricane- pardoning of debt pardoning of debt ABC Storm-toxic emissions- Welfare State

16. New Direction of This Qualitative Inquiry • Analytic progression: moving to identify discourse trends. • Deductive or “conceptual” strategy: Consideration of three forms of denial related to environmental conflicts or “symptoms of moral exclusion” (Opotow & Weiss, 2000). • denial of outcome severity, • denial of stakeholders inclusion, and • denial of self-involvement. Ethical orientation underlying environmental problems + Heuristic value in the analysis of environmental problems as socially constructed

18. ABC = 4 • EL MUNDO= 8 • EL PAÍS = 8 EXAMPLE: • Analysis of database: headlines from the three newspapers • 1st. date in December ´99 (2-12-99) • Comparison of the headlines grouped under WTO • ABC.Mentions Clinton twice and gives a leading role to the WTO (as it receives its “baptism of fire”) • El MUNDO.Mentions Clinton once “he offers zero tariffs to the poorer countries and dialogue to the demonstrators”. Next headline: “The ridiculous protests before the WTO”. • Memo:“Condescension”& “Normalization of violence”? (Opotow y Weiss, 2000) • El PAÍS.+stakeholders:the Vatican (which “accuses the “powers” of indifference”), the demonstrators (as protagonists who “sharpen their irony”)… • ABC & EL MUNDO:“Denial of stakeholder inclusion”?

19. NaturalResources : “As far as the environment is concerned, the demonstrators hold the World Trade Organization responsible for the fact that the poor countries have to continue pillaging their natural resources to survive…” “Demonstrators sharpen their irony”. Messages of protest on the banners : “The turtles say no to the WTO” “The butterflies say no to the WTO” “The dolphins say no to the WTO”… “The ecological family is opposed to the WTO”… EL PAÍS 2-12-99 Editorial: People and Commerce. • “the civilian society has invaded Seattle… it is not something which interests or concerns solely businessmen or politicians, but a great number of people, as Clinton himself has been forced to recognise due to the pressure of these events.”