American daily newspapers and the environment: attitudes of editors, 1977 and 1992

Abstract

This study examines changing environmental values in the nation's press. It compares the attitudes of newspaper editors circa 1977 with those in 1992, a time span that saw the passing of the Age of Abundance and the coming of the Age of Scarcity. Attitudinal change over time, the role of the media, the nature of its coverage, and perceived causes of and solutions to the environmental predicament are explored. While a number of interesting comparisons are drawn over the 15 year period, the findings reveal that editors continue to see the ecological crisis as real, but that perception does not substantially change the low priority given to environmental stories, affect editorial positions and advertising policies, or deal with various problems in reporting environmental news.