Complex Problems and Media Norms: Understanding Coastal Development and Ecological Impacts in Florida Through Discourse Analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACT Media analysis has been applied to the complex challenges of development and urban sprawl, but to date no study examines how coastal development is understood in relation to critical marine and estuarine ecosystems. As anthropogenic pressures increasingly reshape coastal ecosystems, efforts to understand how problems and solutions are framed in public discourse are timely and valuable. We present a case study of media coverage and framing of development and the environment in Florida, USA, where coastal development and attendant consequences have been emergent for decades (n = 645). Findings explore how drivers of environmental change and the effects of environmental changes are discussed, what potential solutions are considered, and how actors and trade-offs are characterized. We identify two parallel but discrete narratives: one offering disjointed episodic coverage of particular development projects, and one providing larger-scale contextualized discussion of development and the environment more broadly. We discuss the implications for policy and collective action of the disconnect between these two narratives.