Celebrations & Considerations
Text and picture: Ian Michler. Article from the May 2013 issue of Africa Geographic Magazine.
As Africa Geographic marks 20 years of reporting on environmental and conservation issues throughout Africa, Ian Michler challenges the broader media to pay more attention to crises in the natural world and to overcome the general public’s apathy to these crises.
This months’s issue of Africa Geographic is an auspicious one – it celebrates the magazine’s 20th anniversary, and what a proud record that is. Congratulations and praise must go to Peter Borchert, Sarah Borchert and the staff, both past and present, for their vision of excellence and their commitment to conservation, the environment and the ecotourism industry. They have consistently produced a publication that is relevant and highly regarded.
Achieving a milestone such as this deserves taking time to reflect on the successes. It also presents an opportunity to consider the future, especially the role and effectiveness of the wider press when it comes to tackling environmental topics.
Today we can safely say that the various environmental crises that exist present some of the greatest challenges – if not the greatest – that face humanity. There is no longer any doubt that climate change, the over-utilisation of resources and the way we dispose of waste, all exacerbated by growing population levels, are factors that threaten the viability of life on this planet, including our own.
Yet despite this, and the urgency of action that is required, media coverage of these and related issues remains relatively low and in some instances is even nonexistent. Flip through the pages of any daily newspaper and you’ll see that it is filled with political commentary, intrigue and scandal, crime, entertainment gossip, sport and puzzles. To a degree this is understandable, but the lack of treatment of environmental issues is not – in fact, it’s simply illogical. And the great irony here is that coverage is generally lowest where the threats and devastation loom largest. Nor is the denial limited to the developing world; only two months ago, the New York Times, one of the world’s most respected publications, closed down its environment reporting desk and blog site.
Yes, it is true that a greater body of information exists today than there was two or three decades ago, and much of this is due to the press. But this leads into a further challenge: even when the facts are laid out, they nonetheless seem unable to persuade humanity to translate awareness into fundamental change – the vast majority of us have yet to alter the way we live. In the high-income countries, building ever-larger corporate empires remains the focus, as does a lifestyle based on voracious consumerism; in the low-income and poverty-stricken regions of the world, populations continue to boom. In both cases, the pace of environmental degradation increases.
The challenge for [environmental] | journalists is to be more resourceful and imaginative, which includes being able to make a connection between the reader and the context
Making sense of this is all the more complex as a combination of factors is involved. Editors and journalists, together with the corporate vested interests that control the press, must take some of the blame. Far too many journals avoid the significant issues while remaining focused on producing a succession of content that can only be described as trivial, a route that inevitably reduces life and the concerns of the wider world into a meaningless morass of distortion and ignorance. Furthermore, journalists often do a topic no favours by misrepresenting the reality of the situation, while those with a controlling stake in media empires dictate content to suit political and commercial gains. A more responsible and appropriate approach to subject matter, style and discourse from all these stakeholders is imperative.
As for the media coverage of environmental issues being ineffective, this is due in part to how those issues are reported. Many require complicated scientific explanation and if they are presented in a dry and rambling fashion, readers will almost certainly flip the page. The challenge for journalists is to be more resourceful and imaginative, which includes being able to make a connection between the reader and the context and asking serious questions about the values that underpin our attitudes and behaviour. If they can do this, readers are more likely to be spurred into action. Increasing use of the Internet and social media will in all likelihood play a growing role, as they are the upcoming generation’s preferred format and it is these young people who will be the catalysts for significant change.
Despite the best efforts of journalists, some people will still maintain that the environmental mess we’re in is simply too frightening and they prefer to not know about it. But living in denial is nonsensical and irresponsible, and will not turn the tide.
Finally, the general apathy towards critical environmental issues is also due in part to the lack of education in schools, colleges and universities. If environmental studies were introduced at the earliest possible level and made compulsory right through school, people would better understand the need for responsible discourse.
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