Thesis
Organizations, media & power in a multi-stakeholder conflict: the Colorado roadless rule
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
2010
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/103590
Abstract
In this paper I use two complementary frameworks to study discourse and the public sphere in environmental decision-making. I use a case study of the Colorado Roadless Rule to explore public participation processes and media coverage of federal environmental conflicts. In the first analysis, I argue for a re-examination of the conceptual "public" in federal environmental public participation processes; to place an emphasis on the evolving role of organizations, rather than individuals, in environmental decision- making. I examine how the underlying structures of public participation processes (re)produce power disparities between organizations and unaffiliated citizens. In the second analysis, I turn to an examination of media discourse. I performed a quantitative content analysis of one year's worth of news coverage surrounding the Colorado Roadless Rule to build upon scholars' previous findings that journalist routinely rely on government and elite sources when covering environmental issues. Findings highlight an evolving reliance not only on government figures, but environmental organizations as sources for information, and inequitable amounts of coverage given to different stakeholders. Through this analysis of public spheres and stakeholder engagement it becomes clear how critical it is to examine discourse and its relationship to the material environment. It is evident in both analyses that the public is being defined only as "organized publics" and unaffiliated citizens have limited access to deep engagement with issues of public land management. I hope these analyses offer a trajectory for scholarship that leads to more collaborative engagement with all stakeholders involved in environmental policy issues.
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Details
- Title
- Organizations, media & power in a multi-stakeholder conflict
- Creators
- Hollie M. Smith
- Contributors
- Todd Norton (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Edward R. Murrow College of Communication
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; Pullman, Wash. :
- Identifiers
- 99900525046401842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis