Sustainable Development—A Poorly Communicated Concept by Mass Media. Another Challenge for SDGs?
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Communicating Sustainable Development
3. Building Sustainability Agendas—Story Telling, Framing
4. Data and Methods
4.1. Selection of Terms for the Media Analysis
4.2. News Media Selected for Analysis
4.3. Data Mining Method
5. Results
6. Discussion and Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
SDG (Goal) | Sustainability-Related Theme | Sustainability Concept | Occurrence (Numbers) | Share of “Framed” Articles |
---|---|---|---|---|
G1 | Extreme poverty | Sustainability | 1623 | 27% |
Sustainable development | 2274 | |||
Sustainable Development Goals | 1963 | |||
Millennium Development Goals | 3087 | |||
Sum of the 4 sustainability concepts | 8497 | |||
Total occurrence (individual occurrence + 4 sustainability concepts) | 31,995 | |||
G2 | Hunger incidence | Sustainability | 9 | 9% |
Sustainable development | 1 | |||
Sustainable Development Goals | 2 | |||
Millennium Development Goals | 12 | |||
Sum of the 4 sustainability concepts | 24 | |||
Total occurrence (individual occurrence + 4 sustainability concepts) | 258 | |||
G3 | Healthy lives | Sustainability | 187 | 14% |
Sustainable development | 425 | |||
Sustainable Development Goals | 490 | |||
Millennium Development Goals | 182 | |||
Sum of the 4 sustainability concepts | 1284 | |||
Total occurrence (individual occurrence + 4 sustainability concepts) | 9250 | |||
G4 | Equitable quality education | Sustainability | 52 | 125% * |
Sustainable development | 296 | |||
Sustainable Development Goals | 274 | |||
Millennium Development Goals | 103 | |||
Sum of the 4 sustainability concepts | 725 | |||
Total occurrence (individual occurrence + 4 sustainability concepts) | 582 | |||
G5 | Gender equality | Sustainability | 2636 | 13% |
Sustainable development | 4176 | |||
Sustainable Development Goals | 3297 | |||
Millennium Development Goals | 2568 | |||
Sum of the 4 sustainability concepts | 12,668 | |||
Total occurrence (individual occurrence + 4 sustainability concepts) | 94,691 | |||
G6 | Water availability | Sustainability | 790 | 10% |
Sustainable development | 446 | |||
Sustainable Development Goals | 109 | |||
Millennium Development Goals | 71 | |||
Sum of the 4 sustainability concepts | 1416 | |||
Total occurrence (individual occurrence + 4 sustainability concepts) | 13,795 | |||
Sanitation availability | Sustainability | 5 | 10% | |
Sustainable development | 1 | |||
Sustainable Development Goals | 2 | |||
Millennium Development Goals | 1 | |||
Sum of the 4 sustainability concepts | 9 | |||
Total occurrence (individual occurrence + 4 sustainability concepts) | 92 | |||
G 7 | Renewable energy | Sustainability | 22,051 | 9% |
Sustainable development | 10,257 | |||
Sustainable Development Goals | 1731 | |||
Millennium Development Goals | 600 | |||
Sum of the 4 sustainability concepts | 34,639 | |||
Total occurrence (individual occurrence + 4 sustainability concepts) | 374,951 | |||
G8 | Sustainable economic growth | Sustainability | 1074 | 19% |
Sustainable development | 1164 | |||
Sustainable Development Goals | 495 | |||
Millennium Development Goals | 235 | |||
Sum of the 4 sustainability concepts | 2968 | |||
Total occurrence (individual occurrence + 4 sustainability concepts) | 15,317 | |||
G9 | Resilient infrastructure | Sustainability | 175 | 53% |
Sustainable development | 287 | |||
Sustainable Development Goals | 276 | |||
Millennium Development Goals | 68 | |||
Sum of the 4 sustainability concepts | 806 | |||
Total occurrence (individual occurrence + 4 sustainability concepts) | 1523 | |||
G10 | Inequality within countries | Sustainability | 10 | 18% |
Sustainable development | 11 | |||
Sustainable Development Goals | 13 | |||
Millennium Development Goals | 9 | |||
Sum of the 4 sustainability concepts | 43 | |||
Total occurrence (individual occurrence + 4 sustainability concepts) | 244 | |||
G11 | Resilient settlements | Sustainability | 1 | 29% |
Sustainable development | 1 | |||
Sustainable Development Goals | 0 | |||
Millennium Development Goals | 0 | |||
Sum of the 4 sustainability concepts | 2 | |||
Total occurrence (individual occurrence + 4 sustainability concepts) | 7 | |||
G12 | Consumption and production patterns | Sustainability | 145 | 157% * |
Sustainable development | 235 | |||
Sustainable Development Goals | 163 | |||
Millennium Development Goals | 77 | |||
Sum of the 4 sustainability concepts | 620 | |||
Total occurrence (individual occurrence + 4 sustainability concepts) | 394 | |||
G13 | Climate Change | Sustainability | 45,238 | 11% |
Sustainable development | 29,189 | |||
Sustainable Development Goals | 8161 | |||
Millennium Development Goals | 4066 | |||
Sum of the 4 sustainability concepts | 86,654 | |||
Total occurrence (individual occurrence + 4 sustainability concepts) | 817,932 | |||
G14 | Ocean protection | Sustainability | 132 | 9% |
Sustainable development | 47 | |||
Sustainable Development Goals | 15 | |||
Millennium Development Goals | 5 | |||
Sum of the 4 sustainability concepts | 199 | |||
Total occurrence (individual occurrence + 4 sustainability concepts) | 2221 | |||
G15 | Biodiversity loss | Sustainability | 521 | 41% |
Sustainable development | 574 | |||
Sustainable Development Goals | 246 | |||
Millennium Development Goals | 122 | |||
Sum of the 4 sustainability concepts | 1463 | |||
Total occurrence (individual occurrence + 4 sustainability concepts) | 3593 | |||
Land degradation | Sustainability | 510 | 45% | |
Sustainable development | 1090 | |||
Sustainable Development Goals | 261 | |||
Millennium Development Goals | 86 | |||
Sum of the 4 sustainability concepts | 1947 | |||
Total occurrence (individual occurrence + 4 sustainability concepts) | 4282 | |||
Ecosystem conservation | Sustainability | 65 | 36% | |
Sustainable development | 61 | |||
Sustainable Development Goals | 10 | |||
Millennium Development Goals | 6 | |||
Sum of the 4 sustainability concepts | 142 | |||
Total occurrence (individual occurrence + 4 sustainability concepts) | 399 | |||
G16 | Peaceful society | Sustainability | 42 | 5% |
Sustainable development | 79 | |||
Sustainable Development Goals | 60 | |||
Millennium Development Goals | 19 | |||
Sum of the 4 sustainability concepts | 200 | |||
Total occurrence (individual occurrence + 4 sustainability concepts) | 3818 | |||
Access to justice | Sustainability | 249 | 5% | |
Sustainable development | 458 | |||
Sustainable Development Goals | 297 | |||
Millennium Development Goals | 165 | |||
Sum of the 4 sustainability concepts | 1169 | |||
Total occurrence (individual occurrence + 4 sustainability concepts) | 23,299 | |||
Accountable institutions | Sustainability | 35 | 44% | |
Sustainable development | 106 | |||
Sustainable Development Goals | 59 | |||
Millennium Development Goals | 50 | |||
Sum of the 4 sustainability concepts | 250 | |||
Total occurrence (individual occurrence + 4 sustainability concepts) | 571 | |||
G17 | Global partnership | Sustainability | 898 | 42% |
Sustainable development | 1015 | |||
Sustainable Development Goals | 683 | |||
Millennium Development Goals | 1001 | |||
Sum of the 4 sustainability concepts | 3597 | |||
Total occurrence (individual occurrence + 4 sustainability concepts) | 8606 |
References
- Brundtland Commission. Our Common Future; Oxford University Press: New York, NY, USA, 1987. [Google Scholar]
- Ward, B.; Dubos, R. Only One Earth. The Care and Maintenance of a Small Planet; Penguin Books Ltd.: Harmondsworth, UK, 1972. [Google Scholar]
- Meadows, D.H.; Meadows, D.L.; Behrens, J.R.W.W., III. The Limits to Growth: A Report to the Club of Rome; Universe Books: New York, NY, USA, 1972. [Google Scholar]
- Schmidheiny, S.; Timberlake, L. Changing Course: A Global Business Perspective on Development and the Environment; MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, USA, 1992; Volume 1. [Google Scholar]
- United Nations. Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. In Resolution Adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015; RES/70/1; United Nations: New York, NY, USA, 2015. [Google Scholar]
- Mohanty, A.K.; Vivekanandhan, S.; Pin, J.-M.; Misra, M. Composites from renewable and sustainable resources: Challenges and innovations. Science 2018, 362, 536–542. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Hák, T.; Janoušková, S.; Moldan, B.; Dahl, A.L. Closing the sustainability gap. Ecol. Indic. 2018, 87, 193–195. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Van Opstal, M.; Hugé, J. Knowledge for sustainable development: A worldviews perspective. Environ. Dev. Sustain. 2013, 15, 687–709. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- United Nations. The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018; United Nations: New York, NY, USA, 2018. [Google Scholar]
- Schmidt, A.; Ivanova, A.; Schäfer, M.S. Media attention for climate change around the world: A comparative analysis of newspaper coverage in 27 countries. Glob. Environ. Chang. 2013, 23, 1233–1248. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Barkemeyer, R.; Figge, F.; Hoepner, A.; Holt, D.; Kraak, J.M.; Yu, P.-S. Media coverage of climate change: An international comparison. Environ. Plan. C Politics Space 2017, 35, 1029–1054. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Holt, D.; Barkemeyer, R. Media coverage of sustainable development issues—Attention cycles or punctuated equilibrium? Sustain. Dev. 2012, 20, 1–17. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- United Nations. A World Charter for Nature; United Nations: New York, NY, USA, 1982. [Google Scholar]
- United Nations. Earth Summit Agenda 21. The United Nations Programme of Action from Rio; United Nations Department of Public Information: New York, NY, USA, 1992. [Google Scholar]
- Goldsmith, E. A Blueprint for Survival; Houghton Mifflin: Boston, MA, USA, 1972. [Google Scholar]
- Kates, R.W.; Clark, W.C.; Corell, R.; Hall, J.M.; Jaeger, C.C.; Lowe, I.; McCarthy, J.J.; Schellnhuber, H.J.; Bolin, B.; Dickson, N.M.; et al. Sustainability science. Science 2001, 292, 641–642. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Bergman, Z.; Bergman, M.M.; Fernandes, K.; Grossrieder, D.; Schneider, L. The contribution of UNESCO chairs toward achieving the UN sustainable development goals. Sustainability 2018, 10, 4471. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Marshall, J.D.; Toffel, M.W. Framing the elusive concept of sustainability: A sustainability hierarchy. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2005, 39, 673–682. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Mebratu, D. Sustainability and sustainable development: Historical and conceptual review. Environ. Impact Assess. Rev. 1998, 18, 493–520. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Sartori, S.; Latrônico, F.; Campos, L.M.S. Sustainability and sustainable development: A taxonomy in the field of literature. Ambiente Soc. 2014, 17, 1. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Lindenfeld, L.A.; Hall, D.M.; McGreavy, B.; Silka, L.; Hart, D. Creating a place for environmental communication research in sustainability science. Environ. Commun. J. Nat. Cult. 2012, 6, 23–43. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Shahzalal, M.; Hassan, A. Communicating sustainability: Using community media to influence rural people’s intention to adopt sustainable behaviour. Sustainability 2019, 11, 812. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Godemann, J.; Michelsen, G. Sustainability communication—An introduction. In Sustainability Communication; Springer: Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 2011; pp. 3–11. [Google Scholar]
- Coyle, K. Environmental Literacy in America: What Ten Years of NEETF/Roper Research and Related Studies Say about Environmental Literacy in the US; National Environmental Education & Training Foundation: Washington, DC, USA, 2005. [Google Scholar]
- Scheufele, D.A. Science communication as political communication. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2014, 111 (Suppl. 4), 13585–13592. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Anderson, A. Reflections on environmental communication and the challenges of a new research agenda. Environ. Commun. 2015, 9, 379–383. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Boykoff, M.T.; Boykoff, J.M. Climate change and journalistic norms: A case-study of US mass-media coverage. Geoforum 2007, 38, 1190–1204. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- McCombs, M.E. Setting the Agenda: Mass Media and Public Opinion, 2nd ed.; Polity Press: Cambridge, UK; Malden, MA, USA, 2014. [Google Scholar]
- Dearing, J.; Rogers, E. Communication Concepts 6: Agenda-Setting; SAGE Publications, Inc.: Thousand Oaks, CA, USA, 1996. [Google Scholar]
- Boykoff, M.T. Cultural politics of climate change: Interactions in everyday spaces. In The Politics of Climate Change; Routledge: London, UK, 2010; pp. 156–174. [Google Scholar]
- Golan, G.J. Inter-media agenda setting and global news coverage: Assessing the influence of the New York Times on three network television evening news programs. J. Stud. 2006, 7, 323–333. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Reese, S.D.; Danielian, L.H. Intermedia influence and the drug issue. In Communication Campaigns about Drugs: Government, Media, and the Public; Shoemaker, P.J., Ed.; Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: New York, NY, USA, 1989; pp. 29–46. [Google Scholar]
- Cohen, B.C. The Press and Foreign Policy; University of California: Berkeley, CA, USA, 1963. [Google Scholar]
- Hedlund-de Witt, A. Rethinking sustainable development: Considering how different worldviews envision development and quality of life. Sustainability 2014, 6, 8310–8328. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Fien, J.; Tilbury, D. The global challenge of sustainability. In Education and Sustainability: Responding to the Global Challenge; Tilbury, D.S., Schreuder, D., Eds.; World Conservation Union: Gland, Switzerland; Cambridge, UK, 2002; pp. 1–12. [Google Scholar]
- McComas, K.; Shanahan, J. Telling stories about global climate change: Measuring the impact of narratives on issue cycles. Commun. Res. 1999, 26, 30–57. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Barkemeyer, R.; Givry, P.; Figge, F. Trends and patterns in sustainability-related media coverage: A classification of issue-level attention. Environ. Plan. C Politics Space 2018, 36, 937–962. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Kolandai-Matchett, K. Mediated communication of ‘sustainable consumption’ in the alternative media: A case study exploring a message framing strategy. Int. J. Consum. Stud. 2009, 33, 113–125. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Niemeijer, D.; de Groot, R.S. Framing environmental indicators: Moving from causal chains to causal networks. Environ. Dev. Sustain. 2008, 10, 89–106. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Carragee, K.M.; Roefs, W. The neglect of power in recent framing research. J. Commun. 2004, 54, 214–233. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Naisbitt, J. The Trend Report: A Quarterly Forecast and Evaluation of Business and Social Development; Center for Policy Process: Washington, DC, USA, 1976. [Google Scholar]
- Costanza, R.; Patten, B.C. Defining and predicting sustainability. Ecol. Econ. 1995, 15, 193–196. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Hopwood, B.; Mellor, M.; O’Brien, G. Sustainable development: Mapping different approaches. Sustain. Dev. 2005, 13, 38–52. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Glavič, P.; Lukman, R. Review of sustainability terms and their definitions. J. Clean. Prod. 2007, 15, 1875–1885. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Griggs, D.; Stafford-Smith, M.; Gaffney, O.; Rockström, J.; Öhman, M.C.; Shyamsundar, P.; Steffen, W.; Glaser, G.; Kanie, N.; Noble, I. Policy: Sustainable development goals for people and planet. Nature 2013, 495, 305–307. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Liu, X.; Lindquist, E.; Vedlitz, A. Explaining media and congressional attention to global climate change, 1969–2005: An empirical test of agenda-setting theory. Political Res. Q. 2011, 64, 405–419. [Google Scholar]
- Morse, S. Harnessing the power of the press with three indices of sustainable development. Ecol. Indic. 2011, 11, 1681–1688. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Morse, S. Measuring the success of sustainable development indices in terms of reporting by the global press. Soc. Indic. Res. 2016, 125, 359–375. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Jones, D. Factiva. Available online: http://www.factiva.com (accessed on 12 April 2019).
- Schäfer, M.S.; Scheffran, J.; Penniket, L. Securitization of media reporting on climate change? A cross-national analysis in nine countries. Secur. Dialogue 2016, 47, 76–96. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Jones, D. Search Builder Quick Reference Guide. Available online: http://factiva.com/en/cp/collateral/files/Factiva-Free-Text-Search-Builder-QRG.pdf (accessed on 12 April 2019).
- Servaes, J.; Polk, E.; Shi, S.; Reilly, D.; Yakupitijage, T. Towards a framework of sustainability indicators for ‘communication for development and social change’ projects. Int. Commun. Gaz. 2012, 74, 99–123. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Adomßent, M.; Godemann, J. Sustainability communication: An integrative approach. In Sustainability Communication; Springer: Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 2011; pp. 27–37. [Google Scholar]
- Legagneux, P.; Casajus, N.; Cazelles, K.; Chevallier, C.; Chevrinais, M.; Guéry, L.; Jacquet, C.; Jaffré, M.; Naud, M.-J.; Noisette, F.; et al. Our house is burning: Discrepancy in climate change vs. biodiversity coverage in the media as compared to scientific literature. Front. Ecol. Evol. 2018, 5, 175. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- United Nations. SDG 6—Synthesis Report 2018 on Water and Sanitation; UN-Water: Geneva, Switzerland, 2018. [Google Scholar]
SDG 1 | End Poverty in All Its Forms Everywhere | |
---|---|---|
SD theme | Extreme poverty | Theme agreed on by all experts |
Keyword | Extreme poverty | Keyword agreed on by all experts |
Final keyword | Extreme poverty |
SDG 7 | Ensure Access to Affordable, Reliable, Sustainable and Modern Energy | |
---|---|---|
SD theme | New clean types of energy | Theme agreed on by all experts |
Keywords first selection | Modern energy vs. Renewable energy vs. Clean energy | Keyword not agreed on by all experts |
Media analysis of all three keywords identifies the most commonly used term | ||
Final keyword | Renewable energy |
SDG 15 | Sustainably Manage Forests, Combat Desertification, Halt and Reverse Land Degradation, Halt Biodiversity Loss | |
---|---|---|
SD theme | Land degradation vs. Ecosystem conservation vs. Biodiversity loss | One theme not agreed on by all experts |
Land degradation, Ecosystem conservation, Biodiversity loss | All three themes assessed as equally important by all experts—all themes chosen for the media analysis | |
Keywords | Key words agreed on by all experts | |
Final keywords | Land degradation, Ecosystem conservation, Biodiversity loss |
SDG 6 | Ensure Availability and Sustainable Management of Water and Sanitation for All | |
---|---|---|
SD theme | Sustainable management of water vs. Sustainable management sanitation | One theme not agreed on by all experts |
Both themes assessed as equally important by experts—all chosen for media analysis | ||
Keywords | Water availability vs. water accessibility; Sanitation availability vs. sanitation accessibility | Keywords not agreed on by all experts |
Media analysis of all four keywords identifies the mostly used terms | ||
Final keywords | Water availability; Sanitation availability |
© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Janoušková, S.; Hák, T.; Nečas, V.; Moldan, B. Sustainable Development—A Poorly Communicated Concept by Mass Media. Another Challenge for SDGs? Sustainability 2019, 11, 3181. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113181
Janoušková S, Hák T, Nečas V, Moldan B. Sustainable Development—A Poorly Communicated Concept by Mass Media. Another Challenge for SDGs? Sustainability. 2019; 11(11):3181. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113181
Chicago/Turabian StyleJanoušková, Svatava, Tomáš Hák, Vlastimil Nečas, and Bedřich Moldan. 2019. "Sustainable Development—A Poorly Communicated Concept by Mass Media. Another Challenge for SDGs?" Sustainability 11, no. 11: 3181. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113181