Media, Journalism and Environmental Resilience

A special issue of Journalism and Media (ISSN 2673-5172).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 3186

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Media Studies and Production, Klein College of Media and Communication, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA
Interests: global media; media and the environment; documentary media; media and social justice; ethnographic method; Latin American media and cultural theory
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Even as the qualitative nature of Earth’s biosphere continues to be degraded by anthropogenic climate change, the world remains stuck in practices and modes of thinking tied to continual growth and the commodification of nature. Not only do these reflect geopolitical realignments—such as those led by China and India, which are redrafting the distribution of material resources through new narratives of modernity and development that further consolidate resources in the hands of the global power elite—but they also extend long histories of environmental injustice, accelerate biodiversity loss, and deepen the climate crisis.

Working against the grain of this political landscape of growth and commodification, this Special Issue calls for work that examines the role media and journalism in shaping more productive and sustainable visions of ecological stewardship. Its main focus is on how media and journalism, as tools and practices, are being used to advance ecological reflexivity, engender environmental resilience, and/or articulate new ways of conceptualizing our relationship with the earth. Submissions of scholarship that engage with how media and communication have been strategically employed for environmental activism, community coalition building, mobilizing resistance, and establishing presence in the face of colonial paradigms are especially encouraged. Contributions may take the form of original research articles or reviews of the field.

We invite submissions from journalism, media, and communication studies, as well as related disciplines that examine­—but are not limited to—the following topics:

  • Communication and environmental conflict in the commons;
  • Horizontal communication and environmental governance;
  • Citizens’ media and environmental justice;
  • Indigenous communication and environmental stewardship;
  • Eco-centric journalism;
  • Popular communication, resilience, and environmental transition;
  • Communication and the more-than-human world;
  • Youth activism and resistance.

Prof. Dr. Patrick D. Murphy
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journalism and Media is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Anthropocene
  • climate justice
  • environmentalism
  • sustainability
  • global media
  • coloniality
  • ecofeminism
  • degrowth
  • postdevelopment
  • posthumanism
  • transition

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

35 pages, 1316 KB  
Article
The Rhetoric of Energy Transition Coverage: Analyzing Lexical Patterns and Rhetorical Strategies as Framing Tools in News Discourse of English-Language Mainstream Media
by Ekaterina Veselinovna Teneva
Journal. Media 2026, 7(2), 95; https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia7020095 - 1 May 2026
Viewed by 623
Abstract
The 2021–2024 global energy crisis intensified the energy transition, with mainstream media coverage playing a pivotal role in shaping public perceptions. Guided by Burke’s and Lippmann’s theories, and supported by corpus-based critical and rhetorical discourse analyses, this interdisciplinary study aimed to analyze the [...] Read more.
The 2021–2024 global energy crisis intensified the energy transition, with mainstream media coverage playing a pivotal role in shaping public perceptions. Guided by Burke’s and Lippmann’s theories, and supported by corpus-based critical and rhetorical discourse analyses, this interdisciplinary study aimed to analyze the role of lexical patterns and rhetorical strategies in framing the transition within a corpus of 1341 news articles retrieved from the websites of five English-language mainstream media outlets. Corpus-based analysis identified generic frames, including economic consequences, responsibility, conflict, technological, emotion, and moral duty frames. Rhetorical discourse analysis revealed specific frames, including economic opportunities, technological progress and challenges, energy security and independence, global leadership, energy partnerships, partisan divide, global disparities, corporate greenwashing, necessity, hope, and uncertainty frames, that indicated an ambivalence in the framing of the transition, thereby contributing to the polarization and manipulation of public opinion. The findings indicated a discrepancy: while British, American, and Brazilian media focused more on political divides, Indian and Chinese media emphasized energy partnerships and patriotism. Appeals to experts were less frequent, whereas appeals to emotions were often employed to shape public perceptions. The findings illustrate how lexical patterns and rhetorical strategies function as powerful framing tools within journalism, applied linguistics, and media rhetoric. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Media, Journalism and Environmental Resilience)
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14 pages, 273 KB  
Article
Ecological Film Imaginaries and Environmentally (Un)Sustainable Futures: Case Study of The Age of Stupid (2009) and Zone of Interest (2023)
by Pat Brereton
Journal. Media 2026, 7(1), 31; https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia7010031 - 11 Feb 2026
Viewed by 691
Abstract
As the world grows more and more out of kilter with wars and fake news, the climate crisis is being ignored, leaving eco-media scholars striving to uncover new ways of keeping it firmly in the spotlight. This paper draws on extensive scholarship across [...] Read more.
As the world grows more and more out of kilter with wars and fake news, the climate crisis is being ignored, leaving eco-media scholars striving to uncover new ways of keeping it firmly in the spotlight. This paper draws on extensive scholarship across eco-film studies, using narratives I have not analysed before—The Age of Stupid and Zone of Interest—to speak to contrasting ways of representing and communicating the crisis. While in the academy and within particular strands of environmental communications (EC), eco-textual analysis is often sidelined and replaced with a focus on empirical audience and behavioural research, together with more political economy types of investigations. Nevertheless, there remains a central place for understanding and appreciating how stories and images function, both in stylistic and thematic terms, while deploying new creative imaginaries to represent the climate crisis and provoke debate over future, more sustainable models of living. These readings will be analysed through an ethics of care lens while being underpinned by environmental media literacy, which can be argued to drive pro-active engagement and consideration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Media, Journalism and Environmental Resilience)
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