Media is one of the key "public arenas" where environmental issues are debated, interpreted and presented to the public (Dispensa, Brulle 78). In this sense, the media implies a wide field for the manipulation of public opinion, as the public has only a few sources for understanding environmental issues. Media is forced to pay attention to some social problems and ignore others because "journalism focuses more on big controversies than on big health risks" (Sandman 251). Only new and unusual information attracts attention of the audience that experiencing the "hunger for information" in relation to existing social problems or to the usual information about them.
Great importance have cultural preferences and socio-economic and political values. Despite the fact that journalists often appeals to the objectivity and neutrality of the evaluation, they socialized in a certain cultural reality with its norms and imperatives. It was found that the degree of attention to the television or other environmental messages strictly dependent on economic factors. Since the 1990s, the focus shifted to the journalistic coverage of local issues in the coverage of global issues: the thinning of the ozone layer, global warming, climate change.
The society does not implement ecological knowledge in pro-environmental behaviors. That is why it is necessary to strengthen the practical component of the educational activity. The lack of environmental knowledge can be an obstacle to pro-environmental activities, as is not always clear what actions will not harm the environment. In this regard, one of the key roles of environmental education is to assist in overcoming the barriers of media misinformation.
Works Cited
Dispensa, Marisa, Brulle, Robert. "Media's social construction of environmental issues: focus on global warming-a comparative study." International Journal of sociology and social policy. Vol. 23, No.10. 2003: 74-105. Print.
Sandman, Peter M. "Mass media and environmental risk: Seven principles." Risk. Vol. 5. 1994: 251-260. Print.
