Regional Issues, National Norms: A Four-Region Analysis of U.S. Environment Reporters.

Environmental issues can vary widely across the different regions of the United States. Do the newspaper and TV reporters who serve as the link between environmental scientists and the public on such issues also vary, by region, in the way they cover environment stories? This study, building on an initial examination of New England environment reporters (Science Communication, 23:4), used a census approach to examine environment reporters in the Mountain West, Pacific Northwest and South, in addition to New England. Across all four regions, these reporters were more experienced, on average, but spend much of their time also covering non-environment stories. They relied more often on local sources than on national sources and used a variety of story frames and angles to construct their reporting. In discussing barriers to reporting, they were more likely to cite such issues as time constraints or the size of the news hole, rather than interference by editors or advertisers. Most felt the need to remain objective, rejecting calls for advocacy or a civic journalism approach. The study found more similarities across the regions than differences, suggesting there is a national norm for covering the environment. That may be due to the type of people attracted to field, the uniform training they have received, or newsroom routines. A special case can be made for the Pacific Northwest, where reporters differed from their counterparts in all other regions on some issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]