The role of city magazines in informing the public about local ecological issues

Background/Question/Methods

Journalists play a key role in disseminating information about urban ecological concerns to the public. Unfortunately, newspapers’ ability to engage in long-term, detailed reporting on local environmental issues has diminished as their resources and readership have declined. Another print medium persists, however, that may have more resources to invest in such stories: the city magazine. This pilot study examines the role of the city magazine in presenting information about local ecological topics to its audience. In many cases, city magazines do little more than provide “service” information about dining and entertainment; however, some magazines in this genre do provide quality journalism, including stories on environmental matters. This study provides both a quantitative and qualitative examination of the representation of urban ecology within city magazines. Ten city magazines from across the United States were studied using both content analysis techniques and textual analysis of the articles on local environmental topics. The combination of methods allowed for both a broad assessment of the types of coverage within these magazines and an in-depth reading of the content of their articles on urban ecology topics.

Results/Conclusions

Preliminary results show a disappointingly small quantity of locally focused coverage of ecological issues in these publications. A qualitative exploration of selected articles on environmental or sustainability topics reveals the generally consumer-focused, scientifically thin nature of the coverage that does exist. At least one notable exception to this characterization will be explored in greater detail to determine what positive qualities of environmental journalism within city magazines might be built upon in future journalistic efforts. The results suggest that though city magazines are not currently fulfilling the normative ideals of environmental journalism, there are opportunities within this medium for more effective communication of ecological concerns and information to the public. The study will also suggest ways in which scientists' outreach to this medium might improve coverage of this topic.