Moving Society to a Sustainable Future: The Framing of Sustainability in a Constructive Media Outlet

Abstract

News reporting on sustainability has been criticized for (1) having a limited coverage of solutions, (2) reporting on solutions with a negative bias, (3) being dominated by sources from government and mainstream business, and (4) promoting frames that prioritize the role of the market and techno-scientific solutions, which leave unchallenged the unsustainable behavior of consumer societies and the focus on economic growth. This study was the first to examine how sustainability is reported in a constructive media outlet and found that articles (1) consistently elaborated solutions, (2) described them in optimistic ways, (3) quoted various sources, and (4) developed a frame that challenged consumerism and critiqued society's preoccupation with growth while helping to imagine a desirable sustainable future. It is thus argued that this novel, constructive approach to journalism can help move society to a sustainable future by expanding the repertoire of culturally-resonant stories to live by.

A systematic review of constructive and solutions journalism research

“…Hermans and Gyldensted, 2019; Kleemans et al, 2017), framing (e.g. Atanasova, 2019; Kogen, 2019), social responsibility theory (e.g. Zhang and Matingwina, 2016), and normative roles and standards in journalism (e.g.…”

Framing Sustainable Fashion Concepts on Social Media. An Analysis of #slowfashionaustralia Instagram Posts and Post-COVID Visions of the Future

“…Despite this knowledge, research on framing in sustainability communications and the resulting empirical knowledge is limited. Atanasova [84] examined the framing process for sustainable consumption in news articles with a focus on fashion and concluded that sustainable fashion products were presented as better for the environment and workers. The articles analyzed conveyed the idea that consumers can help the fashion industry become a positive impact by buying sustainable fashion products [84].…”

Framing nitrogen pollution in the British press: 1984–2018

“…The Industry Responsibility frame from this study has notable differences compared to the Economics frame in climate change communication (Atanasova, 2019;Diprose et al, 2018;Hellsten et al, 2014;Yacoumis, 2017), which places a positive spin on the role of businesses in addressing environmental problems. In fact, these studies suggest that businesses are doing their best and at times even more than governments to solve environmental problems.…”