ABSTRACT
“Sources, Strategic Communication, and Environmental Journalism” explores the balance of power between environmental reporters and their sources. While the influence of environmental press releases and other public relations efforts have been substantial since the early 1970s, source-journalist relationships have become increasingly more complex since that time. Today, as “traditional news organization news beats come under threat or are squeezed out altogether,” the influence of environmental sources has increased. As the author explains, “The contraction in environmental journalism in traditional news media has been matched by an expansion in sources’ use of strategic communication, resulting in an overall significant shift of power from journalists to sources in terms of ability to influence the agenda and nature of public debate about the environment.”
