Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Proximity And Journalistic Practice In Environmental Discourse: Experiencing “Job Blackmail” In The News, Barbara Johnstone, Justin Mando
Proximity And Journalistic Practice In Environmental Discourse: Experiencing “Job Blackmail” In The News, Barbara Johnstone, Justin Mando
Barbara Johnstone
The shift from coal to natural gas to fuel electricity generation has positive (environmental) and
negative (economic) consequences for people in the affected areas of the US. Representations
of the situation in the media shape how citizens understand and respond to it. We explore
the role of proximity in media discourse about the closing of a coal-fired power plant near
Waynesburg, a small city in a Pennsylvania coal-mining region. Comparing reporting in smallercirculation
newspapers closer to the site with reporting in larger-circulation regional newspapers,
we find that Waynesburg-area papers simply describe the events leading to the closure while
regional papers …