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Environmental Messages In Boating Magazines: A Content Analysis Of Recreational Power Boating Articles, Robert S. Holtzman

Theses and Major Papers

This paper presents the results of a study analyzing the editorial content of consumer power boating magazines for messages of environmental responsibility. It presents evidence of a cause and effect relationship between recreational power boating and damage to the marine environment, and cites arguments that power boating in its currently popular form, involving high speeds and heavy fuel consumption, is inherently "unfriendly" to the environment. The paper describes a "chain of influence" through which boat manufacturers, in their role as advertisers, influence the editorial content of consumer boating magazines through the tactics of marketing public relations. A hypothesis is developed …