Doctoral Dissertation Spinning Climate Change: How Social Groups use Media, Science, and PR to Engage the American Public

博士论文旋转气候变化：社会团体如何利用媒体、科学和公关来吸引美国公众

• 批准号: 0724753
• 负责人: Michael Fischer
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-08-01 至 2008-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0724753&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Spinning; Climate; Change

This dissertation, funded by the Science and Society Program, will investigate the changing nature of public engagement in the U.S., specifically as it relates to media, the environment, scientific authority, and public relations. The study will focus specifically on four social groups who are seeking to inform the American public of the urgency and action needed regarding climate change: 1) the Inuit Circumpolar Conference which has worked closely with American environmental groups to bring a human rights claim before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights regarding U.S. inaction on curbing greenhouse gas emissions, 2) the Evangelical Climate Initiative, comprised of loosely affiliated multi-denominational Christian groups that are attempting to mobilize American Christians based on combinations of moral and scientific imperatives, 3) efforts by Ceres, a non-profit network organization comprised of "environmentalists and investors," in conjunction with the Chicago Climate Exchange to expose and marshal corporate and industry responsibilities regarding the proactive reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and 4) efforts by hurricane and climate scientists to intervene in public debate and the regulation of coastal development based on climate change-related predictions and research. Operating outside formal government or policy frameworks and the mainstream environmental movement, each of these groups is looking to "reframe" climate change by putting a human, legal, moral, financial, or scientific face on an issue that has, until very recently, languished at the bottom of environmental concerns despite mainstream media coverage since the 1980s. By mapping the terrain and intersections of these social groups, this study will offer insight into the communication of complex scientific and science-policy debates, revealing fractures in credibility, expertise, and authority for both science and mainstream media, as well as the presence of "spin" and public relations that has, from the perspective of many actors, acted to supplant "the facts of the matter." As such, this study provides a clear case study of the flexibility of environmental discourse, the evolving role of media change and fragmentation in making scientific issues public, and an account of the struggles within science to prevent science from being reduced to "spin" and public relations. This study will make an important contribution to Science and Technology Studies (STS), media studies, and anthropologies of media and science by bringing them into dialogue in novel ways. Doing so will offer crucial interdisciplinary insight into studies of media change, environmentalism, democratic engagement, and social movements. Climate change provides a rich conceptual site for understanding: a) how U.S. public debate is mediated, driven, and redirected, b) the changing nature of mainstream American media and its semi-autonomous role as a so-called fourth estate, c) the turn towards advocacy and/or authentication of facts by scientists and journalists, and d) the ubiquitous, pervasive presence of public relations that has spread from commercial sectors throughout civic life, enrolling social movements and governmental organizations. Thus, for journalists, scientists, policy-makers, and activists working on climate change and other complex science and science-policy debates, this study provides valuable insight into how and what shapes public engagement. NSF funding will enable continuing and completing a multi-sited investigation of these geographically dispersed social groups. It will be used primarily for travel and accommodation costs to conduct in-depth interviews with primary actors and spokespersons for the selected social groups.

本论文由科学与社会计划资助，将调查美国公众参与的变化性质，特别是当它涉及到媒体，环境，科学权威和公共关系。这项研究将特别关注四个社会团体，他们正在寻求向美国公众通报气候变化的紧迫性和所需采取的行动：1）因纽特人北极圈会议，该会议与美国环保团体密切合作，就美国在遏制温室气体排放方面的不作为向美洲人权委员会提出人权要求，2）福音派气候倡议，由松散的多民族基督教团体组成，这些团体试图根据道德和科学的需要动员美国基督徒，3）Ceres的努力，一个由“环保主义者和投资者”组成的非营利网络组织，“与芝加哥气候交易所一起，揭露和引导企业和行业在积极减少温室气体排放方面的责任，（4）飓风和气候科学家努力干预公众辩论，并根据气候变化相关预测和研究对沿海开发进行监管。在正式的政府或政策框架和主流环境运动之外运作，这些团体中的每一个都希望通过将人类，法律的，道德，金融或科学的面孔放在一个问题上来“重新定义”气候变化，直到最近，尽管自20世纪80年代以来主流媒体报道，但这个问题一直处于环境问题的底层。 通过绘制这些社会群体的地形和交叉点，这项研究将深入了解复杂的科学和科学政策辩论的传播，揭示科学和主流媒体的可信度，专业知识和权威性的断裂，以及从许多参与者的角度来看，“旋转”和公共关系的存在，以取代“事实的事实”。因此，这项研究提供了一个明确的案例研究环境话语的灵活性，媒体变化和碎片化在使科学问题公开方面的不断演变的作用，以及科学内部为防止科学被减少到“旋转”和公共关系而进行的斗争。这项研究将作出重要贡献，科学和技术研究（STS），媒体研究，以及人类学的媒体和科学，使他们以新颖的方式进行对话。这样做将为媒体变革，环保主义，民主参与和社会运动的研究提供重要的跨学科见解。 气候变化提供了一个丰富的概念网站，以了解：a）美国公共辩论是如何被调解、驱动和重新定向的，B）美国主流媒体的性质不断变化，其作为所谓的第四等级的半自治角色，c）转向科学家和记者对事实的倡导和/或认证，以及d）无处不在的，公共关系的普遍存在，已从商业部门扩展到整个公民生活，并吸收了社会运动和政府组织。因此，对于从事气候变化和其他复杂科学和科学政策辩论的记者，科学家，政策制定者和活动家来说，这项研究为如何以及如何塑造公众参与提供了宝贵的见解。 国家科学基金会的资助将使这些地理上分散的社会群体能够继续和完成多地点的调查。这笔经费将主要用于与选定社会群体的主要行为者和发言人进行深入访谈的旅费和住宿费。