ABSTRACT

The study of environmental communication originated as a diverse multidisciplinary field encompassing a wide array of communicator perspectives. However, as the field evolved, mass media and journalism became its perceived scholarly focus. As a result, environmental communication processes may be less well-understood across other settings, such as scientific and research institutions, non-governmental organizations, and federal agencies. To understand how communicators describe their goals, ethics, and strategies within these contexts, we conducted a three-part study of researchers and practitioners working on environmental issues in the Washington, DC, region between October 2019 and January 2020. Employing Q methodology, we identified four distinct perspectives: capacity-builders, translators, policy and decision-supporters, and cultural changemakers. Each of these perspectives is associated with a different range of goals, ethics, and strategic approaches. We describe graduate educational competencies for each of the perspectives and discuss implications for the design of communication research to meet practitioners’ needs.

摘要

对环境传播的研究起源于一个多元化的多学科领域，涵盖了各种各样的传播者观点。但是，随着该领域的发展，大众传媒和新闻业已成为其学术关注的焦点。结果，在其他环境（例如科研机构，非政府组织和联邦机构）中，人们对环境交流流程的理解可能较少。为了了解沟通者如何在这些背景下描述他们的目标，道德和策略，我们在2019年10月至2020年1月之间对华盛顿特区地区从事环境问题研究的研究人员和从业人员进行了三部分研究。采用Q方法，我们确定了四种不同的观点：能力建设者，翻译者，政策和决策支持者，和文化变革者。这些观点中的每一个都与不同范围的目标，道德规范和战略方法相关联。我们从各个角度描述了研究生的教育能力，并讨论了为满足从业者需求而设计的传播学研究的意义。