ABSTRACT

This paper examines public conflict over the rapid growth of the Tasmanian salmon aquaculture industry and associated environmental and social impacts. By conducting a media analysis, triangulated with key stakeholder interviews, we find news media discourse was predominantly framed by environmental risk, expansion of the industry and the in/effectiveness of Government regulation. Environmental science and community interests were conflated within these themes, leading to a perceived lack of transparency and loss of trust in both environmental science information and regulation of environmental impacts. Government, salmon companies and science institutions were the most frequently mentioned stakeholder groups within news media, suggesting they had power to facilitate virtuous cycles – that is, shared goals and language. However, these stakeholder groups were portrayed to be outwardly opaque in their communications of, and lacking engagement in, decision-making processes. By revealing how science, societal values and decision-making were negotiated in news media through this conflict, we hope to contribute to the understanding of how vicious and virtuous cycles can be facilitated by various stakeholders and within media.

摘要

本文考察了塔斯马尼亚鲑鱼养殖业快速增长引起的公众冲突以及相关的环境和社会影响。通过对主要利益相关者的采访进行三角分析，我们发现新闻媒体的话语主要以环境风险、行业扩张和政府监管的无效/有效性为框架。环境科学和社区利益在这些主题中混为一谈，导致人们对环境科学信息和环境影响监管缺乏透明度和信任度。政府、鲑鱼公司和科学机构是新闻媒体中最常提到的利益相关者群体，这表明他们有能力促进良性循环——即共同的目标和语言。然而，这些利益攸关方群体被描述为对外沟通不透明，并且缺乏参与决策过程。通过揭示新闻媒体如何通过这场冲突来协商科学、社会价值观和决策，我们希望有助于理解各种利益相关者和媒体内部如何促进恶性和良性循环。