This study presents the findings of a media content analysis (n=303) of articles discussing environmental water (water allocated to the environment in freshwater systems) in the Murray-Darling Basin in Australia across 20 years (2001 – 2021). The aim of the study was to determine the disposition of the articles, the actors (voices) invoked within them, as well as the topics they discuss in relation to environmental water, with a particular emphasis on understanding the representation and power dynamics prevalent in media discourse. The analysis highlighted that negative portrayals of environmental water occurred more often than those that were positive in nature. This led to a lack of balance in representation in heralding certain views, such as pro environmental, over others, such an economic arguments. Notably, Indigenous voices were given almost no representation across the analysed articles, while settler colonial voices such as Irrigators and Irrigator Lobby Groups were provided with a disproportionately larger share of discussion, driving the anti-environmental water disposition. This is notable as it serves to sway debate towards certain views and conceptualisations such as an economic valuing of environmental water. As such, environmental water is often discussed in the context of the economy and livelihoods of communities. There is a notable absence of discussions of climate change and cultural water in the debate, with zero mentions of either across all surveyed articles. This is surprising considering climate change is expected to reduce water availability across the basin by 20% in years to come. Water discussed as a commodity was regularly featured in discussion, which lends itself to understanding the wider policy debate nestled in neoliberal framings, rather than other valuations of water, such as environmentalist or Indigenous understandings. This has wider implications for other countries that are considering policy options for allocating environmental water and how a market-driven approach to water allocation serves to sway public discourse.

中文翻译：

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水课程和话语：澳大利亚环境水报道的媒体内容分析

本研究介绍了对澳大利亚墨累-达令盆地 20 年来（2001 年至 2021 年）讨论环境水（淡水系统中分配给环境的水）的文章进行媒体内容分析 (n=303) 的结果。该研究的目的是确定文章的处理方式、其中引用的参与者（声音）以及它们讨论的与环境水相关的主题，特别强调了解媒体中普遍存在的代表性和权力动态话语。分析强调，对环境水的负面描述比正面描述更常见。这导致在宣扬某些观点（例如支持环保）而不是其他观点（例如经济观点）时，代表性缺乏平衡。值得注意的是，在分析的文章中，原住民的声音几乎没有得到体现，而灌溉者和灌溉者游说团体等殖民者的声音却获得了不成比例的更大份额的讨论，推动了反环境的水处理。这是值得注意的，因为它有助于将辩论转向某些观点和概念，例如环境水的经济价值。因此，人们经常在社区经济和生计的背景下讨论环境水。辩论中明显缺乏对气候变化和文化水的讨论，所有调查文章中提及这两者的次数为零。考虑到气候变化预计将在未来几年使整个流域的可用水量减少 20%，这一结果令人惊讶。水作为一种商品经常出现在讨论中，这有助于理解新自由主义框架中更广泛的政策辩论，而不是其他对水的评价，例如环保主义者或原住民的理解。这对于其他正在考虑分配环境用水的政策选择以及市场驱动的水分配方法如何影响公众话语的国家具有更广泛的影响。