Defusing the Cannon/Canon: An Organic Media Approach to Environmental Communication
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Abstract
In order to convey the dangers of climate change, many activists deploy the old canon of communication theory, which views mass media as a kind of “magic bullet.” Influenced by theories such as George Lakoff's cognitive linguistics, they propose that environmentally “progressive” mass media frames can be aimed like a cannon at the “public mind.” This article argues that such an effort mirrors a mechanistic strategy of industrial production and remains a “shallow” method of environmental communications. In response, it is argued that “organic media,” like glasnost, is based on open and local contexts. This article concludes that “slow” and “small” communication environments can encourage biodiverse ecological intelligence, an approach that embodies a sustainable and “deep” methodology.
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Date
2010
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Research Projects
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Keywords
Media Literacy, Deep ecology, Environmental communication, Cognitive linguistics, Climate change
Citation
López, Antonio. “Defusing the Cannon/Canon: An Organic Media Approach to Environmental Communication.” Environmental Communication 4 (1): 99–108. 2010.