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There are currently no existing (legislative) guidelines on promoting sustainability
issues in the media and what NGO’s, government and for-profit organisations
should/could do. Academic researchers generally recommend the adoption of such
guidelines for different agent groups (Brahnal 2009; Volpers et al. 2008) to lift debates
on this issue out of the ‘legislative grey zone’ in which they often occur. Lehr
(2007) for instance suggests that through clearer guidelines and more transparency
in the market (which agents do what with media professionals), the reputation
among members of the public of social topics, when promoted through the media,
would be enhanced.
2.2 Selecting sustainability topics, media formats and
genres for the report
2.2.1 What are sustainability topics?
One core goal of the MUNLV is to empower citizens for new values and encourage
the adoption of sustainable lifestyles (MUNLV 2006: 341). The definition of
‘sustainability topics’ in this report takes this into consideration by emphasizing the
dimension of applicability in the every-day life of consumers. The topics deal
with:
How to consume in a sustainable manner: topics like green consumerism and social
issues (e.g. fair trade).
How to live in an environmentally friendly manner: topics dealing with climate
change, energy/resource efficiency.
How to lead a healthier lifestyle: topics dealing with healthy lifestyles or organic
food.
2.2.2 What is a media format?
In general, a format is the structure or layout of an item. Media formats can be
considered as everything that media publishes (Gledhill 1985, Neale 1980) when
dealing with sustainability topics. A media format may be a TV reality show on how
to live in a more climate friendly manner. It could also be a web 2.0 platform, which
discusses sustainability topics and offers video clips or a newspaper series dealing
with resource efficiency issues.
The media formats analysed in this report include television programs, shows,
articles, platforms or episodes, which primarily aim to reach media users with
sustainability messages, are preferably ‘action-orientated’ and aim to promote
change in awareness, attitudes and behaviours.
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