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their sustainable (broadly defined) print campaign “Bravo goes green”. The survey
found that your people considered climate change was considered as one of the
most pressing topics and Bravo capitalised on this to introduce readers to other
aspects of sustainability.
A further characteristic of sustainability in the media is a tendency to increase the
breadth of sustainability issues covered as more narrowly defined sustainability
single issues receive coverage in greater detail. This tendency was observed during
a long term study by Schwender/Schulz/Kreeb (2008) which analysed coverage
of environmental topics in the weekly German newspapers “DIE ZEIT” and the leftwing
newspaper “TAZ”. The analysis demonstrated that as coverage of environmental
topics increased coverage of other sustainability topics such as social aspects
of production and economics followed.
Message 4: Entertainment TV takes advantage of triggers to communicate
sustainable lifestyle and consumption topics
Entertainment TV media often uses personalized or thematic triggers to tell
sustainability stories that have implications for everyday life. Examples are celebrity
figures (Echt Elly), fictional figures (Graslöwen TV) and specific topics such as
“wood” or “washing agents” (Welt der Wunder). These triggers can be particularly
effective methods to communicate to audiences that are not necessarily predisposed
to sustainability messages.
Message 5: Entertainment TV focuses on practical advice in everyday life
Based on the triggers entertainment media provides hints and practical advice
for sustainable lifestyles and consumption patterns. Often this is done in a
personalised manner. Entertainment media deals with questions that may arise on
an individual level, such as actions that individuals can take to prevent climate
change and the increasing cost of energy, the optimal quantity of meat that should
be consumed or availability of alternatives to driving by car. On a more general
level the impact of globalization on individuals, living in harmony with different ethic
or religious groups in the community, or how to prepare for the aging of society.
The provision of suggestions to tackle these and other questions in day-to-day life,
which indeed can be considered as sustainability challenges for every individual,
offers meaningful potential to stimulate changes in attitudes and behaviours.
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