integrating sustainability themes into media - Collaborating Centre ...

Tools/activities to communicate
sustainability
Design/language/presentation of
content
change debate (e.g. some characters in the soap are more
sceptical/critical of climate change issues while others very
optimistic)
• Give easy, practical advice
• Integration of cross-media activities
1) Live-time/TV-time event
To successfully communicate sustainability topics through a fictional
depiction of an actual environmental event.
2) Panel discussions
The environmental events brought TV producers, Lindenstrasse actors
and sustainability experts from research and government institutions
together to discuss climate change issues.
3) Environmental quiz and cycling rally
Interactive forms of public engagement were used to promote climate
change issues, including an environmental quiz, a cycling rally in
Munich and the Lindenstrasse episode.
4) Websites and blogs
Sustainability topics were promoted on internet websites of the engaged
stakeholders and internet blogs made it possible for media users to
exchange information on experience and the events taking place in the
actual environmental event and the Lindenstrasse episode.
Appealing, motivating, fostering dialogue, personalized, authentic, close
to everyday life situations of more “traditional-orientated” milieus,
imaginative.
Organisation of project Federal Ministry for the Environment
• several staff involved in the partnership
Short description of media
system/legislation
Department of Health and Environment of the city of Munich
• Head of the City of Munich (Christian Ude) and several staff
members.
• Christian Ude played himself in the Lindenstrasse episode offering
the character Helga Beimer support in her role implementing the
environmental event.
Lindenstrasse
• several head writers of Lindenstrasse
TV System
The birth and growth of commercial television in the mid 1980s
(Altendorfer, 2004) transformed Germanys TV industry to a system
where four significant players – two public (ARD and ZDF) and two
commercial broadcasters (RTL and SAT.1) dominated the market and
held a greater than 70% market share (Windeler 2001). The two public
broadcast organizations combined held more than a 40% market share
(Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Fernsehforschung 2006).
Media regulation for sustainability partnerships
Authorisation: Collaboration in the form of feedback and/or advice
between government authorities, NGOs, media and private sector
stakeholders is not restricted.
Restrictions: Government authorities as/or NGO’s and private sector
stakeholders are not permitted to finance the media production on the
grounds that this could influence content.