index

BLOCK
02 THE ANALYSIS
The journalists´ experience
It must be added that not enough information about the Natura 2000
Network is offered by mass media. Normally this is limited to occasional
information when there is some news related to the network in its
entirety, for example if there happens to be a lack of compliance when
planning or managing and using land. It must be said that some cases
of sustainable activities may be presented in television programmes on
agriculture or the environment, but they are not expressely linked to the
Natura 2000 Network.
Lastly, another weakness that should be noted is the lack of rules on the
use and management of the Natura 2000 Network. Only a minimal part
of the network has a management plan because the authorities have not
done their job. Each site should have its plan. If we don´t know how uses
and activities are regulated within each site, how is compliance going to
be checked for?
As a result of all these factors, the perceptions on the Network tend to
be non-existent or slanted. A good part of urban audiences, if they know
it, tend to associate it with tourism possibilities and a rich gastronomy,
when it is much more. However it is also true that they identify it with
a healthy environmental future. As for rural audiences, they perceive
it as something imposed by Brussels that threatens their exploitation
activities.
So, we informers have to:
1.- Simplify the concept as much as possible, without distorting it.
2.- Inform about the network from a positive angle, particularly in the
rural world, to make it understood that this is not about reducing their
possibilities. A good resource is using examples of good practices, many
of which are already traditional and don´t imply any changes. In other
cases examples of new business oportunities are to be sought.
3.- Check that authorities do their job and go along the same lines as
those positive informations. In this sense it must be underlined that Brussels
is not a distant and foreign invention. We are all “Brussels”.
4.- Give information with continuity (although that is more in the hands of
the media top managers).
Televisión, a great opportunity for communicating the Network
Television is still the most consumed of mass media. The spread of Internet
has not reduced the number of viewers, in fact it has made it increase
thanks to online TV. So maybe we should reflect on how ambitious
we are or should be when communicating the Natura 2000 Network. How
many people do we want to reach? Of which type? Should we tell the
story in the same way to everybody?
Currently there are specialized programmes on the environment and
agricultural matters but only in broadcast television, either at a national
or autonomous communities level. In privately-owned channels there
are exceptional cases. Autonomous communities are more partial to
programmes on agriculture and these are a clear niche to focus on.
But if we want to reach general audiences we must look for some space
in prime time. From my point of view, that opportunity is offered by
the evening newscasts. Two or three minutes at the end of the national
newscast would be the ideal space for a series of stories on the Natura
2000 Network. It is not a new formula: this has already been done with
historical commemorations or social issues.
A noteworthy case is that of the Espai Terra, on Televisión de Catalunya,
a programme that is broadcast Monday-Friday at 7.30 pm. It includes
weather reports, anecdotes and very basic and visual information but
the central subject is the environment. So, conversely to what usually
happens in those light information programmes that leave a bit of space
for the environment, here the keystone is the environment and some
space is left for other things. It aspires to be attractive, informative and
educative. It is being broadcast since 2009 and it reaches 10 per cent
of audience in Catalonia. The existence of such a programme shows a
degree of sensitivity on the part of the channel management - another
key for succeeding in communicating the Natura 2000 Network.
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Natura 2000 Network. Handbook for journalists