Defusing the Cannon/Canon: An Organic Media Approach to Environmental Communication

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.

Keywords:

• Media Literacy
• Deep Ecology
• Environmental Communication
• Cognitive Linguistics
• Climate Change

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Antonio López

Antonio López (B.A., University of California-Berkeley; M.A., New School University; Ph.D. candidate, Prescott College) is a professor of media and communications at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy. As an educator, journalist, media producer, and trainer, he works to bridge worlds—cultural, ecological, and technological. He contributed to the MacArthur Foundation's book series, Digital Learning in the 21st Century, and wrote a book on media education, Mediacology: A Multicultural Approach to Media Literacy in the 21st Century (Peter Lang). He blogs at: http://mediacology.com