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Science communication and mediatised environmental conflict: a cautionary tale
Citation
Konkes, C and Foxwell-Norton, K, Science communication and mediatised environmental conflict: a cautionary tale, Public Understanding of Science pp. 1-14. ISSN 1361-6609 (2021) [Refereed Article]
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Abstract
When Australian physicist, Peter Ridd, lost his tenured position with James Cook University, he was called a ‘whistleblower’, ‘contrarian academic’ and ‘hero of climate science denial’. In this article, we examine the events surrounding his dismissal to better understand the role of science communication in organised climate change scepticism. We discuss the sophistry of his complaint to locate where and through what processes science communication becomes political communication. We argue that the prominence of scientists and scientific knowledge in debates about climate change locates science, as a social sphere or fifth pillar in Hutchins and Lester’s theory of mediatised environmental conflict. In doing so, we provide a model to better understand how science communication can be deployed during politicised debates.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
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Keywords: | communication studies, science communication, media studies, climate change, Great Barrier Reef |
Research Division: | Language, Communication and Culture |
Research Group: | Communication and media studies |
Research Field: | Communication studies |
Objective Division: | Culture and Society |
Objective Group: | Communication |
Objective Field: | The media |
UTAS Author: | Konkes, C (Dr Claire Konkes) |
ID Code: | 142594 |
Year Published: | 2021 |
Deposited By: | Media |
Deposited On: | 2021-01-28 |
Last Modified: | 2021-02-10 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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