Mediation of Global Logic: The Case of Transnational Environmentalism in China

• In Event: Media and Political Contestation in Greater China

Abstract

Global issues transcend local concerns and political systems, mediated through larger networks. To examine this process I identify a specific group of transnational NGOs and one particular issue: the environment, which lends itself to global discourse, advocacy and problem-solving. I take China as a case in point, to illustrate such a framework, showing how these groups bridge very different political contexts. This investigation is based on interviews in Beijing with representatives of the most prominent transnational environmental NGOs with offices in China, showing how they carry out their work and what kind of common logic they develop--and in turn how that logic affects communication strategies, and their more indirect impact on journalism in China. Based on these insights supported by case study examples, I suggest how this network contributes to the media-journalistic space and explore the implications such global networks have for the quality and transparency of issue discourse.

Author

• Stephen D. Reese, U of Texas - Austin