Mass media and alternative coverage of the Exxon Valdez oil spill

Abstract

The present study examines the issue of news content and coverage of an environmental disaster in the mass and the alternative media. With the use of content analysis, 132 articles on the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill were selected and analyzed in four alternative magazines and one American newspaper. It was hypothesized that content varied according to the differences in media type. Results suggested that differences in media do have impact on coverage of environmental events.