Covering the Wildfire of Mati in Greece

Undermining the Systemic Human Impact on the Environment

Bibliographic Data

ID12909626
AuthorsMinos-Athanasios Karyotakis (0000-0002-5197-9445, Hong Kong Baptist University, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume16
Issue2-3
Pages425-442
Publication date2021-08-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism Practice (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1751-2786 • E-ISSN: 1751-2794
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17512786.2021.1969986
OpenAlexW3198726523
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited45

The Mati (Greece) wildfire of 23 July 2018 received extensive news coverage. It dominated the Greek public discourse for several years to the extent that it was ascribed to being used as a tool for electoral power. In spite of its significance, no research has focused on investigating the news coverage of this event. This research paper examines the news discourse of the Mati Wildfire by studying 1,573 news articles, using ideological discourse analysis (IDA). It analyzes the dominant narratives and constructions of the nine most prominent news websites in Greece and reveals if there is a systemic undermining of human impact on the environment. The findings showed that the news outlets did not cover the wildfire as an environmental event, but rather a political issue. The disseminated constructions were of a populistic discourse that supported a polarized logic of a positive image for a particular group (i.e., the main opposition party) and a negative one for the outgroup (i.e., the then-government). As a result, the study emphasizes how crucial it is for journalists to critically explain the role and effects of human activity on the environment (Anthropocene), instead of simply focusing on political or otherwise discussion of events

Binary opposition · Critical discourse analysis · Epistemology · Ideology · Literature · Media studies · Narrative · News media · News values · Opposition (politics · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Law · Media Studies and Communication · Social Media and Politics

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