Chains of influence between research, media and policymaking

Workpackage in POINT, EU FP7 project on Policy Influence of Indicators. Workpackage leader: Lars Kjerulf Petersen

The purpose of this project is to investigate how and to what extent systematic knowledge production can be involved in policy making and more specifically to investigate the influence chains of so called composite indicators, e.g. indicators like The Environmental Sustainability Index and The Ecological Footprint, which seek to measure complex societal development through compilation of a number of different sub-indicators. Read more.

Changes in public discourse on the environment

Post.doc. project by Lars Kjerulf Petersen, now concluded. See

• Petersen, Lars Kjerulf (2008) Broadcasting environmental expertise - maintaining collective sentiments. International Journal of Sustainability Commnication, no. 2, pp. 22-44.
• Petersen, L.K. (2007) Changing public discourse on the environment. Danish Media Coverage of the Rio and Johannesburg UN Summits. Environmental Politics, 16 (2): 206-230. Electronic version.

What happened to environmental awareness, and how did public discourse on the environment change in Denmark from the early 1990's to the early 2000's? That was the subject of this project analysing Danish television news coverage of the Rio and Johannesburg UN summits on sustainable development.  Read more.

Rituals of environmental expertise

Another outcome of the same project was an investigation of the use of expert voices in television coverage of environmental issues.

Use of experts in media reports about the environment is not confined to its information function. Voices of expertise are also invested in the ritual functions of societal communication as these are built around common consensual world views as well as conflict and dissension. (See reference above: "Broadcasting environmental expertise...").