April 18, 2007

UCSB Conference to Address Media Coverage of Environmental Issues

Media coverage of global warming and other critical issues will be examined by a diverse group of international experts at the Arthur N. Rupe Conference on Media and the Environment at the University of California, Santa Barbara, on Saturday, April 28.

The event, which begins at noon in the University Center's Corwin Pavilion, is free and the public is invited to attend.

Co-sponsored by the Arthur N. Rupe Chair in the Social Effects of Mass Communication and the Environmental Media Initiative of the Carsey-Wolf Center for Film, Television, and New Media, the conference will showcase examples of environmental media programming created for traditional and new media formats. These include Web video, documentary films, newspapers, digital news sites, and commercial advertisements.

Among the speakers are environmental journalists, filmmakers, scientists, scholars, media analysts, and international agency coordinators.

"The earth's climate is undergoing dramatic changes," said Ronald E. Rice, the Arthur N. Rupe professor of Mass Communication at UCSB. "As a society we need to understand and respond appropriately if we are to avoid serious negative consequences for humans, animals, and other biological life forms on this planet. Media coverage influences public perceptions, understandings, and actions."

The conference is part of the Global Warming -- Science & Society Event Series presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures; the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management; the UCSB Departments of Earth Science, Geography, and Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology; the Environmental Studies Program; and the Marine Sciences Institute.

For more information, including a complete schedule of conference speakers, visit http://www.cftnm.ucsb.edu

About UC Santa Barbara

The University of California, Santa Barbara is a leading research institution that also provides a comprehensive liberal arts learning experience. Our academic community of faculty, students, and staff is characterized by a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration that is responsive to the needs of our multicultural and global society. All of this takes place within a living and learning environment like no other, as we draw inspiration from the beauty and resources of our extraordinary location at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.