In The Context Of "World Risk Society", The Establishment Of The Public Journalism Model Of Environmental Communication

Crisis and risk have received increased attention in the 21th century; the world is becoming a"world risk society". Society is exposed to various risks: global threats such as climate change and nuclear crises and daily vulnerability to food and global financial tsunami. Ulrich Beck, the Germany Sociologist, coined the term"risk society"to capture the endless risks faced by human beings. Social institutions for risk management and control are ironically becoming the origins of new, unintended, and less controllable risks. There among, environmental/ecological problems without doubt are the risks of the globally "complete extinction of all the creatures on the earth". "Environmental communication" is looked as the solution and answer of the managements of the environmental risks, which is increasingly attractive for both the academic circles and the public.On the basis of the "world risk society", environmental communication is the subject of the study, with a detailed discussion of the theoretical connotation within the "risk society" and correlating the concept of "risk perception" with "risk communication", based on this, and then more profoundly investigate the question of what role the mass media plays under this risk society, in order to illustrate the importance of information communication in replying and controlling the "risk" of the "risk society". Then, the connotation, development and structure are analyzed, from the single journalism study horizon of "environmental news" to the acceptance and the acknowledgement of environmental information and the total symbolic behavior of the extensive "communication" horizon includes "information" and "connotation", legalize the public participation and environmental communication. Last, in the theory and practice of "public journalism" and "public journalism 2.0", the essay seeks the theoretical foundation and the methodology in public engaged environmental communication, thereby setting up the theoretical base of the whole study process.Based on the qualitative research composed by document research and case study, the essay creatively illustrates and analyses the three existing models in environmental communication practice: propaganda model, science communication model and the risk model. On this basis, supported by real cases, the essay introduces the concept of "public journalism" and the mode of practice of "public journalism 2.0" into the research model of environmental communication as an exploratory construction of the environment communication public journalism model under the risk society. The environment communication public journalism model is not only the effectively solution of informational model in responding environmental risk, but also a citizen model which empowers the public engaged environmental communication, the public model which reconnects the government, social organizations, mass medias and the public liaisons.