Date of Award
2018
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Honors Thesis
Department
Communications
First Advisor
Abbey Levenshus
Abstract
This study analyzes environmental litigation communication in an increasingly polarized political context. Specifically, this project analyzes environmental organizations’ communication strategies and messages related to their litigation efforts in order to better understand how environmental nonprofits frame environmental litigation within the current U. S. political landscape. Multiple data sources (e.g., website content, tweets, and interviews) triangulate the study by providing varying strategic perspectives on organizations’ environmental litigation communication efforts. Results show that nonprofit organizations like the National Resources Defense Council and Sierra Club use a variety of frames that portray litigation as a righteous action used to hold those in power to account, targeting not only large, polluting corporations but also the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency currently run by the Trump Administration.
Recommended Citation
Anderle, Rachel, "Environmental Organizations’ Litigation Communication in the Polarized U.S. Political Landscape" (2018). Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection. 449.
https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/ugtheses/449