Journalistic Framing of SDG 14: Oceans, Seas, and Marine Resource Challenges for media shape public discourse around marine sustainability

Abstract

The SDG 14 (Sustainable Development Goal 14) focuses on the theme of conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas, and marine resources; however, the implementation plans rely significantly on the way these topics are positioned in the media discourse, as people have different responses to various perspectives on the problem regarding policy application. The current paper examines how journalistic framing can be used to construct the perceptions and the arguments of people towards marine sustainability. To outline the main narrative tactics used by the media, the research reviews past literature and applicable case studies as well as methodolical resources regarding the topic of media framing and summarizes the significant key approaches, namely, the sense of urgency regarding the environment, economic dependency, a matter of policy, and the state of vulnerability connected to the community. Findings point out that supremacy frames determine whether the marine sustainability is an ecological priority, an economy priority, or a political priority in the minds of the listeners/viewers. Although journalism framing in the sense that it can demonstrate certain mobilization, selective reporting, absence of scientific contextualization, and politicalism decrease the transparency of the whole discourse made in the society. The conclusion points at the interdisciplinary cooperation of journalists, policymakers, and marine scientists as the means of ensuring proper framing. The limitations are practical because the research is based on secondary literature and less case related with potential protocol of covering this research, promoting the empirical study of media content, cross-national analysis, and incorporation of digital media analysis to enhance the knowledge of framing on how it affects the population towards SDG 14.