And Cosmos (2014)
THE COSMOS AND THE EARTH: CONTENT AND QUALITY OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISK COMMUNICATION IN COSMOS (1980) AND COSMOS (2014) A Thesis by SARA ELIZABETH CARNEY Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Chair of Committee, Barbara Gastel Committee Members, Kevin Curley Valerie Balester Head of Department, Evelyn Tiffany-Castiglioni May 2016 Major Subject: Science and Technology Journalism Copyright 2016 Sara Elizabeth Carney ABSTRACT Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (1980) and the remake Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014) have sparked widespread public interest in science and educated viewers about science. Both series cover many scientific topics, including the environment. Because of their large viewership, the series have the potential to influence public awareness about environmental issues, and by using best practices, Cosmos could also potentially incite action to mitigate environmental risk. This study posed two research questions: (1) Do the topics and themes related to environmental risk differ between the two Cosmos series? If so, in what way(s)? (2) How do the environmental risk communication strategies used in the two Cosmos series compare to best practices for inspiring appropriate action among viewers? This study used content analysis to determine differences between the two Cosmos series in the topics, frames, approaches, images, and visual language, such as metaphors. There was an overall increase in environmental risk content from Cosmos (1980) to Cosmos (2014). The most mentioned environmental topics in Cosmos (1980) were “Pollution,” “Nuclear,” “Climate Change,” and “Greenhouse Gas/CO2”; in Cosmos (2014) they were “Energy,” “Pollution,” “Greenhouse Gas/CO2,” and “Climate Change.” In Cosmos (2014), “Climate Change/Global Warming,” “Greenhouse Gas/CO2,” and “Energy” often appeared together, solidifying the association between these topics.
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