The media portrayal of human-wildlife conflict: why does it matter?
As human-wildlife conflict increases globally so does the ‘extinction of experience’. People are spending far less time outdoors and direct interactions with nature are lower than ever. For the majority of people, the media has become their main exposure to the environment, wildlife conflict, and ‘problem’ species. The media has therefore become a key resource in influencing the opinions and beliefs of people, including their support for conservation and wildlife management and their perception of risk or fear of problem-causing species. This talk introduces Grace's PhD research which considers how these portrayals differ across print, online and visual media, and the effect they have on public support for conservation and wildlife management through machine learning and big data approaches.
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