Population and the environment: A discursive analysis of texts from 'The New York Times' for the years 1969 and 1999

Historical and current discourses have argued that there is a link between population growth and environmental degradation. In order to understand how the journalists and readers of The New York Times perceive this argument, this research has rhetorically analyzed the texts of The New York Times for the years 1969 and 1999. By juxtaposing 2 years, several decades apart, the analysis discovered key topics, master narratives, enthymemes and textual silences. These key rhetorical properties indicate the attitudes and values of the participants in the texts of The New York Times toward both population growth and the environment. A dissimilarity in attitude from the macrocosmic and long term in 1969 to the microcosmic and short term in 1999 was a result of the analysis. In addition, an interpretation of the texts also revealed a difference in values from collectivist in 1969 to a more individualist perspective in 1999. This dissertation is rooted in environmental communication and should provide a basis for future research into population-growth-related issues and the environment.