Anna Raimo

From crisis to control : the framing of water in Italian climate discourse

Introduction

From crisis to control : the framing of water in italian climate discourse. Explores how Italian media frames water in climate discourse, focusing on glacial melting & sea level rise. Linguistic analysis reveals strategies shaping public understanding.

Abstract

This research aims to examine how hydro-climatic phenomena – specifically glacial melting and sea level rise – are discursively framed in contemporary Italian media. To address the thematic and lexical limitations of general-purpose corpora, a dedicated dataset was compiled, consisting of 3,040 articles published between 2022 and 2024 in The Post Internazionale. The analysis focuses on two editorial sections, Politica (Politics) and Ambiente (Environment), combining methods from corpus linguistics and Critical Discourse Analysis to explore lexical patterns, rhetorical strategies, and discursive positioning. The study investigates how environmental meanings are constructed across these journalistic contexts, and how such representations reflect or resist dominant ideological frameworks. In doing so, it highlights the role of media language in shaping public understandings of climate change, and considers how institutional discourse may contribute to – or constrain – more critical engagement with ecological issues.

Review

The study, "From crisis to control: the framing of water in Italian climate discourse," presents a highly relevant and timely investigation into the portrayal of hydro-climatic phenomena within contemporary Italian media. By specifically focusing on glacial melting and sea level rise, the research tackles critical aspects of climate change that have profound implications for Italy. The authors' commitment to overcoming the limitations of general-purpose corpora by constructing a dedicated, specialized dataset immediately signals a robust methodological approach, promising nuanced insights into media discourse surrounding these vital environmental issues. The methodology outlined is particularly compelling, combining the quantitative precision of corpus linguistics with the qualitative depth of Critical Discourse Analysis. This dual approach is well-suited to uncovering both macro-level lexical patterns and micro-level rhetorical strategies and discursive positioning within the selected journalistic output. The choice of The Post Internazionale, a significant Italian online publication, and its Politica and Ambiente sections over a focused two-year period (2022-2024), ensures that the analysis is grounded in current and relevant public discourse. This specific focus allows for a detailed examination of how environmental meanings are constructed and how these constructions may reflect or challenge prevailing ideological frameworks in an important national context. Ultimately, this research stands to make a significant contribution to both environmental communication studies and critical discourse analysis. By illuminating the role of media language in shaping public understanding of climate change, the study offers valuable insights into the dynamics between journalistic representations, institutional discourse, and public engagement with ecological challenges. The anticipated shift "from crisis to control" in the framing of water issues, as hinted by the title, suggests a fascinating exploration of how narratives evolve and potentially influence societal responses. This timely investigation into a critical national context promises to enhance our understanding of how media can either foster or constrain critical engagement with climate change, thereby informing strategies for more effective environmental communication.

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