Abstract
This chapter focuses on Ecuadorian press coverage of the Chevron legal case in Ecuador, which arose out of allegations that indigenous populations suffered health hazards from decades of living in lands contaminated by petroleum extractive activities. A case study of the nexus of news values and environmental and health risk and hazard, it offers an opportunity to better comparatively understand the mediated social construction of claims-making during one of the biggest environmental legal battles in the world. Legal arenas provide ground for study of disproportionate risks in terms of actors, responsibility and credibility, as claims are picked up by media and repeated over time. These iterations have significance for public engagement, agency and debate over issues associated with risks to environmental and human health.
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Pinto, J., Prado, P., Tirado-Alcaraz, J.A. (2017). Ecuador and the Chevron Case: Spinning Risk, Hazard and Reward. In: Environmental News in South America. Palgrave Studies in Media and Environmental Communication. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-47499-5_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-47499-5_3
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