Journalism's Derek Moscato pens new book, 'Environmental Strategic Communication: Advocacy, Persuasion and Public Relations'

Western Washington University Professor of Journalism Derek Moscato's new book, "Environmental Strategic Communication: Advocacy, Persuasion, and Public Relations," has been published by Rowman & Littlefield.

Moscato said the book provides students and practitioners with the concepts, theories, strategies and tactics to navigate a wide range of environmental issues.

"My hope is that advocates and media professionals will ultimately be able to ground their engagement and persuasion in ecological contexts and best communication practices, he said.

Chapter topics include environmental communication ethics, green opinion leadership, and public scoping and engagement. The book also draws extensively from environmental history and milestones in the Pacific Northwest.

"My idea for the book started at WWU back in 2018, when I developed a new class called 'Environmental Public Relations and Advocacy' in the Department of Journalism and realized there wasn’t a textbook for students that was truly aligned with this crossroads of ecology and strategic communication," he said. "And I felt the same way when teaching Environmental Journalism more recently. How can we connect areas of communication practice like media relations, public writing, and crowdsourcing to specific sites of ecological interest, but also to relevant theories from mass media and environmental communication?

"My hope is to impart to students and practitioners both conceptual and descriptive knowledge, but also the ability to persuade and engage effectively in our especially complex media landscape," he said.

Moscato said the binational region of Cascadia has played a central role in many important developments in the larger environmental communication field, from public debates about old-growth logging, mining sites, and hydroelectric dams to the founding of Greenpeace in Vancouver. Western itself has played a key role in various developments, including the naming of the Salish Sea.

"These milestones have served as great inspiration for this book. Thus, while the book takes on a global and national orientation, it also pays tribute to communication efforts closer-to-home to protect the planet, conserve our wild spaces, and enhance our region’s quality of life," Moscato said.

You can find more information about "Environmental Strategic Communication: Advocacy, Persuasion, and Public Relations," including contents and reviews, here:
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538152287/Environmental-Strategic-Communication-Advocacy-Persuasion-and-Public-Relations.