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Show 38 history, not the history - the evidence presented should allow the reader to judge the argumcnts. 100 Yodelis Smith's push for more rigorous historical research in the field was, in part , a response to a critique by James Carey, who called for a cultural history of journalism that looks for meaning in the communication process - more of a focus on the language and the reporting of journalism rather than the institutions. 101 This research addresses Carey's critique by examining the language journalists used to report on national parks. Looking at the national park movement in Utah through the lens of environmental journalism can illuminate the role journalists played in Utah's national parks and the social and political meanings of the national parks as seen from different communities represented by different newspapers. This intellectual history builds on the approaches taken by Nash and Hays. By looking at the journalism of Utah's national parks, this research aims to give insights into the evolution of the conservation movement in the state, informed by Runte's observation that "no institution is more symbolic of the conservation movement in the United States than the national parks." 102 This dissertation follows a largely unexplored path that combines environmental history with journalism history. Journalism history, like environmental history, was traditionally written by looking at the "great men" - James Gordon Bennett, Joseph 100 Mary Ann Yodelis Smith, "The Method of History," in Research Methods in Mass Comm1111icotion, eds. Guido H. Stempel Ill and Bruce H. Westley, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice llall, 1981). Robert Berkhofer writes that this is the distinction between History (with a capital H) and the interpretations of history; sec Robert F. Bcrkhofcr Jr., "Jlistorical Representations and Truthfulness," in Beyond the Great Story: History as Text and Discourse (Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1995). 101 James Carey, "The Problem of Journalism History," Journalism History I (Spring 1974): 3-5, 27 102 Runte, National Parks: The American Experience, xxi. |
