| OCR Text |
Show 83 the scenic beauty of the parks and in the end bring them not nearly so much prosperity as at present."242 This report of restricting agricultural uses in the parks came after the legislative process had ended and the echoes of brass bands had faded. Although the news that a government official had discouraged building reservoirs in national parks was not a major story, it foreshadowed the tensions that would grow throughout the history of Utah's national parks. The news story foreshadowed the way journalists would repon that tension. For now, however, the journalism associated with Zion showed that the boosterism of the frontier press had carried into the 1920s, although it waxed and waned throughout the coverage. As journalists unabashedly touted the honor of the national park, they failed to cover the environmental concerns associated with the conservation movement - primarily the role of agriculture and grazing in national parks. Regardless, the absence of adequate attention to environmental issues in the coverage does no1 disqualify the reporting as environmental journalism. Instead, it gives a baseline for evaluation of the journalism associated with Utah's national parks over time. The definition of environmental journalism - coverage of environmental issues - outlines the parameters, but does not evaluate quality. llowever, examination of Zion coverage shows that environmental concern was not a theme adopted in news stories. m Deseret News, "Park Director Warns Against Clamor for Too Many Reservoirs," September 21 , 1920, scc. 2, I. |
