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Show 183 This 1969 editorial also illustrates the dramatic swing in the national park idea 1hat was rcOcctcd in the journalism. Questioning the significance of the state's landscapes stands in contrast to early newspaper accounts that held up the scenery of S0u1hcrn Utah as evidence of Utah's worth. The sentiment that the national parks proved the state's value to the Union faded, and a sentiment of federal intrusion emerged with the later parks. Despite the feeling that national parks "locked up" land and economic opportunity, the perspective that the parks provided environmental protection also began to emerge with the designation of more recent parks. Journalism and National Parks Politics: From Utah to Washington This dissertation is a history of the journalism about Utah's national parks, not the political process that created them. However, the way journalists covered politics gives insight into how environmental journalism changed over time - and the political process was essential to the story, whether journalists covered it or not. The second question guiding this research was: What political issues were reported in the coverage of Utah's national parks? If national, regional, and local coverage differed, how so? Political news about Utah's first national parks was sparse and generally emanated from local or state government. Typically, state and national coverage marked the milestones of major legislative hurdles, and then only cursorily. The Washington debates, deal making, and parks legislation that played into the political campaigns was not a significant part of the early news reports. For example, although there was linle political debate over Zion legislation, lawmakers still differed on several key considerations. None of the newspapers mentioned that members of Congress had financial objections to the legislation. And when Utah's Senator Recd Smoot pressured |
