ABSTRACT
In western Europe, quality national papers dominate Anthropocene coverage in most countries, though we also found significant tabloid coverage. Western European business media coverage of the Anthropocene is relatively high. Reports on Anthropocene-related stories from the social sciences, humanities, and creative arts are also discussed. Results from western European media indicate that what we conceptualize as reassurance narratives, based on Eurocentric views that humanity can cope with the risks, account for most of the sampled articles, while pessimistic narratives, with concrete proposals for radical change, are rare. Despite coverage of the (sometimes) alarming writings of scientists, notably Paul Crutzen (Nobel laureate) and Jan Zalasiewicz (chair of the Anthropocene Working Group), and popular science writers (for example Elizabeth Kolbert, Gaia Vince, and Diane Ackerman), the risks of the Anthropocene, with respect to human survival, are usually neutralized. The chapter documents and analyzes, by country and/or region, the levels of coverage with reference to the three main narratives.: neutral, optimistic ‘good’ Anthropocene, and pessimistic, advocating radical change.
