Resource development in the Beaufort Sea region through the lens of the media

The media's role in shaping Arctic perceptions receives little attention among northern scholars, yet this is where most citizens obtain information about the Arctic. Given the region's geographical remoteness, the media take on substantial power to influence citizens' perceptions. This research critically examines how print media present resource development in the Beaufort Sea region. The project consists of a qualitative discourse analysis comparing local newspapers with national newspapers (i.e. north-south) as well as Canadian and American newspapers. To learn more about northern media, an additional component of this research includes interviews with six journalists who work in the north (Fairbanks and Yellowknife). The study shows how national newspapers tend to portray industry and the federal government as the main decision-makers when it comes to resource development, whereas local newspapers tend to assert the power of local Indigenous groups and municipal/state/territorial governments. --Leaf ii.