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- Title
Naming the Forest Fire: Journalists Define the "Red Demon," 1871-1933.
- Authors
Kates, James
- Abstract
Wildland fire is a phenomenon of nature, but its meaning is subject to continuous redefinition by human beings. This article argues that journalists have been crucial in shaping American interpretations of wildfire since 1871, when spectacular "holocaust" fires began sweeping the Great Lakes states. Writers who initially perceived fire as purely "natural" came to realize that its presence in the landscape was related to patterns of lumbering and agriculture. After 1900, the conservation movement scorned fire as an outgrowth of a rapacious and wasteful society. The nascent forestry profession embraced a doctrine of total fire exclusion and sought to demonize fire in the public mind. Many foresters doubled as writers, producing articles that called for better fire prevention. Focusing at first on material concerns, they later defined fire as a threat to the moral, spiritual and recreational value of the forest. Through an analysis of the American Forestry Association's membership magazine and the New York Times, this article argues that themes first developed by forester-writers were echoed by the daily press, helping to reshape American attitudes about fire by the time of the Great Depression.
- Subjects
UNITED States; WILDFIRES; MASS media &; public opinion; JOURNALISM &; society; AMERICAN journalism; WILDFIRE prevention; FORESTS &; forestry; LUMBER industry; FIRE prevention; FIRES -- Social aspects
- Publication
Media History Monographs, 2010, Vol 12, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
1940-8862
- Publication type
Article