Publications Reviewed: Star Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times

EconomicFocus

Economic Focus

Ecological Focus

Ecological Focus

Article Frequency and Content Shifts 1986 - 2001

Proportion of Articles Directly Addressing Population or Migration

Proportions of Articles Addressing Business, Agriculture, Environment and Inequality.

Sources of Problems Identified

Major Types of Losses Discussed

Solutions Proposed

Sentiments Expressed

Proportions of Articles That Mention the Buffalo Commons, and Favor the Idea.

Articles Taking an Economic or Ecological Point of View

Level of Interests at Stake

Human Interest Articles

Summary of Major Points

• Waxing and waning interest.

• Repeated Shifts from economic to ecological focus

• Population and migration most prominent in periods of ecological focus

• Concern with environment steadily increasing

• Concern with inequality steadily decreasing

• Focus on government policy as problem of solution decreasing

• Increasing focus on environmental and cultural causes

• Job creation stressed more, government intervention less

• Resignation growing, optimism falls off.

Major Points

• Discussion of Buffalo Commons idea emerges after 1989 and re-emerges after 1998

• Buffalo Commons idea increasingly viewed favorably

• Ecological view of Great Plains issues becoming more prominent

• Interests at stake increasingly viewed as local only – human interest stories more frequent

Implications• View of trends as a local problem only will make

it more difficult to attract outside resources.• Increasing resignation to inevitability of declining

population and communities will make it harder to attract and develop resources.

• Ecological issues likely to increasingly be the focus of national interest in the Great Plains.

• Effective long term solutions must address and resolve apparent conflicts between environmental and economic concerns.

• The potential for dramatic reforms of rural policy may be increasing – may be driven by suburban interests.