Publicity strategies and media logic: communication campaigns of environmental NGOs in China

In today’s increasingly mediated Chinese societies, non-government organizations (NGOs) play significant roles in civil society. This article examines the publicity strategies and media logic used by environmental NGOs (ENGOs) in advancing their normative aims and advocacy operations. In-depth interviews with four different kinds of ENGOs showed that divergent philosophies of publicity and normative aims – whether focused largely on approaching policy-makers, lobbying entrepreneurs, or attracting and educating mass audiences – shape campaign styles that are operationalized as campaign discourses, communication strategies, and audience orientations, as well as the management of the relationship to the state. This article proposes that the diverse and stratified publicity strategies used by ENGOs are effective in strengthening their ability to develop environmental campaigns and conduct advocacy work.