When Is the Ark Getting Here? The Impact of the Media on Threatened and Endangered Species’ Time to Listing and Long-Term Sustainability

Abstract

The goal of this study is to determine whether media coverage affects a species’ waiting time from candidacy or proposal to inclusion on the threatened/endangered species list and, as a result, the species’ prospects for long-term survival and ultimate sustainability. The timely listing of a species reduces the probability that it will go extinct while under review, speeds the development and implementation of preservation plans, and ultimately improves overall biodiversity and ecosystem robustness. While the timing dimension of the EPA’s endangered/threatened species listing process has been investigated previously, this research appears to be the first to include media attention as a possible explanatory variable. Results from a Cox proportional hazards model suggest that media attention can significantly impact the time from candidacy to listing, and that both national and local articles tend to hasten the process. Coverage earlier in the process is especially impactful. Various factors, including political forces, are ultimately at play, but our results suggest that media input plays a part as well.