Media Representations of Corporate Sustainability Communication: German News Coverage of Lithium Mining in Chile

Nadine Strauß; Greta Valdés Stünz

doi:10.4185/rlcs-2027-2656

Authors

Nadine Strauß University of Zurich https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5050-7067
Greta Valdés Stünz Leipzig University https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8532-4624

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4185/rlcs-2027-2656

Keywords:

Encuadre de los medios de comunicación, Comunicación sobre sostenibilidad, Electromovilidad, Minería de litio, Industria automovilística, definición de la agenda, Chile, Medios de comunicación alemanes

Abstract

Introduction: The global shift toward e-mobility has intensified scrutiny of raw material procurement, particularly lithium mining in Chile–essential for the automotive industry. However, less is known about how German news media portray and evaluate the sustainability of lithium mining and how corporate messages by the automotive sector are represented in this debate. Methodology: This study analyzes how German news media frame the sustainability of lithium extraction in Chile, focusing on ideological differences across outlets, representations of automotive companies in news coverage, and their implications for industrial and environmental priorities surrounding the debate. A qualitative content analysis of 192 articles from five major outlets (2009-2024) reveals distinct narratives. Results: The left-leaning news outlet Zeit Online and the tabloid Bild emphasize socio-ecological consequences, while the financial newspaper Handelsblatt and liberal outlet FAZ foreground economic risks; the conservative newspaper Welt combines environmental and geopolitical concerns. Findings highlight temporal shifts whereby articles after 2020 reflect global awareness of geopolitical issues. Discussion: The findings suggest that German news coverage increasingly frames lithium mining through interconnected environmental, industrial, and geopolitical concerns, while automotive companies occupy uneven positions of visibility within these mediated sustainability debates. Conclusions: By identifying how automotive companies are represented in news coverage, the study highlights patterns that are consistent with agenda-building dynamics in the interaction between automotive companies and news media.

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Author Biographies

Nadine Strauß, University of Zurich

Assistant Professor of Strategic Communication and Media Management at the Department of Communication and Media Research (IKMZ), University of Zurich. Her research focuses on strategic communication and its management, particularly how organizations and societal actors use communication to engage stakeholders, create value, and contribute to organizational performance and societal sustainability. Her research interests include corporate and sustainability communication, public relations, financial communication and investor relations, crisis communication, financial and business journalism, and digital news use. Before joining the University of Zurich, she was a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow at the University of Oxford and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Vienna. She received her PhD in Communication Science from the University of Amsterdam.

Greta Valdés Stünz, Leipzig University

External doctoral researcher in Communication and Media Studies at Leipzig University. Her research focuses on environmental and strategic communication, with particular emphasis on the communication and public perception of critical raw materials and the transition to electric mobility. Her doctoral research examines the communication surrounding lithium mining in Chile, including news media coverage, corporate communication, and public perceptions. Her broader research interests include sustainability communication, corporate communication, media framing, and the geopolitical dimensions of global raw-material supply chains. Her work combines quantitative and qualitative approaches to examine how environmental, economic, and geopolitical dimensions of resource extraction are communicated and interpreted by different actors.

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Media Representations of Corporate Sustainability Communication: German News Coverage of Lithium Mining in Chile

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