Bibliometric analysis of the media-sustainable development nexus: mapping trends and future directions

Abstract

Acknowledging the substantial body of bibliometric scholarship dedicated to sustainable development, a discernible lacuna persists concerning the specific role of media within this domain. This study undertakes a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of 9,980 publications indexed in the Web of Science database (spanning 1989–2025) to delineate the extant research landscape at the intersection of media and sustainable development, thereby providing a foundation for future scholarly inquiry. The findings reveal a marked increase in academic interest, particularly from 2018 onwards, with over half of the identified publications appearing between 2021 and 2025. The predominant publication type is the research article (80.98%), primarily disseminated in the English language. China and the United States emerge as leading contributors to this research area. While the core disciplinary focus centers on environmental science, green technology, and environmental studies, communication studies remain comparatively underrepresented, despite the acknowledged critical function of media in advancing sustainability agendas. Although the corpus of research addresses all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a disproportionate emphasis is observed on SDGs 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), 13 (Climate Action), and 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). Conversely, SDGs 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions), 10 (Reduced Inequalities), 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), 5 (Gender Equality), and 1 (No Poverty) receive comparatively less scholarly attention, indicating a potential bias towards environmental rather than social dimensions of sustainability. Subsequent scholarly investigations ought to strategically prioritize interdisciplinary frameworks that explicitly integrate media and information literacy, incorporating emergent dimensions of artificial intelligence literacy. This integrated approach aims to cultivate more inclusive and comprehensive strategies for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, concurrently advocating for the expansion of multilingual publishing to enrich the global knowledge base and ensure a more representative articulation of local contexts within the international discourse on sustainable development and media.