Foreign media take flak for fanning fears

[Hannah Bell]

On the JPquake website, residents of Japan angry at such coverage have created a "journalist wall of shame" comprising nearly 70 reports from foreign television, radio and newspaper companies since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami set off the nuclear crisis. The purpose of the website, its creators say, is to inspire reporting that is factually accurate and less speculative and sensationalist.

According to another "fact," authorities have been warning those in a position to leave Tokyo to flee the city immediately, because another severe quake or an eruption at Mount Fuji could spark a meltdown at the "Shibuya Eggman nuclear reactor" — which in reality is a live house, or concert hall, in Tokyo.

For example, Japanese and foreigners who know a little about the country reacted in shocked disbelief when America's FOX News displayed a map of Japanese nuclear power stations that included the Shibuya Eggman plant in the Tokyo region. It remains a mystery as to how this ended up on a news program watched daily by around 1.8 million people.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110321f1.html


Comment on the above article by an 8-year (& current) resident of Japan:

I agree that the Japanese media is frequently complacent and derelict in its duties... However, in this case, they are not the problem. They might be mostly reporting on information released from TEPCO and the government, but what else can they report on? Radiation is also being measured by independent parties, including amateurs, and my impression is that they are reporting on that as well. The main problem that this Japan Times article fails to address is things like:

•Radiation readings being given without context. MY GOD! RADIATION IN TOKYO XX TIMES NORMAL LEVELS! Sure, but what does that mean? Hint: http://xkcd.com/radiation/

•photographs being captioned in inaccurate ways (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12770263 – Photo 5, a caption about Sendai (pop. 1,000,000) and the “few buildings that remained standing” was absolutely true—about Minami Sanriku, the city (pop. 20,000) in the photograph.

•Unsubstantiated claims: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/2011/03/16/japanese-tsunami-thousands-flee-tokyop-as-radiation-levels-reach-danger-levels-and-fears-of-meltdown-at-nulcear-plant-grow-86908-22993048/ “The Fukushima Daiichi complex was rocked by a third explosion early yesterday – and blazing fires in a fourth reactor sparked full-scale panic.” Excuse me? Panic? When? Where?; “Many Tokyo residents who chose not to head for the hills were locked up in their homes…” While it could be technically true, as many people all over the world lock their doors, the impression it gives is false...


http://squeeze-box.ca/?category_name=your_man_in_japan

[Rex]

1. Evidently Nancy Grace is now an expert on radiation.

If there was an actual emergency, these people would have hauled ass out of here and left the rest of us with the bill.

[PurityOfEssence]

3. Definitely one of the freakiest, most scurrilous outragemongers in the flogosphere

Just a freak, some kind of Tupperware-hawking, busybody, fetishy, sado-exhibitionistic carny-hack-from-hell nightmare ex-wife cosmetics palette with delusions of significance. Why can't she just stick to showing abused victims to the despicable instead of going on some terror bender?

Dig the brows, though; sort of a Mary-Kay Klingon kinda thing...

[Rex]

4. You could broil a frog in front of her and she would swear up and down

that frog had it coming...with all the legal muster she could! Fucking frog!!!!

[PurityOfEssence]

2. Aw, come on; that's their business.

Fear sells; ask any Republican.

[Hannah Bell]

5. A writer on the blog GenkiEnglish.net pointed to the contrast

between the restrained Japanese media and the sensationalistic foreign media.

“Whilst Japanese news was giving out information about what areas were affected by what size waves, the BBC was giving voice-overs like ‘death approaches by the sea,’” he wrote.

“They reshowed the footage of Sendai from when the quake hit but this time with voice-overs like ‘blinded with panic not knowing where to turn.’ Well, no. That’s not what was happening. When a quake hits you look around, you see what’s happening. When it goes on longer your heart starts beating and you wonder if the building will indeed stand up to the shaking. But you don’t panic. And the people on TV weren’t panicking, contrary to what the English speaking reporters were making up.”

The blog writer added: "We know why they do it, to sell newspapers or these days to have the dramatic headline to the get the internet click. But they have crossed the line somewhere here. This is the first time I’ve seen the original language reporting on an event and then how the English language media report it and they are just getting so many facts wrong, purposely mis-translating the Japanese and reframing the story to their mind set to sell more copy.”

http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/125045/20110321/japan.htm

[Hannah Bell]

6. Shibuyaeggman reactor: screenshot from Fox

Shibuya Eggman management sets the record straight:





http://www.japansubculture.com/2011/03/fox-news-exposes-tokyo-music-hall-eggman-is-really-a-secret-nuclear-reactor/

[Hannah Bell]

7. k