After Fukushima: The Fear Factor

Dear miatink, you have a good handle on the debate as far as I am concerned.

What a brilliantly reported, well-rounded and informative report. It’s impressive how it exposes the way UK news work and that news journalism in this country seems to follow priorities of sensationalism and fear mongering rather than reporting the correct facts in the right proportion. It is outrageous that journalists are pressured by editors to write stories from a certain angle even if that one does not accurately represent the facts. The public has little choice to verify the information from the news. I therefore think that British media has a responsibility to report facts and issues truthfully without an underlying agenda. The fact that even the Science Media Centre London openly condemns their journalistic practices seems to suggest that the issue is very serious. I liked how the report investigated the issues of public misunderstanding in regards to ‘radiation’ and the perception of risky nuclear power plants. This was a natural and not a human disaster and in my opinion British media would have done a better job focussing on the terrible destruction of people’s homes and the social and economic struggles faced by Japan. Instead of selfish and unfounded fear, Britain might have just felt that little bit more empathetic towards the Japan if the real catastrophe caused by the tsunami had been the news rather than the comparatively smaller issue of the damaged nuclear power station.

Really revealing- news values intended to terrify us, scientists accused of lying & journos taken off stories for being measured says the Director of the Science media centre after Fukushima-I've heard Germany recalled its rescue team due to radiation fears-don't know if thats true-but fear is certainly damaging.

Good bit of video journalism. I too was flabbergasted with the reportage at the time that just spread unwarranted panic about Fukushima and turned away from telling us about the real victims of the earthquake and tsunami. A low point in news coverage, what is happening to the news and media?