The common people are never expected to know the truth and will easily believe any form of the "truth" supplied by information sources that they trust. The media, of all countries and ideologies, act on the belief that its loyal constituents will follow them 100% when they post news articles that present the on-the-ground facts in certain perspectives so that even the most "facts-only" pieces somehow contain sharp and twisted opinions of the editors.
The inability of the common people to obtain the truth is exactly why the media can think in this particular way with confident impunity, and it is why governments and political groups seek to control and mange the information as released by the media to the public. But, in times of extraordinary events, even the most trusted and seemingly benign sources come under serious scrutiny, casting a doubt upon their true intentions for portraying certain events only in certain ways.
The Quake and its aftermath in Japan has been such an extraordinary event. As the events at Fukushima nuclear plant becomes widely known (well, who can hide an explosion, not to mention three?), the media, both in Japan and the West, often echoing their respective national governments, have been trying hard to portray the sequence of events at Fukushima in often contradictory ways. While the portrayal of heroism of the workers to contain the radiation leak has been common, the differing news of sufferings and potential future ones have been nothing less than a source of added panic.
And of course, the reporting differs for good reasons. The Japanese media, facing a crisis in the home country, have a mission to heed government calls for calm. To avoid panic, they have been diligent in reporting what little pieces of good news that have been developing. Other than stressing the heroism of the workers at the nuclear plant, they have been reporting the "effective" efforts of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and US Navy to bring water to the plant to cool down the exposing rods.
And most of all, the Japanese media has focused on the radiation numbers: the fact that even at the current heightened levels, the radiation experienced by most people is still a tiny fraction of the normal level experienced over a regular calendar year. They reported (and shown in pictures) that supplies of food throughout the country was plentiful, while avoiding news of mass exodus of people leaving Japan, determined to keep the already weakened psyche of the public stable in hopes of avoiding further panic.
The foreign media, on the other hand, has been working hard to emphasize the unprecedented scale of the current disaster. Foreign news were the first to report that overheated fuel rods have been completely exposed from their cooling fluids and they were the first to report massive efforts by each country to bring their citizens home from Japan. Buzzwords such as "meltdown" are dotted throughout their reports.
Sensationalization sells. There is no doubt about that. The more abnormal a piece of news sounds, the more it will disrupt our boring every lives, and the more people will want to read it. For media from countries that cannot be directly affected by the radiation in Japan, it just does not hurt to make the crisis sound as big as possible, much to the dismay of the Japanese government. For those loyal followers of those foreign news services, now is really a time to test their loyalties.
Most people, unfortunately, have their minds set about the crisis after reading the few initial reports. But few others decide to stay calm and compare the differing reports. Some say the Japanese are lying, some say the foreigners are exaggerating. But even for those stubbornly stuck to certain opinions provided by the favorite news sources (definitely "意婬" attitude right there), as reality makes exaggeration valid and understatement unsupportable, they will have to stop with their reality escapism and think clearly about what to do next for the sake of personal survival.
The inability of the common people to obtain the truth is exactly why the media can think in this particular way with confident impunity, and it is why governments and political groups seek to control and mange the information as released by the media to the public. But, in times of extraordinary events, even the most trusted and seemingly benign sources come under serious scrutiny, casting a doubt upon their true intentions for portraying certain events only in certain ways.
The Quake and its aftermath in Japan has been such an extraordinary event. As the events at Fukushima nuclear plant becomes widely known (well, who can hide an explosion, not to mention three?), the media, both in Japan and the West, often echoing their respective national governments, have been trying hard to portray the sequence of events at Fukushima in often contradictory ways. While the portrayal of heroism of the workers to contain the radiation leak has been common, the differing news of sufferings and potential future ones have been nothing less than a source of added panic.
And of course, the reporting differs for good reasons. The Japanese media, facing a crisis in the home country, have a mission to heed government calls for calm. To avoid panic, they have been diligent in reporting what little pieces of good news that have been developing. Other than stressing the heroism of the workers at the nuclear plant, they have been reporting the "effective" efforts of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and US Navy to bring water to the plant to cool down the exposing rods.
And most of all, the Japanese media has focused on the radiation numbers: the fact that even at the current heightened levels, the radiation experienced by most people is still a tiny fraction of the normal level experienced over a regular calendar year. They reported (and shown in pictures) that supplies of food throughout the country was plentiful, while avoiding news of mass exodus of people leaving Japan, determined to keep the already weakened psyche of the public stable in hopes of avoiding further panic.
The foreign media, on the other hand, has been working hard to emphasize the unprecedented scale of the current disaster. Foreign news were the first to report that overheated fuel rods have been completely exposed from their cooling fluids and they were the first to report massive efforts by each country to bring their citizens home from Japan. Buzzwords such as "meltdown" are dotted throughout their reports.
Sensationalization sells. There is no doubt about that. The more abnormal a piece of news sounds, the more it will disrupt our boring every lives, and the more people will want to read it. For media from countries that cannot be directly affected by the radiation in Japan, it just does not hurt to make the crisis sound as big as possible, much to the dismay of the Japanese government. For those loyal followers of those foreign news services, now is really a time to test their loyalties.
Most people, unfortunately, have their minds set about the crisis after reading the few initial reports. But few others decide to stay calm and compare the differing reports. Some say the Japanese are lying, some say the foreigners are exaggerating. But even for those stubbornly stuck to certain opinions provided by the favorite news sources (definitely "意婬" attitude right there), as reality makes exaggeration valid and understatement unsupportable, they will have to stop with their reality escapism and think clearly about what to do next for the sake of personal survival.
意淫
ReplyDeleteI love that term
ReplyDelete