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Mainstream Failure

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Re: Mainstream Failure

#11

Post by fogus »

pinaceae wrote: post #8
fogus wrote: post #6

I suppose this is why more and more people that I know (in the US) are turning to Der Spiegel and Al Jazeera for their news.

der spiegel lost a LOT of credibility due to its blatant anti-nuclear messaging right from the beginning of the fukushima reports. instead of explaining what the hell was happening, they started chernobyl discussions and simply forgot about the actual disaster. the media in german speaking countries went full retard of fukushima.

Interesting. I was not aware of that. Would you say that Der Spiegel's news is generally credible?

Re: Mainstream Failure

#12

Post by ams6110 »

markbnine wrote: post #3

I agree, nytimes.com has been insanely frantic. I can't figure out if they are rabid anti-nuclear or they simply hate Japan. I recently stopped looking at the site. But where does one go for well-written, in-depth news?

http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsunamiupdate01.html has decent info on the reactors. Not sure who's doing good reporting on the human side of the disaster.

Re: Mainstream Failure

#13

Post by keyist »

Another good resource is the Japan Subculture Research Center by Jake Adelstein (American journalist who spent 12 years in Japan on the crime beat for the Yomiuri Shinbun).

Sample post: the yakuza's role in relief efforts -- http://www.japansubculture.com/2011/03/the-worst-of-times-ca...

PS. Off-topic, but calling Stross a "pop-sci-fi author" is an injustice! Kevin Anderson and Orson Scott Card are pop-sci-fi authors. Stross writes hard science fiction.

Re: Mainstream Failure

#14

Post by JonnieCache »

One reassuring datapoint: renowned eco-cheerleader Geroge Monbiot has a piece thats garnering huge attention at the Guardian entitled "Why Fukushima made me stop worrying and love nuclear power"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/21/pro-nucl...

He even links the xkcd diagram.

Re: Mainstream Failure

#15

Post by andrewheins »

I actually disagree with the author's point about the "main story". The main story for me, and I'd wager for some of the other people on this board too, is the story of the engineers who are still working to keep Fukushima under some semblance of control. I really want to hear their story.

The critical piece of info I wanted to know that was missing from the XKCD chart is where do the engineers working on Fukushima fall on his chart, and what will be the impact on their lives.

I'm not a nuclear expert at all, and don't pretend to be - I'm a web developer, but I still want to know if they could already be falling ill due to radiation poisoning. To me, their story is the one that's the most compelling and scary.

Re: Mainstream Failure

#16

Post by michael_dorfman »

philk wrote: post #9

Nowadays I have trouble looking at any mainstream news sites without being incredibly disappointed. I'd be willing to give actual money to an organization that a) actually understood what they were reporting and b) reported facts rather than PR, hyperbole and human interest angles but I haven't been able to find one.

I'd be willing to give actual money to an organization that a) actually understood what they were reporting and b) reported facts rather than PR, hyperbole and human interest angles

The New York Times would be happy to take that money off your hands. For all of their failings, I'd argue that they generally meet both of your criteria.

Re: Mainstream Failure

#17

Post by pmjordan »

pinaceae wrote: post #8
fogus wrote: post #6

I suppose this is why more and more people that I know (in the US) are turning to Der Spiegel and Al Jazeera for their news.

der spiegel lost a LOT of credibility due to its blatant anti-nuclear messaging right from the beginning of the fukushima reports. instead of explaining what the hell was happening, they started chernobyl discussions and simply forgot about the actual disaster. the media in german speaking countries went full retard of fukushima.

the media in german speaking countries went full retard of fukushima

I can confirm this for Austria. The country has always had a somewhat schizophrenic relationship with nuclear energy[1], and the media (even supposedly reputable papers like Die Presse) have gone into multi-page "OMG second Chernobyl" hysteria mode. I sampled some articles - the amount of factual errors is staggering. I've stopped reading any local news media as a result; I have to assume I'm being fed propaganda the rest of the time, too.

[1] There is one nuclear power plant in the country. It never went into operation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwentendorf_Nuclear_Power_Plant There is however, an operational research reactor. Anti-nuclear-energy-sentiment is widespread (large majority); the fact that the energy imported from neighbouring countries is largely generated by nuclear plants is conveniently ignored; in fact, there are longstanding campaigns to pressure the neighbouring countries to shut their plants down. I also find it amusing that the IAEA is headquartered here.

Re: Mainstream Failure

#18

Post by jrwoodruff »

I get so tired of comments blasting mainstream media. It's easy to do, and just counterproductive. The good stories about the tsunami are out there, you just have to stop watching 24 hour news channels. Read the Boston Globe, The New York Times, The Atlantic.

Please stop complaining that good stories don't fall in your lap for free. Go find them, or build a better way to put important, un-sensationalized stories in front of millions of people while getting effectively compensated for your time.

Here's 10 minutes of checking top news sources:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/aftershocks-keep-japanes...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/japan-earthquake-and-tsu...

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/

http://www.seattlepi.com/national/1104ap_as_japan_earthquake...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-03-21-japan-earthqua...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/science/22predict.html?ref...

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-japan-ag...

edit to add links

Re: Mainstream Failure

#19

Post by darklajid »

pinaceae wrote: post #8
fogus wrote: post #6

I suppose this is why more and more people that I know (in the US) are turning to Der Spiegel and Al Jazeera for their news.

der spiegel lost a LOT of credibility due to its blatant anti-nuclear messaging right from the beginning of the fukushima reports. instead of explaining what the hell was happening, they started chernobyl discussions and simply forgot about the actual disaster. the media in german speaking countries went full retard of fukushima.

Agreed. I currently have a hard time finding _any_ usuable information in German. I quickly turned away from all media here, following the "Why I'm not worried.." and its follow-up submissions on this site instead.

Spiegel et al failed. The whole media message over here is "nuclear power is far too dangerous, look at Japan" and nothing more.

Re: Mainstream Failure

#20

Post by bballant »

jrwoodruff wrote: post #18

I get so tired of comments blasting mainstream media. It's easy to do, and just counterproductive. The good stories about the tsunami are out there, you just have to stop watching 24 hour news channels. Read the Boston Globe, The New York Times, The Atlantic. Please stop complaining that good stories don't fall in your lap for free. Go find them, or build a better way to put important, un-sensationalized stories in f…

I agree. Cable news is horrendous. On the other hand, the photos of the tsunami devestation published by the Boston Globe alone tell a story that is deeper and richer than anything else I've seen or read on the matter.
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