- KOREAN
- E-ISSN2383-9449
- SCOPUS
E-ISSN : 2383-9449
News Analysis of the Fukushima Accident: Lack of Information Disclosure, Radiation Fears and Accountability Issues
Abstract
Previous research assessed media reporting on nuclear accidents and risks, whilst studies about the Fukushima accident focused on the impact of the Internet on coverage of the incident. However, little research has addressed news framing or comparisons of the perceptions of journalists in relation to reporting nuclear accidents. The aim of this study is to apply framing analysis to news content in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and USA Today about the Fukushima accident. It explores the question of how journalists view reporting on complex events. Content analysis of these three newspapers shows that conflict, responsibility, and economic consequences were the most frequently used frames. According to the journalists interviewed, the biggest problem was the inability to assess information due to contrary positions held by experts. It is argued that the Fukushima accident was framed as a conflict of experts and officials' opinions, utility and government officials' responsibility, and economic consequences for the United States. Adherence to professional norms of objectivity and impartiality was signified as the best approaches to risk reporting.
- keywords
- News framing, Fukushima, journalists' perceptions
Reference
An, S.K, and Gower, K.. (2009). How Do the News Media Frame Crises? A Content Analysis of Crisis News Coverage. Public Relations Review, 35(2), 107-112. 10.1016/j.pubrev.2009.01.010.
Anderson, A.. Media, Culture, and the Environment.
Berkowitz, D.. (1992). Non-Routine News and Newswork: Exploring a What-a-Story. Jour-nal of Communication, 42(1), 82-94.
Brooker, C.. Charlie Brooker on the Media's Japan / Fukushima Coverage. 10 O'Clock Live (2011).
Carpenter, S.. (2007). U.S. Elite and Non-elite Newspapers' Portrayal of the Iraq War: A Comparison of Frames and Source Use. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 84(4), 761-776. 10.1177/107769900708400407.
Carstarphen, M. G., and Coman, M., P. Gross and G. Kopper (Ed.). Chapter 6: Foreign Correspondents: Necessary Mythmakers;Understanding foreign correspond-ence: A Euro-American perspective of concepts, methodologies, and theories.
Clausen, L., S. Allan (Ed.), edited by Stuart Allan. International News Flow;The Routledge Companion to News and Journalism.
Cottle, S.. Global Crisis Reporting: Journalism in the Global Age.
Cowan, J., McClure, J., and Wilson, M.. (2002). What a Difference a Year Makes: How Immediate and Anniversary Media Reports Influence Judgments About Earthquakes. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 5(3), 169-185. 10.1111/1467-839X.00102.
Edy, J. A., and Meirick, P.C.. (2007). Wanted, Dead or Alive: Media Frames, Frame Adop-tion, and Support for the War in Afghanistan. Journal of Communication, (57), 119-141.
Entman, R.. (1993). Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm. Journal of Communication, 43(3), 51-58. 10.1111/j.1460-2466.1993.tb01304.x.
Entman, R.. Guilt and Innocence in the Korean Airline and Iran Air Tragedies;Projec-tion of Power: Framing News, Public Opinion and U.S. Foreign Policy.
Friedman, S.M.. (2011). Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima: An Analysis of Tradi-tional and New Media Coverage of Nuclear Accidents and Radiation. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 67(5), 55-65. 10.1177/0096340211421587.
Friedman, S.M., Gorney, C.M., and Egolf, B.P.. (1987). Reporting on Radiation: A Content Analysis of Chernobyl Coverage. Journal of Communication, 37(3), 58-79. 10.1111/j.1460-2466.1987.tb00994.x.
Friedman, S.M., Gorney, C.M., and Egolf, B.P.. (1992). Chernobyl Coverage: How the U.S. Media Treated the Nuclear Industry. Public Understanding of Science, 1(3), 305-323. 10.1088/0963-6625/1/3/005.
Funabashi, Y., and Kitazawa, K.. (2012). Fukushima in Review: A Complex Disaster, a Disas-trous Response. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 68(2), 9-21.
Gamson, W.A., & Modigliani A.. (1989). Media Discourse and Public Opinion on Nuclear Power: A Constructionist Approach. American Journal of Sociology, 95, 1-37. 10.1086/229213.
Hippel, F. von N.. (2011). The Radiological and Psychological Consequences of the Fukushi-ma Daiichi Accident. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 67(5), 27-36. 10.1177/0096340211421588.
Johnston, E.. The Japan Times: News Digest.
Johnson, K.. Inundated with News, Many Find It Difficult to Keep up on Libya, The New York Times.
Jorant, C.. (2011). The Implications of Fukushima: The European Perspective. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 67(4), 14-17. 10.1177/0096340211414842.
Lewis, S. C., and Reese, S.D.. (2009). What Is the War on Terror? Framing Through the Eyes of Journalist. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 86(1), 85-102. 10.1177/107769900908600106.
Lyman, E. S.. (2011). Surviving the One-two Nuclear Punch: Assessing Risk and Policy in a post-Fukushima World. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 67(5), 47-54.
Major, A. M., and Atwood, L. E.. (2004). Environmental Risks in the News: Issues, Sources, Problems, and Values. Public Understanding of Science, 13(3), 295-308. 10.1177/0963662504044557.
Neuman, R.W., Just, M.R., and Crigler, A.N.. Common Knowledge: News and the Construction of Political Meaning.
Pantti, M., and Wahl-Jorgensen, K.. (2007). On the Political Possibilities of Therapy News: Media Responsibility and the Limits of Objectivity in Disaster Coverage. Estudos Em Comunicacao, (1), 3-25.
Pantti, M., Wahl-Jorgensen, K., and Cottle, S.. Disasters and the media (Vol. 7).
Perko, T., Turcanu, C., and Carle, B.. (2012). Media Reporting of Nuclear Emergencies: The Effects of Transparent Communication in a Minor Nuclear Event. Journal of Con-tingencies and Crisis Management, 20(1), 52-63. 10.1111/j.1468-5973.2012.00663.x.
Rubin, D. M.. (1987). How the News Media Reported on Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. Journal of Communication, 37(3), 42-57. 10.1111/j.1460-2466.1987.tb00993.x.
Riffe, D, Lacy S., and Fico, F.G.. Analyzing Media Messages: Using Quantitative Content Analysis in Research.
Scheufele, D.A.. (1999). Framing as a Theory of Media Effects. Journal of Communication, 49(1), 103-122. 10.1111/j.1460-2466.1999.tb02784.x.
Scheufele, D. A., and Tewksbury, D.. (2007). Framing, Agenda Setting and Priming: The Evolution of Three Media Effects Models. Journal of Communication, 57(1), 9-20.
Schudson, M.. (2007). The Anarchy of Events and the Anxiety of Story Telling. Political Communication, 24(3), 253-257. 10.1080/10584600701471534.
Semetko, H. A., Valkenburg, P.M.. (2000). Framing European Politics: A Content Analysis of Press and Television News. Journal of Communication, 5(2), 93-109.
Suzuki, T.. (2011). Deconstructing the Zero-risk Mindset: The Lessons and Future Responsibilities for a post-Fukushima Nuclear Japan. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 67(5), 9-18.
Tierney, K, Bevc, C., and Kuligowski, E.. (2006). Metaphors Matter: Disaster Myths, Media Frames and Their Consequences in Hurricane Katrina. The Annals of the American Academy, (604), 57-81.
Tkach-Kawasaki, L., Kingston J. (ed.). March 11. 2011 Online: Comparing Japanese Newspaper Web-sites and International News Websites;Natural Disaster and Nuclear Crisis in Japan.
Vreese de, C. H.. (2005). News Framing: Theory and Typology. Information Design Journal + Document Design, 13(1), 51-62.
Westerstahl, J, and Johansson, F.. (1991). Chernobyl and the Nuclear Power Issue in Sweden: Experts, Media, and Public Opinion. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 3(2), 115-131. 10.1093/ijpor/3.2.115.
Vreese de, C. H., Hjarvard S. (ed.). Frames in Television News: British, Danish, and Dutch Television News Coverage of the Introduction of the Euro;News in a Globalized Society.
Wilkins, L., and Patterson, P.. (1987). Risk Analysis and the Construction of News. Journal of Communication, 37(3), 80-92. 10.1111/j.1460-2466.1987.tb00996.x.
Yokota, T. and Yamada, T.. Foreign Media Create Secondary Disaster, No. 1 Shimbun.
- Downloaded
- Viewed
- 0KCI Citations
- 0WOS Citations