Posted on 03/16/2011 7:33:16 PM PDT by battousai
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By this time the TV presenters had realized that for the first time that the tsunamis were real and the style of presentation changed. The presenters sat up straight and the training went in to practice and they started giving out evacuation details and telling us exactly what areas and at exactly what times would be affected. People were shocked at how far the tsunamis came in but there was no panic, they were reporting things exactly as they happened and focussed on helping people get the right information to get to the safest places as quickly as possible.
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But then I switched across to the BBC and oh my goodness, what a contrast! Make no wonder everyone overseas was panicking. Forget any pretence of informative news, this was purely emotionally driven exaggeration on the part of the BBC. 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.” 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 speakong reporters were making up.
(Excerpt) Read more at genkienglish.net ...
He sheds light on how things looked from the Japanese side and how western media (as usual) are destorting so much.
This was the text of his e-mail:
Thank you again to everyone for their messages of support. Things are very bad in Northern Japan.
But having said that please don’t believe everything they are saying in the foreign media. Speaking as someone who is in Japan, who speaks Japanese and has studied nuclear physics for four years, it is totally irresponsible how they are exaggerating, mis-translating Japanese and getting the science completely wrong just for dramatic effect. Japan needs help, not panic.
My B-I-L who is retired ex-USAF and resides near Tokyo with his Japanese wife says pretty much the same thing. He’s also ticked at Fox News which he gets there, with their sensationalizing and hyped stories especially about the nuclear plants. They wish more coverage would be centered on the people affected by the natural disasters not hypothetical scenarios.
Per his wife, the Japanese are very thankful for the help — almost too many volunteers in some areas.
i’m sorry for the embarrassing coverage by the press in the US. then again, i’ve been embarrassed by how ill-informed our media and the people of the US have been for years
please keep us updated as best you can.
if there is something you need, please drop it on us and let the community see what we can do about it and how we can assist.
FR is full of solid, get-it-done kind of people (more makers then takers)
Sten, that’s not my blog, hope I was clear enough on that, its from an American living in Japan, I subscribe to his newsletter to help with my study of the language (which sadly hasn’t gone very far), and he had this update today on the situation.
I am also ticked off at Fox News, way too much hype.
I have been watching the Japanese NHK network on jibtv.com exclusively to get info on the earthquake/tsunami & nuclear crisis.
The japanese broadcast is in English, they are so calm & business like, yet they also have interviews with survivors that are so honest and heart rendering.
Amazing the poor survivors now have to suffer the cold and snow.
Pray for the victims that help will come quickly
I am also ticked off at Fox News, way too much hype.
I have been watching the Japanese NHK network on jibtv.com exclusively to get info on the earthquake/tsunami & nuclear crisis.
The japanese broadcast is in English, they are so calm & business like, yet they also have interviews with survivors that are so honest and heart rendering.
Amazing the poor survivors now have to suffer the cold and snow.
Pray for the victims that help will come quickly
Very interesting read, and just about what I’ve been thinking.
It’s not just the American press. The British, French, and other foreign presses seem just as bad.
Part of it is the desire to sell more papers, no doubt, as this guy speculates. But part of it is also political. They really, really want to kill nuclear power in the U.S. And I see that Juan McCain jumped on board the bandwagon today.
Typical.
I am so disgusted with the foreign media about this crap I refuse to read any stories about the quake except what comes from Japanese sources.
I am most especially pissed about their “buying panic” stories because whatever heavy shopping there was has passed and while the stores are not as well stocked as they are normally, they are still open for business and there are plenty of goods available.
And don’t even get me started on the “lack of looters” stories... Hell, you can almost sense their frustration that there is not any more gore or blood to shovel in front of their readers and their wistful longing for a good riot or something similar.
Whatever.
Fox hyped and CNN and MSNBC didn’t?
WHATEVER
What? You are still alive? I was certain from listening to FOX and CNN that everyone there was already dead from radiation poisoning and that the cloud of death was due in California Friday. Stay safe and don’t let the bastards get you down.
At least there are no reports of rampant looting.
Thank you VERY MUCH for posting Mr. Graham’s blog report. It is very helpful, instructive and informative and in a clinical way, downright interesting. I also found the replies to Grahams’ comments instructive, especially those made by Margit, Rosebud and, in particular, Teri.
GOT MILK! Prices are up a bit, but the Summit Supermarket at Kugayama had shelves full of meat, frozen foods and almost everything else. Rice is still in short supply and I had to settle for a richer and more expensive brand of milk than I usually get, but what the heck...
Meat prices are up about 25% across the board, but that’s not too bad. Once things settle a bit more, hopefully, they will come back down.
Thanks for pointing those out, Teri’s comment is new to me I had already read the rest, s/he must have posted after that.
If only the western media would get information from people living in the country such as yourself and Richard, than from all these ‘experts’ we would be so much better informed.
Oh and sorry folks I should make one correction Richard, the author, is an Englishman living in Japan, not an American. Just for accuracies sake :)
I’m still waiting for bread and milk around here.. but water is back :)
The biggest problem I have at the moment is getting to a working ATM in case I run out of in-hand cash. Is it a local thing, or are all ATMs shut down?
Take care FRiend :)
Bikk
I pretty much have given up on the US media, believe it or not, one of the best sources is Russia Today, which is on the web. I’ve even started watching Al-Jazeera. Take everything with a grain of salt, but these news channels make US news media look like a joke.
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