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MECM90009_Assgn1_MediaReport

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MECM90009 Global Crisis Reporting

Assignment 1 – Media Report

Three years since March 11, 2011: The representation of risk in reporting the

Fukushima crises in 2014

Introduction

March 11, 2014 marked the third year anniversary of the triple disaster that occurred in

Fukushima, Japan. This media report analyses and discuss the representation of risk as

reported in three newspapers from Japan (Asahi Shimbun), Singapore (The Straits

Times), and Australia (The Age) in the week from March 9 to 16, 2014, using Beck’s

(1999: 4-5) notion of risk society and Silverstone’s (2007: 47) notion of proper distance

to examine how the said newspapers portrayed the situation of Fukushima three years

since the disaster first struck. The report is separated into four sections: the research

question and theoretical framework adopted for this report; the significance of this

report in contributing to existing studies on the reporting of the Fukushima disaster;

then a discussion on the methodology and method used to analyse the sample; and

finally a discussion of the findings followed by the conclusion. This media report argues

that journalistic norms and geographic proximity highlight the difficulties of balancing

the portrayal of Fukushima with representations and a context that allows non-Japanese

audiences to relate to Fukushima’s recovery.

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Research Question and Theoretical Framework

Before discussing the literature related to Fukushima, I want to first elaborate on the

theoretical framework adopted for this report. In Beck’s (1992: 22-23, 1999: 5-6)

discussion of the risk society, he states how as the world becomes more interdependent

and connected due to technological advancements and financial trade relationships,

there is a growing sense of risk and uncertain dangers that are ‘open to social definition

and construction’ (19992: 23). Silverstone (2007: 46-47) has also used the notion of

proper distance to highlight the central role media plays in constructing our

understanding of distant others. Specifically, both Beck (Beck 1999: 44) and Silverstone

(2007: 51) mention the role of television in constructing crises. I want to explore Beck

(1992, 1999) and Silverstone’s (2007) theories in the context of online news media to

consider how textual, as much as visual, representations from the media also impact our

perception of risk and relationship to distant crises. I thus propose the following

research questions:

1) How is the risk of Fukushima, three years since the earthquake, tsunami

and nuclear reactor meltdown, portrayed in online news media? And,

2) How is the relevance of Fukushima made relatable to non-Japanese

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readers?

Literature Review

My report adds to existing research by contributing potential areas of examining the

representation of nuclear risks. Existing literature have discussed how nuclear risks are

limited in its representation (Beck 1999: 53-54; Kinsella 2012: 256, 259). In his

discussion of the challenges emerging due to technological change, Beck (1999: 52-53)

uses the example of nuclear energy to argue how our safety and security is ‘uninsured’.

He argues how nuclear risk is unpredictable in its consequence (Beck 1999: 54). It is ‘an

event with a beginning and no end’ due to the invisibility of the damage that nuclear

energy can cause (Beck 1999: 53-54). Kinsella (2012: 255-256) uses this argument to

explore how the media reported the Fukushima disaster in 2011. From his findings, he

argues how the Fukushima disaster was represented as fatalistic, and a lesson to be

learned for other countries also using nuclear energy. Kinsella (2012: 259) criticises

how portraying the crisis at Fukushima a lesson to be learned for other countries ignores

the possibility that a future nuclear hazard may be triggered by drastically different

circumstances and context. This media report, in this sense, builds on Beck (1999:

52-54) and Kinsella’s (2012: 256-259) arguments by examining a different medium of

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news (print instead of broadcast) and also a more current context of Fukushima’s media

coverage (the reporting in 2014 rather than 2011).

Another aim of my report is to expand on studies already done on media coverage of

Fukushima using the same methodology. Existing studies on how both Western and

Japanese media covered the crisis used various approaches and different samples:

examining TV broadcasts or newspapers, and using textual, content or frame analysis as

their method (Imtihani and Yanai 2013: 939-940; Chattopadhyay 2012: 51; Lazic and

Muneo 2013: 261). Imtihani and Yanai’s (2013: 939) study, for instance, compared and

contrasted the reporting of Fukushima during the week of March 11 to 18, 2011

between the BBC and NHK. Based on theories of framing, and an examination of the

use of sources through textual analysis of news broadcasts, they argued that NHK’s

coverage favoured the government with a large number of sources coming from official

releases while the BBC adopted a more critical approach, criticising the Japanese

government as not taking action and efforts to contain the disaster was futile (Imtihani

and Yanai 2013: 944). Imtihani and Yanai’s (2013: 944) findings suggest that compared

to local coverage, Western news was actually a better news source due to its critical

approach. I adopt the same methodology (frame analysis) Imtihani and Yanai (2013)

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have used, but provide new findings by examining samples from a different news

medium (online news).

Chattopadhyay’s (2012: 55) study differs from Imtihani and Yanai’s (2013) study by

collecting samples from online news websites. Through a comparative frame analysis of

the Fukushima coverage by CNN.com and Asahi.com, Chattopadhyay (2012: 58) found

that CNN used the threat frame more than Asahi, with articles that discuss the economic

and health impact of the disaster to the US, such as food contamination and the risk of

nuclear radiation flowing to American coastlines. Asahi, on the other hand, focused

more on the cause and losses, given that an earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear reactor

meltdown all occurred within a day, creating a mass loss of life and therefore a need to

examine the causes behind them (Chattopadhyay 2012: 58).

In contrast to Chattopadhyay (2012) and Imithani and Yanai’s (2013) studies, Lazic and

Muneo (2013: 261) looked specifically at how the US newspapers covered the

Fukushima accident beginning from March 11 to December 16, 2011, using content and

frame analysis in their methodology. Based on a content analysis of the frames used,

sources, and themes, they found that while the New York Times covered the news

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through a frame of conflict (questioning Japanese authority, and presenting opposing

opinions), the LA Times and USA Today framed the crisis for a local context, using US

experts and US nuclear industries as sources (Lazic and Muneo 2013: 267-269).

Chattopadhyay (2012: 58), Imithani and Yanai’s (2013: 944), and Lazic and Muneo’s

(2013: 267-269) findings suggest that Western, compared to Japanese, media tended to

reflect Beck’s (1992: 22-23, 1999: 5-6) notion of risk society through their reporting,

based on their focus on the nuclear meltdown and risks of the Fukushima accident,

while the Japanese media did not, and instead focused on the causes and loss of life due

to the tsunami and earthquake. None of these studies (Imtihani and Yanai 2013;

Chattopadhyay 2012; Lazic and Muneo 2013) however, explored in depth the rationale

behind using such frames and how it relates to journalistic norms and geographic

proximity. My media report therefore re-examines their findings in more depth.

Methodology and Method

The sample and method I used to analyse the articles was a frame analysis of three

newspapers from three countries: The Age (Australia), The Straits Times (Singapore),

and Asahi Shimbun (Japan) during the week of March 9 to 16, 2014 that marked the

third anniversary of the Fukushima disaster. Kitzinger (2007: 138-139) describes frames

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as ways in which we negotiate meaning in order to understand reality, she then

discusses how frame analysis could be used to analyse the media production process

that affects representation and coverage of certain issues. Moreover, Kitzinger (2007:

145) notes that frames change over time. In choosing to use frame analysis, this media

report explores how the representation of the Fukushima crisis three years on is linked

journalistic norms of news production and geographical proximity. The sample of

articles collected in existing studies (Imithani and Yanai 2013; Chattopadhyay 2012;

Lazic and Muneo 2013) on Fukushima are either taken from the US or UK media in a

comparative analysis with Japanese coverage. By choosing to compare the coverage of

Fukushima from Australia and Singapore with Japan, I add to existing studies by

re-examining their findings using the same methods but with a different sample.

Results and Discussion

A frame analysis of articles collected from Asahi Shimbun, The Straits Times, The Age,

and from March 9 to 16, 2014 revealed similar frames used to perceive the perpetual

risk of Fukushima, but also variations in representations and contexts of risk once it is

reported outside of the local.

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Use of frames

The most prominent finding across two of the three newspapers, Asahi Shimbun and

The Age, was the use of the conflict frame to understand the relevance of Fukushima

now. In Asahi Shimbun (2014; 2014b), this was evident in positioning the official

sources against those of evacuees and survivors. In doing so, it portrays Fukushima as

an issue still of concern by placing the conflicting views on the risk of nuclear radiation

between government (pro-nuclear, urging a restart of reactors in 2015) and residents in

affected areas (anti-nuclear, cautious and fear of reactors starting up again) against each

other (Asahi Shimbun 2014, 2014b). This was similarly the case for articles in The Age

(2014, 2014b) in positing the polarising views of Japanese government officials with

those of concerned citizens and anti-nuclear protestors. The use of the conflict frame by

articles in Asahi Shimbun and The Age illustrates Miller and Riechert’s (2000: 48) point

that environmental risk itself does not have news value but becomes news once it is

framed in terms of conflict. Cottle (2007: 21) has also argued that journalists work to a

deadline and therefore depend on authoritative sources to provide background on an

issue (Miller and Riechert 2000: 50). Furthermore, Miller and Riechert (2000: 51) argue

that ‘conflict among competing interests is a principal driving force of news’. In this

sense, journalistic norms such as a dependency on authoritative sources for background

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and the news value of conflict illustrates that Asahi Shimbun and The Age reflect Beck’s

notion that mass media plays a central role in the social construction of risk (Anderson

2000: 96-97).

While Asahi Shimbun and The Age reflect findings in relevant studies on risk and the

media coverage of Fukushima, The Straits Times is an interesting case as articles found

by searching ‘Fukushima’ in its archives were under the opinion section rather than in

news like the former two newspapers. In an opinion article by The Straits Times, the

relevance and risk of Fukushima is framed as an issue of responsibility rather than

conflict (Kwan 2014). In the article, Kwan (2014) critiques the lack of progress by the

Japanese government in rebuilding Fukushima, as well as the Japanese media for their

lack of coverage on the reconstruction process. The use of words such as ‘it is

depressing’ and ‘it is unnerving’ to describe the actions Japanese government and Tokyo

Electric have taken indicates a framing of Fukushima as an issue that the Japanese

government and Tokyo Electric still has yet to solve and thus remain accountable (Kwan

2014). Kwan’s (2014) article reflects Beck’s (1992: 24) notion of risk society in that by

shifting the ‘unpolitical’ (natural and nuclear disaster at Fukushima) to an issue of the

‘political’ (Japan’s governmental responsibility), bureaucracies and institutions are

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forced to realise the ‘political potential of catastrophes’. In short, the framing of

Fukushima in Japanese media has changed since its coverage in 2011, moving from a

coverage focused on causes and loss to conflict, while Australian and Singaporean

media reflect the use of conflict and a critical stance towards Fukushima coverage that

the US and UK media have shown three years ago.

Representation and context of risk

Although the use of frames reflects similar findings from existing studies, the three

newspapers differed in coverage when examining their context and representation of

Fukushima’s perpetual risk. In terms of Asahi Shimbun, given the newspaper’s physical

proximity to Fukushima and their journalists’ relationship with affected residents, the

risk of Fukushima is represented as a health concern over nuclear radiation (Asahi

Shimbun 2014, 2014b). This was similar not only in the two articles mentioned earlier,

but also throughout the week of the third anniversary (Asahi Shimbun 2014c; Tada and

Sekine 2014). For The Strait Times and The Age however, what becomes notable is each

newspaper’s geographical proximity to Fukushima that determines how the risk of

Fukushima is understood.

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In the case of The Straits Times, Fukushima is framed as an economic risk rather than

health. For instance, Kwan’s (2014) article begins with a rhetorical question, ‘is the

food in Japan safe to eat?’ thus framing the issue as a concern over food contamination

and economic impact for a Singaporean context given the country’s trade relations with

Japan. This was similar in the case of another opinion article from The Straits Times, in

which the issue of Fukushima is framed in terms of relevance and currency to Japan

hosting the 2020 Olympics (Narushige 2014). The use of sources in Asahi Shimbun and

The Straits Times also differ, as the former quoted evacuees and affected residents

directly, therefore able to frame the crisis of Fukushima more specifically as concerns

over nuclear radiation and the risk that continues for the local residents (Asahi Shimbun

2014, 2014b; Tada and Sekine 2014). Meanwhile, due to distance The Straits Times

could only obtain secondary sources such as articles from Japan news organisations and

Japanese residents living in Singapore in order to frame the story (Kwan 2014;

Narushige 2014). In this sense, a news organisation’s geographical proximity to

Fukushima also affects the representation and framing of the Fukushima crisis in 2014

locally and internationally.

In contrast to the former two newspapers that still had a close distance with Fukushima

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physically, The Age’s representation of the still-existent risk of Fukushima reflects a

distant perspective that is an indicator of the paper’s own geographical distance from

the crisis itself. First and foremost, all the articles were taken from central news

agencies such as AFP, Bloomberg and Reuters, thus no journalists were assigned to

cover the story directly (The Age 2014; Hanai 2014; The Age 2014b). Subsequently, the

risk of Fukushima is portrayed as the dangers radiation causes for early childhood

development (Hanai 2014). These different and various portrayals of Fukushima’s risk

in 2014 in the local and international context illustrate van Loon’s (2000: 237-238)

point that there is a ‘hyper-intensified multiplication’ of risks due to how coverage or

representations of a particular crisis in the media transforms, or frames said crisis into

different types of risks – as with the case of Fukushima it becomes a health, economic

or childhood development risk. However, such differing representations of Fukushima

from Japan, Singapore and Australia also put into question the notion of proper distance

(Silverston 2007: 47). When describing proper distance, Silverstone (2007: 46-47)

emphasises that imagination is essential in the representation, and our understanding, of

distant others. In this sense, while it is evident from the use of frames that the media is

central in the construction and representation of risk, the findings also indicate that as

the physical distance between Fukushima and each newspaper grows wider, the

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representation of Fukushima becomes less relevant to the Japanese context and more

towards a Singaporean and Australian perspective. In summary, the use of frames and

various representations of Fukushima by Japan, Singapore and Australia highlight the

difficulty of the media in striking a balance between showing the readers the state of

Fukushima, and the context allowing them to ‘imagine’, or care for, Fukushima’s

recovery process.

Conclusion

The media report began with asking the question of how the risk of Fukushima is

portrayed, and therefore made relatable to readers, in online news media. It utilised the

theoretical framework of Beck’s (1992, 1999) risk society and Silverstone’s (2007: 47)

proper distance in examining the articles of Asahi Shimbun, The Strait Times and The

Age over the week from March 9 to 16, 2014 that marked the third year anniversary of

the Fukushima crisis. Through a frame analysis of articles related to Fukushima, it

found that the conflict frame remains a common way in which the risk of Fukushima is

understood, due journalistic norms that mean a dependence on authoritative sources and

the news value of conflict. It also found that despite similar uses of frames, the context

and representation of Fukushima’s risk between the local (Japan) and international

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(Singapore and Australia) becomes different. Singaporean and Australian coverage of

Fukushima were given a local context in order for its readers to understand the

relevance and perpetual risk of Fukushima, illustrating that geographical distance

impacts representation and relevance of Fukushima in 2014 and how it relates to

Japanese and non-Japanese audiences. To conclude, journalistic practices and physical

proximity to Fukushima highlights the challenges of balancing a portrayal of

Fukushima’s recovery to how it should be relatable to non-Japanese readers.

Word count: 2781

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