TOKYO -- Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK, and its English-language global channel, NHK World, came into their own during the triple disasters of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis that began March 11, although it is yet to commercialize its strengths in the same way as the British Broadcasting Corp.
When Japan’s Meteorological Agency issued a warning for a major earthquake at 2:46 pm on Friday, March 11, NHK had the message on viewers' screens in two seconds.
“NHK holds disaster drills after midnight every evening across eight locations; the training and experience that people acquire is put to use at times like this,” says Atsushi Matsumoto, director at the Disaster and Safety Information Center of NHK’s news department. “Our strength is not just in broadcasting, but the fact that we have an extensive national network that is in place and prepared for natural disasters.”
Within a minute and 30 seconds of the earthquake, NHK had cut from a live broadcast of a Japanese parliamentary debate to rolling coverage of the unfolding catastrophe. NHK, however, would never use a word as evocative as "catastrophe" in its matter-of-fact reporting style, which won plaudits from many who preferred it to the breathless hysteria that permeated much of the global media’s coverage.
“An element of our duty as a public broadcaster is to present the news with impartiality, independence and to have a complete separation of fact and opinion,” explains Matsumoto.
(Source : The Hollywood Reporter/kimandrewelliott.com)
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