Western vs. Japanese reporting....

As mentioned here, TEPCO has begun pumping the radioactively contaminated water from No. 2 plant over to the site radwaste building, which is south of the reactor buildings. This is being done through temporarily installed hoses, and pumps.

We all knew this was coming... and what it entails. Let's look at the headlines used to relay the fact that the operation had started.

NHK NEWS JAPAN: "TRANSFER BEGINS OF HIGHLY CONTAMINATED WATER."

ASSOCIATED PRESS, USA: "NUKE PLANT STARTS PUMPING OUT RADIOACTIVE WATER."

Thanks to Fintan Dunne, we're now on to how this actually works. Note the key term "nuke" in that headline; we all still associate that term with nuclear weapons, so they'll use it every time they can. The 'pumping out radioactive water' part is surely meant to imply that they're just spewing radioactive water all over the place, in the ocean, the sky, everywhere and you're sure to be alarmed enough to read the story because of the key words and deliberate phrasing.

Which has nothing to do with journalism. But that's OK: true journalism in this country has been dead for many decades.

Even so, keeping that lowered standard in mind, I still think whoever wrote that AP headline is the idiot of the day.

I'd like for all our regular readers here to keep an eye out for this kind of trick.. this kind of implication.. and make sure to either have a laugh at it when you see it or else leave a comment wherever you do see it. It would be great if we could get them to report facts without slant. They won't... because they don't know how.. but it would be nice.

5:00 AM Eastern Tuesday 4/19
ATOMIC POWER REVIEW

Note: When we say 'true journalism is dead' we mean EXCEPT for Fintan Dunne.