2021.5.6

       The last class finished by saying that we can’t understand what US media if making false reports is not a crime. Today, Mr.Paterson taught us mainly about Access and Flak. He brought some examples deeply related to these two and I could deeply understand the concept as well as how we can face media.

     Firstly, I was shocked by how easily politicians with the power of flacks can manipulate media. In the US, a woman journalist who had been in the front row for more than 60 years was moved to the back when she asked the hard complicated questions to the president. And instead, a man who was not a journalist sat there. The incident was obvious so it came out but I can not imagine how frequently access-hindrance is happening. The devastating fact is that the US is better than Japan. In our country, only members of the Kisha Club can join the conference, and access is even more defined. Not many young Japanese know this fact because of their ignorance toward politics. Moreover, Silvio Berlusconi's news became an opportunity for us to reconfirm rich people's manipulation. This report wasn't really valuable for the general public, but it means that there is a high possibility of important news being stopped by pressure.

     Secondly, we learned how we can get reliable information from the media. The answer was to see foreign countries report on your country. For example, I searched "일본(Japan)" in NAVER (a search engine popular in Korea). There, I found a lot of news related to Tritiated water being released into the ocean. As I and my classmates deeply considered this topic in science class last year, I have a strong interest in it but I don't think most Japanese are even aware of this problem, and the media are not reporting it frequently. The way of the report in Japan and Korea was completely different too. While Japanese media is emphasizing data to claim that there are no serious influences on health, and the only problem is a possible rumor that can make local Fisherman's job harder. Korean media referred to Japan using harsh words such as ""Radioactive nuisance nation" and had negative opinions toward the Japanese government's decision.

     To conclude, I could understand the reality of media and learned how to cope with biased information. However, I still have one question on my mind. The media in foreign countries would not be influenced by Japanese ownership, access, etc. However, if that country's government is having a bad relationship with the Japanese government, maybe the reports are biased. I am curious to know which country is most reliable about Japan-related new reports.