Communication Failure: How the World's Media Got Their Wires Crossed over Fukushima

I will concentrate on the professional media’s role. An assessment of the coverage in terms of column inches/airtime given to both the earthquake/tsunami destruction and that given to the nuclear incident(s). I will show that this was not just media hot air; senior politicians were quick to leap onto the apocalyptic bandwagon and use Fukushima to promote their own agendas – for example the cancellation by the German government of plans to extend the lifespan of extant German atomic plants.