Media Coverage of Fukushima Nuclear Power Station Accident 2011 (A Case Study of NHK and BBC WORLD TV Stations)

Abstract This paper attempts to investigate the mass media coverage of Fukushima No. 1 (Dai-ichi) Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) accident in 2011. The purpose of this study is to explore how NHK and BBC World covered the Fukushima accident, what became the focus of their coverage, and what similarities and differences NHK and BBC World had in reporting this case. The data is collected from the Japanese public television station NHK and BBC English by recording the entire programs on NHK and BBC from March 11-18, 2011. The investigation of NHK and BBC coverage on the nuclear crisis in Fukushima will be focused on the news sources, news format and news themes. The discussion is focused on the news framing of the three main themes, i.e., the first explosion occurring at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, the operation of watering down the reactor by helicopter, and the delivery of video messages from the Japanese emperor. The analysis shows that NHK seemed to be in favour of the Japanese government and the Tokyo Electric Power Company in the selection of information sources that were dominated by the goverment's official statements. In addition to the bias of its information sources, NHK also supported government policy through their news framing of the accident.