As media outlets across the globe focus their attention on the deadly earthquake and tsunami that struck parts of Japan on Friday, the performance of some of Taiwan’s news channels has a number of viewers shaking their heads in disbelief — most likely with a hint of embarrassment as well.
Without a doubt, the nation’s television news stations deserve acknowledgment for dutifully serving their audience by reporting all the latest news and showing live images of the aftermath of the magnitude 8.9 earthquake and the resulting tsunami, but are sensational headlines really necessary?
Take a quick look at some of the television coverage, and the sensational headlines aren’t hard to miss.
In one incident, rather than simply using the word “evacuate” to neutrally and professionally describe how locals were being taken away from quake-stricken townships, viewers were fed a headline screaming the word “flee.”
In another incident, the word “doomsday” flashed across a sneak-preview shot to open the top-of-the-hour news. In yet another incident, phrases such as “people fight for food in supermarkets” were used, giving the misconception that people were looting the stores, and phrases such as “just like a disaster movie taking place in real life” and “refugees swarm relief centers,” again, were filled with unnecessary doses of sensational and gratuitous exaggeration.
There was also a news segment in which a television reporter sat on a sofa in a quake--simulation room. Speaking in a high-pitched voice filled with fright, she described to viewers her “quake” experience.
Granted, the clip may have been produced out of a desire to inform viewers and show them what it would feel like to experience a magnitude 7 earthquake. However, considering that there are real people out there at this very moment having their lives devastated by a real quake, the clip was completely inappropriate. It came across more as a taunt and an attempt at titillation, rather than an effort to generate viewer empathy or provide the public with useful information.
Needless to say that the often over-the-top, fast-paced and enthralling voice-over of television news anchors more often than not seems to agitate and excite rather than induce calm among viewers.
Some viewers have been quick to point out how the Japan Broadcasting Corp (NHK), by comparison, has projected a much less sensational and more calm image with its choice of language in its coverage of the disaster.
It has been a while now since Taiwan’s television news stations have been criticized for being overly sensational and described more as entertainment channels than serious news channels.
The nation’s television news channels play a vital and influential role in keeping the public informed, and the collective hard work of all the television news crews should not be overlooked. However, in light of what viewers have been treated to over the past few days, our news channels surely have a thing or two to learn from their Japanese counterparts as they strive to better serve their audience and garner the respect that the media, the fourth estate, should deserve.
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