Causes of Distrust in Television: Awareness of the CommunicatorsUsing the Examples of Disaster Reporting

Abstract

　Regarding the number one reason for trusting television, although the

results of studies have shown that people trust television to provide accurate

information when their lives or livelihoods are at risk during disasters and accidents,

questions have been raised regarding whether this trust in disaster

reporting is wavering. It has been demonstrated that distrust in television

reporting in disaster-hit areas is growing due to the disparities between local

stations and leading stations based in Tokyo, as exemplified by the differences

in the results of television reporting during the Kumamoto earthquakes that

occurred in April 2016 between local stations based in Kumamoto Prefecture

and leading Tokyo stations, as well as the differences in discussion topics in the

reports covering the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster that occurred in

March 2011 between local stations based in Fukushima Prefecture and the leading Tokyo stations.