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TYNDALL HEADLINE: HIGHLIGHTS FROM MARCH 16, 2011
No matter that the death toll from the tsunami in northeastern Japan will reach five figures. No matter that, so far, the radiation leaking from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant complex has killed nobody. The frantic efforts to prevent the uranium fuel rods from melting down, to prevent the concrete containment building from leaking, and to prevent the depleted fuel rods from catching fire have captivated ABC's attention. Its Disaster in the Pacific special edition led off with Martha Raddatz from its Washington DC bureau cataloguing Fukushima's impending disaster. Anchor Diane Sawyer was back in New York City after anchoring two newscasts from Japan. NBC's Lester Holt and CBS' Harry Smith both led from Tokyo with a round-up of the day's crisis developments. NBC, too, labeled its newscast a special edition, using the Disaster in Japan logo for the third straight day. With 44 minutes of coverage (74% of the newshole), the crisis was slightly less newsworthy than on the three previous (50 min, 51 and 50) weekdays.
TYNDALL PICKS FOR MARCH 16, 2011: CLICK ON GRID ELEMENTS TO SEARCH FOR MATCHING ITEMS
RADIATION TREPIDATION TRUMPS TSUNAMI REALITY No matter that the death toll from the tsunami in northeastern Japan will reach five figures. No matter that, so far, the radiation leaking from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant complex has killed nobody. The frantic efforts to prevent the uranium fuel rods from melting down, to prevent the concrete containment building from leaking, and to prevent the depleted fuel rods from catching fire have captivated ABC's attention. Its Disaster in the Pacific special edition led off with Martha Raddatz from its Washington DC bureau cataloguing Fukushima's impending disaster. Anchor Diane Sawyer was back in New York City after anchoring two newscasts from Japan. NBC's Lester Holt and CBS' Harry Smith both led from Tokyo with a round-up of the day's crisis developments. NBC, too, labeled its newscast a special edition, using the Disaster in Japan logo for the third straight day. With 44 minutes of coverage (74% of the newshole), the crisis was slightly less newsworthy than on the three previous (50 min, 51 and 50) weekdays.
WEDNESDAY WISDOM To my eyes, tsunami footage is more awesome than the nuclear crisis: ITN's Angus Walker feeds NBC from the fishing village of Miyako
ABC anchor Diane Sawyer narrates five o'clock chimes--from Paul McCartney--as birds wheel over depopulated debris
Dale Bridenbaugh, the vindicated GE nuclear whistleblower from 1976, lands a trifecta of soundbites (NBC, ABC, CBS)
The Faceless 50 from Fukushima are being groomed for Chilean-miners-style working class hero status: ABC's Juju Chang
Does Nancy Cordes at CBS think she is working for NBC? Expat-in-peril Taylor Anderson meet Canon Purdy & Mary Thornberry
Arab turmoil makes a modest comeback: NBC's John Ray in Bahrain; CBS' Mark Phillips in Tripoli; NBC's Andrea Mitchell in Cairo
WEDNESDAY WISDOM To my eyes, tsunami footage is more awesome than the nuclear crisis: ITN's Angus Walker feeds NBC from the fishing village of Miyako
ABC anchor Diane Sawyer narrates five o'clock chimes--from Paul McCartney--as birds wheel over depopulated debris
Dale Bridenbaugh, the vindicated GE nuclear whistleblower from 1976, lands a trifecta of soundbites (NBC, ABC, CBS)
The Faceless 50 from Fukushima are being groomed for Chilean-miners-style working class hero status: ABC's Juju Chang
Does Nancy Cordes at CBS think she is working for NBC? Expat-in-peril Taylor Anderson meet Canon Purdy & Mary Thornberry
Arab turmoil makes a modest comeback: NBC's John Ray in Bahrain; CBS' Mark Phillips in Tripoli; NBC's Andrea Mitchell in Cairo
