Japan Media
Journalists tend to reflect the prevailing ethic in Japanese society overall: to promote a harmonious society with minimal conflict. For many Westerners, this is in stark contrast to the more aggressive scoop hunting style of reporting found in the United States, and much of Europe, where confrontational debate is considered natural, even desirable, in fulfilling their societal role.
Japan is a heavy media consumption country. It has Asia's highest rate of television penetration, and also one of the highest ratios of newspaper readers at 584 copies per 1,000 compared with 244 newspapers per 1,000 in the US. A highly urbanized society, most Japanese use public transportation and commute several hours each day on mass transit. It is quite common for a typical Japanese businessperson to read two to three or more newspapers during their daily commute. Ninety-three percent of Japanese households get their newspapers at home. Most newspapers sold at news-stands are actually sports and entertainment dailies with a mix of racy contents.
The media often are fairly cooperative and fairly compliant once you have established relationship. Journalists at major newspapers generally may not trust news releases, but those at small, less influential magazines readily accept news releases, especially if editorial copy is accompanied by paid advertising. It is usually the tabloid press that breaks most scandals.
There are five national TV companies, broadcasting terrestrially, of which the largest is the NHK Japan Broadcasting Corporation.
While TV is still dominated by the five national TV companies, Japan's broadcasting is diversifying rapidly. Today more than 14 million Japanese watch the two NHK satellite channels, 10 million subscribe to multichannel cable, and 2 million to the SKYPerfec TV. |
