Understanding Japan through the lens of Tokyo 2020

Holthus, Barbara; Gagné, Isaac; Manzenreiter, Wolfram; Waldenberger, Franz

doi:10.4324/9781003033905-1

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

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“…In fact, what complicates NHK's position is that, second, it is itself involved as a media stakeholder of the Olympic Games. The so-called 'Japan Consortium' including the public broadcaster and the commercial broadcasters paid a record ¥66 billion (about $660 million) for broadcasting rights to the IOC of which 70% are said to be carried by NHK (Manzenreiter, 2020). Thus, as seen from NHK's perspective, it appears obvious that 'the show must go on'.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since the burst of the real estate bubble at the beginning of the 1990s, Japan had experienced decades-long sluggish economic growth. Since then, the widening social inequality and the fierce global competition had taken their toll on the country (Holthus et al, 2020). On top of these macrosocial and -economic trends came the 2011 tsunami, earthquake and nuclear disaster in Fukushima, which left more than 18,000 people dead, caused the relocation of almost half-a-million people, and made a whole region uninhabitable -leaving a nation disenchanted with the firm belief in technological almightiness.…”

Section: The 2020 Tokyo Olympics the Emergence Of A Global Pandemic A...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Protecting the people, or the Olympics? Agenda-cutting of the COVID-19 risk in the news coverage of Japan’s public broadcaster

Buchmeier

2022

Media, Culture & Society

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This study explores a case of public service media finding itself in a predicament between adhering to its civic mission to serve the public interest, and prioritizing its self-preservation by bowing to political power. Contrasting the media coverage with epidemiological data, the study suggests that the COVID-19 risk in Tokyo was cut from the news agenda by Japan’s public broadcaster NHK ahead of the official postponement of the Olympic Games in March 2020. This case highlights the challenging balancing act of a semi-independent media organization between following a political agenda, that is, pushing a mega sports event, acting in its own economic interest as a media stakeholder of the Olympics, and at the same time protecting public health. On a methodological level, this case study aims to provide a showcase of how the agenda-cutting concept is concretely operationalized and how it can contribute to the analysis of various contexts, such as the complex relationship between public media and politics in times of a global pandemic.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The 2020 Tokyo Olympics the Emergence Of A Global Pandemic A...mentioning

confidence: 99%