A commenter sums up the media's schizophrenic coverage of Japan's nuclear disaster (as communicated via expert opinion) :
"It's horrible!" "It's no big deal" "Worst thing Evah" "No, it's minor and under control" "Run for your lives!" "You're fine." You can actually see the frustration on the journalists faces. "Science" says everyone's dead and everyone's fine. Which is it?
Part of the reason for this confusion is that we're in uncharted territory with this nuclear meltdown story, and another part, I think, is the "whiplash" nature of journalism (something Andy Revkin has frequently talked about with respect to the climate beat), which is playing out now in a high alert, real-time, 24/7 manner. Those of you lost in what Clive Crook calls the media's "nuclear fog" can share his frustration here. He's trying to navigate his way to clarity, with mixed results.
