Nuclear Power and Media 2012

Just two years ago, this website focused on “media” – mainstream and alternative. https://nuclear-news.net/information/media/ While that analysis is still appropriate – it is looking sort of out of date.

In fact – there is a revolution going on in media.

Where do you go first for news today? Not to the mainstream media. It’s all happening first in the Twitter world, the Facebook world, the Blog and many other “social media” worlds. Blogging merges into news, and “blog” site become news sites, for example ENENews.com – Energy News , http://enformable.com/ and http://nowarnow.wordpress.com/ These, and other websites harvest information, often from “dry” “academic” sources – and present them in a more news-digestible form.

Investigative journalism is still the core of true nuclear news. But investigative journalists are up against the climate of financial stress in the mainstream media. Where a non profit blogger can quickly slap up a blog, investigative journalism takes great time and effort – and these true journalists must make a living.

This is the dilemma of nuclear news reporting today. Occasionally now, the true disastrous state of the world’s nuclear peril IS revealed by a mainstream media journalist.

But, government and corporate pressures mean that this is not generally to be tolerated in mainstream news media.

This is a pity – because mainstream journalists do carry a certain professional credibility and accountability.

But for the present, we all have to rely on those very modern, and freer, sources, of new and social media – and be vigilant in assessing their credibility.

The downside of “social media” – ONLINE ASTROTURFING. Using paid writers, and now more often bots – computer generated fake identities, corporations and goverments can churn out “comments” on websites, especially pro nuclear comments.

SO – let’s look at some of the avenues that we have, today, for nuclear information free of government/corporate control:

ENE News. http://enenews.com/ Snappy, succinct up-to-date, and with many Audio/Video clips

Fukushima Life

http://nowarnow.wordpress.com/ No nonsense site, much of it in Japanese, but also good in depth information in English

Enformable. http://enformable.com/ Well organised informational site, much focus on USA and Japan

Fairewinds http://fairewinds.org/ Fairewinds Energy Education Corp is a 501c3 non-profit organization founded in 2008. Its mission is to educate the public about nuclear power and other energy issues.

http://fairewinds.org/demystifying and http://fairewinds.org/reports In depth reports doing just that – demystifying nuclear power issues

Youtube http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Arnie+Gundersen

If you love this planet Radio/podcasts. Dr Helen Caldicott interviews the most amazing and well-informed experts on many nuclear issues. http://ifyoulovethisplanet.org/

BULLETIN OF THE ATOMIC SCIENTISTS http://www.thebulletin.org/ Authoritative and wide-ranging news and views on nuclear issues.

Beyond Nuclear http://www.beyondnuclear.org/ Working for a world free from nuclear power and nuclear weapons Very well organised site. Right up to date. Global information, but especially informational about USA

CounterCurrents http://www.countercurrents.org/ This is a general new website, with very insightful articles, some on nuclear issues

Nation of Change http://www.nationofchange.org/ This general news site spills the beans on many issue, including nuclear. Most news sources are funded by corporations and investors. Their goal is to drive people to advertisers while pushing the corporate agenda.
NationofChange is a 501(c)3 organization funded almost 100% from its readers–you! Our only accountability is to the public

PROJECT ON GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT (POGO) http://www.pogo.org/ This is a generalist American page that really does its homework on USA government issues, including nuclear.