Go to http://www.globalresearch.ca/ This is a very credible sight that does not colour the truth.3 reactors now in Japan are now in meltdown.One is spewing out plutonium and just a tiny particle will kill you.It should be listed as level 6.Chernobyl was level 7 but these reactors are many more times larger than Chernobyl.

Whole areas of Japan could be unlivable for many decades to come.

Aaron 1975, it seems to me that you have things back the front here. You should be raging against the antics of those reacting to the news rather than those reporting it.

It’s convenient to blame “shock jocks” and tabloid journalists( anyone and everyone but the rioters) some of us have become so conditioned to blaming such persons that its now almost second nature, besides, they wont blow up your train carriage if you offend them –and if they ever question your pedigree you can call it vilification and take them to court.

But let’s get real, there are probably hundreds of items in the media each day which one or other group could take offence at.

What is noteworthy (if politically impolite) is that certain groups seem to have a propensity to take offence , and feel an entitlement to express that offence through violence.

And, I’d hazard a guess, that the same groups that so easily took offence at your cited Koran burning report (and this wasnt the first Koran burning riot) would react the same way to a novel (Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verse) or a cartoon depiction (the Danish cartoons & Southpark which was warned off a skit on Mohammed) or a foreign policy (London & Madrid bombers), they didnt like.

I recommend the Time article “Justifying Murder For Those Who Blaspheme “ for those who want further reading –or for those who think it is limited to a isolated fringe]
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2058155,00.html

Nice, Arjay. Finally you've posted a link to something which will conclusively be proven to be conspiratorial insane rubbish. If anything, the 'mainstream' media are prone to exaggeration rather than secrecy. (The fact that the author seems unable to stay on one single topic, managing to rave about the Iraq war, some kind of manufactured virus named Synthia and corporate criminals ought to tip you off).

Hopefully, this will encourage you to think twice before believing your next conspiracy theory, but alas, I doubt it. Some people are just hardwired to look for conspiracies wherever they can. I like to call it 'hyper-cynical naivete'.

Which is a good way to lead in to my main point - for everyone's complaints about the 'media' I've yet to hear any better suggestions.

Many extol the virtues of the 'independent' online media. There's a lot of great stuff out there, but they're usually corporate products, relying on advertising.

There's a good example of reliable online media here:
http://the-diplomat.com/china-power/

On the other hand, there are the insane far left, right, or conspiratorial ravings exemplified by articles such as the one Arjay has put forward.

The problem, is that everyone seems to think they are equivalent to one another. Few people have the critical reasoning skills necessary to filter things based on their reliability, as opposed to whether it clashes with the preconceptions.

This is quite a problem.

So whilst I strongly concur with Aaron that there's a responsible duty for reliable journalism, I still think that independent media has a long way to travel before it's as reliable. Those who like to scoff at mainstream media and express their contempt are blowing hot air unless they've got any better suggestions.

I for one, think that there are many media outlets doing a fine job - the New York Times is pretty good, The Australian has its moments provided you ignore the hysteria of some of their political commentators. Fairfax has the odd piece of good news.

Though I agree, you've got to sort through a lot of crap to find the good stuff.

TLTR conspiritorial rubbish? The Japanese prime minister has said Fukushima is virtually out of control.It is you that need a reality check.This whole debacle has been a monumental coverup.Read the articles on http://www.globalresearch.ca/ They are written by specialests in their fields.

I am not in favor of censorship, but I am serious about the need the need for some responsibility & ethics. I am not suggesting, even momentarily, that the killings are in any way a reasonable response to the burning of a book (a cr@p one at that, although I've got to say, a whole lot more believe with its eye-for-an-eye return to the old testament that turn-the-other-cheek nonsense).

However, without sensation seeking gutter-press, who exactly cares if some inbred halfwit burns the Torah, the Bible, The Book of Mormon or anything else? It isn't exactly news that the USA contains congenitally gifted, bigoted imbeciles (or is it?), or that over a quarter of the population STILL believes Obama is a Muslim & that the twin towers were blown up in a UN/Communist/Zionist/Martian/etc. conspiracy (choose one or more). I would say not, I mean it isn't exactly a secret that the filter on the gene is way past its best-by-date (you just have to look at the crud getting through).

So why was this PARTICULAR idiot given precious bandwidth (I'd have thought he'd stolen enough oxygen), page space or whatever? Did anyone benefit from learning that stupid bigots actually do exist? Has the world benefited in some way I'm not seeing? Or did some journos make a couple of extra bucks risking the lives of others? Knowing full well that equally bigoted nutcases would, ever so predictably, turn some small town hillbilly into a sensation (who cares how many people get killed first)?

Arjay, I've no doubt that the Japanese Government has been less than forthright. However, the lack of information does not therefore mean that the most hysterical, dire possibilities are therefore true.

The tone of your initial post indicated that the situation is already so bad that the people there must already have been poisoned. Don't you see how things like this can create hysteria and do more damage than good?

Ask yourself? Why do you believe this website, and not the 'mainstream' sites? You can claim that they are biased due to corporate influence or whatever you wish, but again - that doesn't mean that those who aren't influence by corporate sources or power, are therefore accurate. There are nutjobs aplenty who have no need for power but a powerful desire to spread ridiculous stories.

A piece of advice - if you want to be taken seriously, tone down the hyperbole.

Aaron - I concur in relation to the Koran burning story. Yes, I think the journalists who wrote this story should be ashamed of themselves - and I think that the newspapers who published it should be as well. Unfortunately, they operate in a system where scaremongering stupid stories like that get a lot of attention, and it's attention that drives advertising dollars and ultimately pays the salaries of these journalists.
Were the system to be something else, that would mean that the government is regulating the press to a significant extent, which is unacceptable. You can't trust governments with that kind of power.

So, ultimately the only thing we can do is to try and combat these kinds of stories with better quality news and more awareness in the hope that people choose the better options.

Which is why, those who spread idiotic stories should be ridiculed rather than censored, and quality news should be recognised for its worth - which requires people to be more discerning in the kinds of news they consume, and also in critically appraising the sources behind that news, the better to reject stories written by corporate stooges, unethical journalists or conspiratorial nutjobs.