Satchi

[Michael Badzik]

This thread really has generated a lot of interesting words, hasn't it? 
There is a lot that I would like to comment on but for now will keep it 
to two things:

Aaron wrote:

> Satchi is one of the few cases (Aum and the Miura/LA jiken are others) 
> where stories that originated in the wideshows and weeklies made their 
> way into "respectable" journalism, but even then, the reporting on the 
> Satchi affair in the major papers has still been very minimal.

Could this come from, at least in part, a belief that their hands would 
be dirtied by touching something that the "gossip hounds" and "scandal 
mongers" first handled? It does seem, also, that the "hard news" people 
are a bit more willing to report on hanky-panky in the political arena, 
so perhaps there is a feeling that lax morals in its public servants is a 
matter of public concern, but that the privacy of ordinary citizens is 
something to be respected. Or perhaps not.

> Since wideshows mostly  have a female viewership, it is as if "news" 
> for them is defined as  Satchi, while "real news" is reserved for evening
> shows when the men come home (shows which don't cover  Satchi 
>(especially if it's NHK))--as if  women would have no interest in  
>learning about the Hinomaru issue in an afternoon show.

You are going to need better evidence to convince me. There are "real 
news" shows on during the day so any housewife who wishes to can keep 
up with the "important" events. But then who am I to say what is 
important for the largely female daytime audience, the spirited 
discussions inspired by the Satchi affair often seem to be fueled by 
issues of morality, proper behavior of a Japanese woman, privacy, and 
the conduct of the press. These may be far more important subjects to a 
wideshow audience than much of what is on the respectable news 
programs, and I will bet that a lot of them will tell you that these are 
issues with much greater impact on their lives than, say, the suicide of 
Eto Jun.

I'm sure Aaron already knows this, but for the benefit of others I will 
close with my first rule of Japanese television: Never underestimate the 
intelligence of the audience - no matter how simple-minded the 
programming may look to you. Come to think of it, Aaron has to agree with 
this, given some of the shows he admits to watching!

Michael Badzik
mike at vena.com