The mass media that have to lead the opinion about the prevention of global warming are consuming wastefully resources and energy. I would like to point out their waste.
Japanese Edition
Waste of Resources and Energy
Newspaper: When the stock market was not opened because of the computer trouble, a newspaper that the price list of stocks was only filled with company names and bars was delivered. I think maybe the price list was treated like a photograph of an accident scene, but I think such kind of list and unnecessarily large type sizes and photographs are the waste of paper and ink.
The newspaper publisher has to realize that the newspaper has very large circulation. Even if the recycling rate of the newspaper is very high, recycling process itself consumes many resources and energy. By using the smaller types and photos, a large quantity of ink is saved. As a result, blank space might appear between articles. But if the newspaper publisher appealed the reduction of ink consumption and improvement of the quality of the recycled paper, the subscriber would accept the space.
When I saw the six pages (both sides of continuous three pages) of a color advertisement of a luxury watch, I felt hate to the advertisement and never felt interest in the watch. I wonder who has the right to waste such a huge paper and ink.It is well-known that we have to urgently reduce the consumption of resources and energy to prevent global warming. But the consumption does not decrease so quickly because the interested parties have different opinions. Newspapers and TVs have the responsibility as the public opinion leaders about saving resources and energy. But they have to reduce their own waste before they lead public opinion. I would like to show the cases of their waste I found.
If newspaper publishers obtained the means to attract their subscribers by color, they have to make an effort to reduce the size of the photo and advertisement. I think they should decide the upper limit of the photo and advertisement sizes with their own agreement. It is desirable to raise the price of the space of advertisements proportionally to the size. Probably my thoughts do not adapt to the capitalistic society. But I think we can enjoy the capitalistic society only when we can succeed in stopping the global warming. We have to do anything in order to stop the global warming.
A lot of insertions of newspapers are delivered ignoring the subscriber's will. Most of them are not read and are recycled. When I was young, I was often said, "If you uselessly throw away a rice grain, which a farmer had reared hard, the God will punish you." I am afraid of the punishment because I am wasting a lot of insertions that were printed by many people's hard collaboration without reading them.
People subscribe to each favorite newspaper because they like relatively its editorial policy but they never like all articles in the newspaper. They must feel waste toward uninterested articles and advertisements. But they can only choose "subscription" or "no-subscription" of a newspaper that consists of about 50 pages/day or more.
The newspaper publisher makes efforts to filling the space, which was conventionally decided before, with articles. At the same time they work hard to get many advertisements. Maybe they grasp their subscribers' needs only by their circulation. But I think they have to grasp the more detailed needs of their subscribers. Subscribers recycle a lot of sheets of newspaper, and feel emptiness. If the publisher keeps the present condition, subscribers will leave from newspapers.New trend: Recently three newspaper publishers opened a trial common website (http://allatanys.jp). I welcome this trial very much as the first step of the new way because subscribers can compare the articles of three publishers and the publishers can find the subscribers' favorite of each article. I hope this trial grows to a made-to-order newspaper that eliminated the waste of resources and energy.
Television: I switch on the television many times in a day because I want to watch”new" news. But any station repeatedly broadcasts the same "old" news all day long. I do not want to watch”old" news, which I watched once. I think that broadcasting the same "old" news repeatedly is the waste of electricity. The television company should make a blank time by stopping the broadcast of "old" news. It is desirable that the TV viewer can access to "old" news, when he wants.
The stations of Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) consist of three hierarchies. For example, they are Tokyo (central), Osaka (local key), and Wakayama (local). When a program prepared by a lower station is broadcast by the higher station, the lower station broadcasts almost the same program again. I think this is waste of time and resources. I can understand the feelings of the lower station, but I think the same program should not be broadcast again.
Occasionally I listen to the radio news and commentary, and I feel often I can understand the meanings more easily than those of TV. Therefore I think that even if it is television, pictures are not necessary always. In such case the television station should send a signal and switch off the displays of the viewers.
Most of entertainment programs are forcing laughing all day long. If I am bored of a program of A-station, I change the channel to B-station. But the program of B-station is not very different from A-station's one. The atmosphere of both programs and characters of both performers resemble each other very much. I know I, who do not switch off the TV, am wrong but my dissatisfaction against the TV is gradually accumulated.
The commercial broadcasting cannot exist without commercials, but the function of TV that offers news and entertainments is spoiled by too many commercials. I dislike being forced to review the program, which I watched before a commercial. Especially when I watched the part of the review already as the preview of the program, I get angry at the insensitivity of the TV. It is waste of time and resources. The time for the preview should be changed to the time for intermission. Even if the total of the intermissions are 10 or 20 minutes/day, the consumption of electric power in Japan will decrease considerably.
When we compare a TV viewer with a newspaper reader, the viewer has more alternatives than the reader. If the viewer does not want to watch a program, at once he will be able to switch off the TV or change the channel to the other.
TV stations seem to have a means to grasp the audience's needs called the audience rating. But I am often watching halfheartedly uninteresting program and thinking about other thing at the same time, and forget to switch off the TV. Such my behavior raises meaninglessly the audience rating. Therefore maybe TV stations do not understand the correct needs of the audience yet. I think TV stations have to find the new method for knowing the true needs of their audience in addition to the audience rating. I suppose that TV stations, which report the successful candidates when the vote counting is a few percentages, can easily find the true needs.
I think that newspaper publishers, TV stations, and advertisement agents have to forget each territory once to improve on the present condition. When making up for the merits and demerits of paper, the display, the speaker, the radio wave, the internet, and the newspaper delivery net of the newspaper, they can find the new way for the profits of their own, their subscribers, and audiences and eliminate a waste of resources and energy at the same time.
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April 1, 2008