When Is An Earthquake Not An Earthquake?
I think we all know what a real disaster is whether we live through it or we see one as reported in the media. A major disaster sees people homeless, starving etc...they could be caught up in a war and there are many reasons from fire, flood(possibly a tsunami)causing tidal waves or high winds etc.
So today at around 8.08am in the area of Kent(Southern England)there was a 15 second earth tremor. Depending on where you are located the effects ranged from minor awareness that something was going on to people feeling their house move, items falling off shelves and walls, some cracks appearing in property, beds shaking, tables moving and some chimneys falling down. Some areas have since reported losing gas and electric utilities.
I'm not dismissing what's happened(I know something that is unusual is frightening)and if damage has been caused or people have been made anxious that's bad but my point is how the media reports these events.
The public broadcaster BBC has reported and continues to call it an "Earth Tremor" and I believe even the official organisations that monitor these events across the world are calling it by that term. They do happen all the time and often pass un-noticed by the public.
British Geological Survey
U.S. Geological Survey
However, the commercial news station based in London that is heard across part of the South East that takes in this area insists on "Bigging Up" the event by calling it an Earthquake and when a presenter decided to interview a member of staff that works at LBC but lives in Kent she introduced him by saying a big or major Earthquake has happened and he was there when it happened and when he came on the programme he corrected her and said it is not an Earthquake. The presenter tried to laugh it off by saying something like "Well, it's a big event for Kent" and "It's given them something to talk about" And we've had all the jokes about "The Earth Moving"
The guest she was talking to is part of LBC Management so if he says it wasn't an Earthquake perhaps he'd like to tell his journalists and presenters to stop using the term "Earthquake" I suspect they are using the term for dramatic effect which brings us back to the subject of spin and how it used by the media. It's always happened even back to the days of how how the Circus owner and showman P.T. Barnum promoted his shows, or Hollywood promoted it's stars in the "Golden Days" and placed stories in the magazines and papers to get a reaction to how the media promotes serious stories with the script or headlines to grab our attention but this makes me more cynical and likely to look at the underlying elements or for what I am not being told.
I wonder if its worse today or about the same but just seems to be much worse because there are so many more outlets and access to instant media these days and they are all trying to out do each other?
Technically, by the end of the day it may be it will be classed as an earthquake as the experts will have data to back up what's happened...and I see that even the BBC on their website are now calling it an Earthquake.
I understand that though many guessed it lasted 15 seconds, the latest figure suggests it was approx 5 seconds in length and about 10 minutes later than many thought.
So today at around 8.08am in the area of Kent(Southern England)there was a 15 second earth tremor. Depending on where you are located the effects ranged from minor awareness that something was going on to people feeling their house move, items falling off shelves and walls, some cracks appearing in property, beds shaking, tables moving and some chimneys falling down. Some areas have since reported losing gas and electric utilities.
I'm not dismissing what's happened(I know something that is unusual is frightening)and if damage has been caused or people have been made anxious that's bad but my point is how the media reports these events.
The public broadcaster BBC has reported and continues to call it an "Earth Tremor" and I believe even the official organisations that monitor these events across the world are calling it by that term. They do happen all the time and often pass un-noticed by the public.
British Geological Survey
U.S. Geological Survey
However, the commercial news station based in London that is heard across part of the South East that takes in this area insists on "Bigging Up" the event by calling it an Earthquake and when a presenter decided to interview a member of staff that works at LBC but lives in Kent she introduced him by saying a big or major Earthquake has happened and he was there when it happened and when he came on the programme he corrected her and said it is not an Earthquake. The presenter tried to laugh it off by saying something like "Well, it's a big event for Kent" and "It's given them something to talk about" And we've had all the jokes about "The Earth Moving"
The guest she was talking to is part of LBC Management so if he says it wasn't an Earthquake perhaps he'd like to tell his journalists and presenters to stop using the term "Earthquake" I suspect they are using the term for dramatic effect which brings us back to the subject of spin and how it used by the media. It's always happened even back to the days of how how the Circus owner and showman P.T. Barnum promoted his shows, or Hollywood promoted it's stars in the "Golden Days" and placed stories in the magazines and papers to get a reaction to how the media promotes serious stories with the script or headlines to grab our attention but this makes me more cynical and likely to look at the underlying elements or for what I am not being told.
I wonder if its worse today or about the same but just seems to be much worse because there are so many more outlets and access to instant media these days and they are all trying to out do each other?
Technically, by the end of the day it may be it will be classed as an earthquake as the experts will have data to back up what's happened...and I see that even the BBC on their website are now calling it an Earthquake.
I understand that though many guessed it lasted 15 seconds, the latest figure suggests it was approx 5 seconds in length and about 10 minutes later than many thought.
posted by The Great Gildersleeve | 11:07 am
11 Comments:
I would hate to see this country get a major earthquake, or rather the media report on a major earthquake. They go way, way over the top. In my eyes it was a tremor, frightenening but was anyone killed? Lose their homes? Without water, electricity or food? I do not think so. There are people out there suffering a whole lot worse after a proper earthquake.
L x
Well that's right Lorraine and we do get them from time to time across the UK(quite often in the North, the Lakes and at times in Scotland)Most happen in the oceans and are missed unless you get an effect such as that event that caused tidal waves.
I hate to say it but this is probably being reported more because its in the South of the England and the media is often very centralised.
G x
It's still an earthquake Gildy, what it shouldn't be is 'bigged up', but reported for what it is; the fact that they're so rare (like the occasioanl tornados) means they will be reported more. If it was a daily occurance (as it is in some parts of the globe) then it wouldn't get a line of news space.
Oh well, there you go, that shoots down my line of thought ;-) So much for being pedantic. What you say is true. My friend Dee in the US has felt tremors under her home a few times. And other times lived through them and missed them to be told later that it had happened.
The links I have included are worth a look.
Ah, the media lexicon decided early that 'tremor' is less dramatic than 'earthquake' but for the UK media, it all addds to the same thing. It's all a matter of scale, and because we don;t have any, even the smallest rumble may well be an 8 on the Richter scale. Losing the odd chimney stack isn't really a story, stopping the Eurostar would have been, but that didn't happen (clever Eurostar).
However the 300m crack in the Hampshire coast is a story, although I fear there's no pictures for the latter quite yet which is a shame!
Apologies, keyboards and me are not getting on at the moment!!
Great links gildy...I was STUNNED to read the frequency of 'tremors' in teh UK, seems that Malby in Yorkshire is sat on some sort of seimic fault...4 tremors this MONTH!!!!!!!!...albeit very low magnitude...
see here
Hello Stoat, nice blog...especailly Muse and Real Ale ;-) ...what do you do to become a dot.com and not a blog?
...re keyboards...me too! seismic & Maltby
Well you weren't the only one Gildy, my brother who is out in LA says that they would have classed that as an earthquake (he phoned me and said it was on their news), they have tremors all the time and they are expecting a proper earthquake sometime though can't really predict when. He's off to Sans Franscisco on Monday, now they can tell you about earthquakes too. I still think of the Kent one as a tremor. But then again I stick to what I say and sometimes can put my foot in it :D
Anyway take care
L x
Thanks for the comment Stoat, yes, the crack in the cliff face actually means something and could take the story on.
Lorraine, San Francisco certainly can talk about quakes with some authority...as for when the next big one will strike, it's still guesswork and how soon can you find out it's coming to get the local population moved safely without panic.
There's some interesting facts on those sites Span and in theory they will always have information being added.
Media Stoat's blog is very good...and it looks great too.
Talking of quakes etc, with my brother going to San Francisco tomorrow next month he's going to Japan, I hope his life insurance is all upto scratch (rubbing hands gleefully ;-)). He also goes out to the Bahamas etc and he's been caught up in a few hurricanes too, I cannot remember the name of the last big one that they had but he was there. I see him very rarely, but I do not think my family and I will be going to LA, I am such a wuss.
Take care
L x
Post a Comment
<< Home