ABSTRACT
During the post-Fukushima era (2011–2013) in Japan, television and journalism faced crises of public doubt and were forced to devise strategies to reengage skeptical mass audiences. For some within the major television networks, allegations of willful or enforced news censorship were best responded to by reimagining television news as interactive and participatory. Based on in-studio fieldwork, this chapter explores how the democratic ambitions of an interactive news show called The Compass were obstructed by conventional media practices and the ingrained habitus of broadcast professionals. Juggling a television and internet livestream broadcast with Skyped-in guests, live audience chat, social media input, user polls, and more, the program attempted to foster greater intimacy and transparency but was ultimately canceled as its agenda classed with the gatekeeping function of television.
