In a past life I was involved in Civil Defence events and it was always a serious concern to me the general press exaggerated events to the public, achieving a level of hysteria by the incorrect use of adjectives. It is very important the different avenues of communications must be used to keep the public informed but in my opinion there should be serious financial consequences to TV, radio presenters and journalists who use language that creates fear within the public arena. It is of some concern that news readers, reporters and journalists can use inflammatory words when describing events of a Civil Defence magnitude. We all sympathise with the public who are in a state of emergency who have lost family, belongings and businesses but it is morally inconsiderate for the general press to verbally instil fear in the public arena by the misuse of the English language. Google ‘richter scale' to learn the magnitude of an earthquake. A 7.5 magnitude earthquake is not a ‘massive' event as reported on TV. It is a large or major event. Each full number on the Richter scale is multiplied by a factor of 10. In my opinion, all newsreaders on TV and radio need to be upskilled in the vernacular they use when it comes to reporting seismic events.

MJ Anderson, Pyes Pa.