As the UN is preparing for its Eighth World TV Forum, (
It was founded by a group of 117 media scholars, students and workers from Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Taichung, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Hualien -- on Nov. 19 last year, shortly after the UN's Seventh World TV Forum.
Why we exist
The organization's reasons for coming into existence are these:
Public television was established more than 30 years ago in South Korea, Singapore, and the US, and more than 50 years ago in Japan and Western Europe. Yet public TV just completed only its third year in Taiwan.
Taiwan's government-sector investment in television, when translated into actual purchasing power, amounts to only a twentieth of that of Western Europe and Japan, one sixth of that of South Korea and Singapore -- and half of the amount spent by the US.
The organization wants to help TTV (
This work will be carried out in two stages. In the first stage, the government will not allocate any money to the stations. The three TV stations would be coordinated by the Government Information Office (新聞局), which would give guidelines for differentiating between public and private shareholder rights and responsibilities. The office will also promote the flow of resources, raise efficiency levels, establish a working rapport and cultivate an atmosphere of cooperation and mutual trust.
The second stage will see the purchasing of privately owned TTV and CTS shares, the amendment of existing laws and the establishment of a public television group. It will also see the completion of the division of labor between the three stations. TTV and CTS will carry commercials and the government won't provide budgets for them. PTS will continue operations in the same way it does now.
The organization also has plans for the management of these two stages.
During the first stage, management would remain the same as it is now. In the second stage, the relevant government authorities would coordinate the three stations and -- following outside recommendations -- work out guidelines. The management will be generated according to professional ability.
Taiwan has been successful in advancing democracy. It is also making progress in the establishment of checks and balances between political parties as well as media supervision. Improper political interference in the TV media will invite criticism at every turn and is not sustainable in the long run.
We believe it's urgent for Taiwan to have a public television group as:
The latest figures show that last year, revenues generated by advertisements on the four terrestrial TV stations totalled NT$13 billion, averaging more than NT$3 billion per station. Total revenue for cable TV stations was NT$17.6 billion, averaging NT$200 to NT$300 million per station.
Although terrestrial TV stations still have the advantage, it is gradually slipping away. If no adjustments are made, the situation will go from bad to worse.
Terrestrial TV resources must be integrated, but the major shareholders at CTV (中視) and Formosa TV (FTV, 民視) have very strong partisan allegiances, making the chances of cooperation or a merger between them rather small and the speed rather slow.
The Ministry of Finance (MOF, 財政部) is TTV's major shareholder. The Ministry of National Defense (
The question arises as to what the organization has done to advance its cause.
Four of the alliance's founders are board members at TTV, CTS and PTV. They have sought an intimate understanding of operations at the three stations and they have initiated communications.
The organization compiled more than ten documents including No hope for TV reforms? A feasibility evaluation report on turning TTV and CTS into public television. The documents have been sent to government officials, legislators, media workers and academics.
Since preparatory work began (in March last year), regular discussions and action meetings have been held every three to six weeks.
The organization also made more than 30 visits to legislative caucuses, legislators and the GIO. It participated in more than 20 TV forums and speeches of various types.
It held 15 campus forums around the country in cooperation with the magazine Taiwan: A Radical Quarterly in Social Studies (台灣社會季刊), the Cultural Studies Association (文化研究學會), the Communication Students Solidarity Movement (傳播, 學生鬥陣) and the mass media departments of 15 universities. It also held symposiums in cooperation with community colleges from Yungho City and other areas.
The organization held training courses for Public TV group reforms in cooperation with the Lihpao Daily (立報) and the Communication Students Solidarity Movement.
It has published electronic bulletins and short commentaries since May 23.
Apart from the above activities, the alliance will also adopt various necessary and feasible methods to promote its objectives.
Short-term benefits
We believe there are many short-term benefits from forming a public TV group. Firstly, a merger of the three terrestrial TV stations will free up hundreds of millions of dollars in redundant assets for sale. Hundreds of millions of dollars will also be saved in operational costs.
Secondly, guidelines can then be drafted to open the less popular, unprofitable time-slots to public use. This will improve the public image of the two TV stations and help to bring more business opportunities.
Thirdly, the broadcasting can then be divided into four regions in Taiwan: eastern, western, northern and southern. Production and broadcasting will mainly be done in northern Taiwan, as it is now. Meanwhile, the other three regions can produce some daily programs, thereby increasing local TV resources.
Fourthly, the grouping will raise performance bonuses at CTS and TTV, which will in turn improve staff morale and efficiency.
The grouping will also provide the public TV group with suitable programs, in Mandarin and other regional languages. It will provide free access to related libraries, which will allow citizens and students to acquire and deepen their language abilities through these audiovisual productions.
The move will also provide steady resources every year to produce telefilms to be broadcast on the public TV group channels, thereby gradually reviving and improving the production capabilities of the local motion picture industry.
PTV will be able to create a financial report every year instead of every two years, as it is doing now. The other two stations may follow suit. The public TV group will then also be able to open their data to public scrutiny and supervision. This will indirectly raise business efficiency.
The grouping will also strengthen research and development capabilities, including the cultivation of senior journalists and commentators -- as well as script writers, actors and TV-related technicians.
We believe there will also be long-term benefits from grouping together the public TV stations.
Firstly, the hardware resources and the nationwide transmission range of the three terrestrial stations is sufficient for integration into a competitive digital terrestrial media company. Apart from production and broadcasting, they can then also use the extra bandwidth to provide information services. Or those channels can be leased to other topical channels or non-profit production companies. This will help develop more financial resources, increase public assets and invigorate public services.
A public TV group will lead to positive competition between TV media. It will also prompt terrestrial TV stations toward collective capitalization and resource integration. It will also improve the effectiveness of research and development as well as improve the technology and services. It will also reduce risks, lower the thresholds for entry into the TV business and promote innovation. Externally, a public TV group can better respond to the rapidly increasing international competition. It will also ensure reasonable and effective use of local TV resources. It will allow production of suitable programs for exchange with other countries.
How you can help
To help us to achieve the objectives we need your help:
Please tell your friends, relatives and neighbors about the alliance, its origins and objectives when appropriate.
Please accept media interviews when appropriate and explain the origins and objectives of the alliance.
Participate in media programs (such as call-in programs) when appropriate and explain the objectives and origins of the alliance.
Help lobby lawmakers at the Legislative Yuan and write letters on the subject to magazines and newspapers, when appropriate. Visit related agencies in the Executive Yuan and participate in visits to the three TV stations.
Give us suggestions and support. Please notify us to put you on our weekly bulletin/commentary list. Our email address is tvdemocracy@kimo.com and our Web site can be found at http://tvdemocracy.nccu.edu.tw.
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