Last week, President Chen Shui-bian (
The main problem with the print media is that it sees everything from the "Taipei perspective." This in turn fosters contempt in southern and central Taiwan of this imposition of Taipei's metropolitan viewpoint on communities outside of the the greater Taipei area. This is the result of arrogance derived from intellect and power on the part of high-ranking media professionals cultivated by the former KMT administration.
As for television media, the problem is the explosion of "real time and live news" made possible by video and satellite technologies. This has been caused by conglomerate investment in TV. Anyone who has worked for big business would tell you the bottom-line reigns supreme: advertising revenues, dependent on viewership have taken precedence over journalistic principles, so violence- and sex-oriented content have become the mainstream.
The "Taipei perspective" is much more than media indifference to areas other than Taipei. It represents high-ranking media management who continue to oppose reforms, demonize politicians who favor nativization and either resist or negatively portray the trend of democratic reforms.
The "Taipei perspective" has historical roots in government-spokesperson appointments. Party and government officials appoint friends and relatives to fill media vacancies, placing the government and media stakeholders in bed with one another. Naturally, reportage has become rife with the ideologies of a certain elite, and reform efforts are criticized, negatively portrayed and challenged.
In the 1990s, after former president Lee Teng-hui (
Chen has taken media supervisors on tours of remote areas for three years in a row. His primary purpose is to make these professionals listen to grass-roots voices and see the vitality of this green island-nation. In this regard, the annual trip has been most meaningful.
While the DPP has said it supports media reform -- including the de-politicization, protection of press freedoms, and equal distribution of media resources -- since its opposition days, we find ourselves having to remind Chen that these ideals remain just that.
The government has followed the path of its predecessor by forgetting is role in an actual democracy. On the one hand, the government promises withdrawal of military and political influence from media management, so as to materialize press freedoms. On the other, it treats important positions in state-run media as rewards for DPP potentates.
We hope that as the president, who is also chairman of the DPP, asks the media to exercise self-discipline, he must also fulfill his party's promises. The Legislative Yuan will re-convene in September. Will the Executive Yuan actively lobby for the needed media reform? Will DPP members back out of the media? Can the president's promises on media reform become a reality? Everyone is waiting to see.
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