Academics and representatives of various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) yesterday voiced their worries about the buyout of Next Media Group’s (壹傳媒集團) Taiwanese operations, urging the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) to consider the importance of having diverse voices in the media when reviewing the deal.
At a public hearing organized by the commission yesterday, former FTC commissioner Shih Jun-ji (施俊吉) said the review of the Next Media buyout is the most important case in the commission’s history.
Shih said the commission should spare no effort to prevent buyers from circumventing the law, adding that the Fair Trade Act (公平交易法) stipulates that the commission should not only take into consideration the benefit to the economy as a whole, but also the public interest.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
In terms of the public interest, the government should create an environment that allows newspapers to produce materials from as many perspectives as possible, while the accuracy of news is also of vital importance, he said.
There is no economic benefit for society from the deal, while the disadvantages that will result from it are that the public will only be given limited perspectives on events in the future, Shih said, adding that there is no reason for the commission to approve the deal.
Association of Taiwan Journalists (ATJ) president Chen Hsiao-yi (陳曉宜) emphasized the unique nature of the media as a means for the public to obtain information. She demanded that the FTC’s commissioners review the case differently from other cases.
Chen said the print media have agenda-setting power for the entire media industry and have often dictated what news is broadcast on local TV stations the following day.
Therefore, because of the influence print media have, it is not sufficient for the commission to make a decision based on market share alone, she said.
Citing a survey conducted by AC Nielsen, Jang Show-ling (鄭秀玲), a professor of economics at National Taiwan University, said Want Want China Times Group’s (旺旺中時集團) share of Taiwan’s media market would exceed 50 percent after the buyout deal goes through.
As Want Want Group has a record of using its media outlets to attack its critics or those who stand in its way, Jang said the disadvantages resulting from the Next Media deal are too significant to be ignored.
Jang became emotional when she said that she had to stay alert on the street because of her involvement in the case.
FTC spokesman Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) said that the commission would try to incorporate the importance of diverse voices on the media into their review process.
Sun said the information the commission has now suggests that there are two groups of buyers and two contracts. One is related to Next Media’s print media and the other to its electronic media.
The commission has yet to receive a formal submission of the deal, he said.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,
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