Media group criticizes punditry

The practice of inviting journalists to participate on talk shows as experts is doing little to elevate the public's understanding of critical issues, a report by the Association of Taiwan Journalists said yesterday.

Many talk shows invite seasoned journalists to play pundits on the programs, which often feature heated verbal sparring.

But experts on the issues are rarely invited and the shows lack extensive and in-depth discussion of the topics, according to the report.

The report, commissioned by the Taiwan Advertisers' Association, was based on the June and July programming for four talks shows produced by TVBS, FTV, GTV, and CTN.

According to the report, aca-demics and professionals made no appearances on three of the four talk shows. In most cases, journalists, political pundits and representatives from political parties were most often invited to participate.

The report examined coverage of four major issues: fee hikes for the National Health Insurance program, the Romanization debate, the budget for flood control measures along the Keelung River and the plan to put the administrative status of local governments on the same level as Taipei and Kaohsiung Cities.

Chang Yi-chun (張宜君), secretary-general of the Association of Taiwan Journalists, questioned the professionalism of reporters who have appeared on the shows and who have become celebrities as a result.

"These so-called senior media workers or news reporters will utter their opinions on any topic, regardless of whether or not the issue concerns their beat," the secretary-general said.

"Although reporters might be able to offer some interesting points they have observed during the news-gathering process, these subjective personal observations or opinions are often just personal criticism or gossip that can influence an audience's judgment," she said.

Chang said that inviting non-experts to talk about complicated topics not only limits the public's understanding of the issues, but also tends to reduce the discussion to partisan wrangling between the pro-independence or pro-unification camps.

For example, Chang said proper discussion of the Keelung flood-control measures should have focused on the rights of nearby residents and the responsibilities of the central and local governments.

"But the discussion on the talk shows ended up being about whether the central government was deliberately attacking [Taipei City Mayor] Ma Ying-jeou," she said.