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Seminar probes the failings of nation's media

In an effort to expose and discuss some of the glaring problems with Taiwan's media, senior journalists, lawyers and professors yesterday attended a seminar to uncover possible solutions.

The seminar, organized by the the Taiwan 21st Century Women's Association, the Taipei Society and the Taiwan News, was co-hosted by Taipei Society President Ku Chung-hwa (顧忠華) and Taiwan 21st Century Women's Association Chairwoman Yeh Sai-ying (葉賽鶯).

During his opening remarks, Ku said that the event, held on the eve of Journalists' Day with a panel of eight distinguished journalists, lawyers and professors, was an opportunity to look at some of the complaints lodged against the media's conduct over the past year.

Some of the issues discussed at the seminar included the failure of local journalists to find enough reliable sources for their stories, bad judgment exercised by many local news editors in deciding which stories to run and the poor financial condition of many local media outlets.

"These problems give people the impression that Taiwan is a terrible country," Ku said.

"It also gives those watching, reading or listening to the daily news a headache."

Shih Shih-hao (石世毫), a journalism professor at National Chengchi University (NCU), said that the pressure to make a profit is the biggest problem for most TV stations, radio stations, newspapers and magazines.

Under this pressure, Shih said, reporters cannot do their jobs the way they were trained.

"Reporting without fear or favor should be a journalist's credo," Shih said.

"However, today, a lot of media workers, including reporters and editors, have to sacrifice their principles to satisfy the demands of the readership," Shih said.

Saying that market concerns drive newsroom decisions about whether to publish a story, Shih explained "even if a reporter works very hard on a piece, if a newsroom decision maker assumes that readers won't like the story, many times it will not be published."

Chen Hui-hsin (陳惠馨), a NCU law professor and lawyer, said that education may be the biggest problem.

Chen said that news desk and copy desk supervisors should not escape responsibility, as they are the ones who decide which stories to run.

"These people often begin their careers as reporters or editors after graduation. So, what's wrong with the education they receive? What made them lose their news judgement and their faith in journalism after reaching the upper-echelons of their businesses decades later?" Chen asked.

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