Cable news channel ERA News (ERA, 年代新聞) delayed passing on call-in requests for help from Typhoon Morakot victims to government agencies, an investigation by the National Communications Commission (NCC) showed yesterday.
“Both anchors and news tickers appearing on the side of the TV screen gave viewers the impression that their requests would be dealt with immediately,” NCC spokesperson Chen Jeng-chang (陳正倉) said. “But investigations have shown that there was ... a lag between the time the requests were received and the time those requests were transferred to government agencies. It was not the instant or immediate service that was promised.”
The NCC said that in some instances information from calls in the morning was not passed on to authorities until 10pm or 11pm.
However, the commission did not fine ERA and said it would simply send an official note to the station asking it to review procedures for handling call-in requests.
The commission further said in a press release that though media laws do not specifically regulate news reporting of natural disasters, media bear a social responsibility and should not mislead viewers into thinking their messages will be addressed immediately.
The press release also said that the commission had invited representatives from television stations and media associations to jointly establish a standard operating procedure for handling requests for assistance during natural disasters.
Meanwhile, Chen reiterated yesterday that the commission’s position on the government, political parties and the military withdrawing from media operations remains unchanged, but that amendments to the related clauses in the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法) are still open for discussion.
The NCC on Tuesday suggested relaxing restrictions on such groups owning shares in media groups.
Chen said the commission has faced difficulties when ruling in some cases, citing Delta Electronics’ (台達電) investment in Elta TV (愛爾達). The commission considered that relaxing the restrictions was a serious matter and wanted to hear more from media operators before making any changes, he said.
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