The media has been another disappointment in the aftermath of the 921 earthquake. This is an era when every TV station and newspaper in Taiwan takes opportunities to prove their ability to present news to the public as fast as possible, to the extent of overlooking the meaning and responsibility of being the media.
There was something pretty unusual about the media in Taiwan following the quake. The media seemed to have a race going on, to see which TV station or newspaper could come up with the highest death toll. This impression comes from the annoying repetitions of the casualties in every piece of news -- and with a tone that was also annoying by its very own repetitions. When a dead body was carried out of a collapsed building, some reporters' responses were even more unbelievable. I wouldn't say they were happy to see a dead body, but judging from the way they reported the news, the only thing that seemed to matter was that the death toll was rising again, giving them "something to say."
During the recent earthquake coverage, quite a few reporters simply provided their own opinions. For example, when waiting for further news from rescuers at a collapsed building site, a reporter even said, "Since their sonar indicates that there is a life signal, but they have been in the rubble for more than ten hours, judging from the time, we think the chance for survivors is zero."
The problem with this kind of statement is that it's an inference made by the reporter. The public wants facts, not some reporter's personal opinion. What he or she says is not only unfounded and unnecessary but most of all it is unprofessional. It's a reporter's job to report facts instead of inferences, but with fairness. Facts can only be half-true, if the way of presenting it is improper or biased, and this can manipulate the public.
I think the major problem lies in the eagerness to get the news, owing to the highly competitive media environment. The same unprofessionalism also appeared in the recent "war" between the government and the media. The performance of the government since the quake hit has certainly been disappointing in some respects -- the lack of a coordination center, the sluggish mobilization and the poor handling of resources flooding into the quake-stricken areas.
The rescue work has moved now to a second phase: reconstruction of those quake-stricken areas. The media should at least give equal amounts of time to what the government has been doing or not been doing, instead of simply keeping themselves busy by listening to the complaints of people in quake-stricken areas and siding with them.
It's time to work together instead of making malicious remarks and hiding behind the banner of freedom of speech.
Darcy Penn
Ilan
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