Independent legislator-elect and talk show host Sisy Chen (陳文茜) said last week she would quit her media jobs if the government sold all its shares in two TV stations -- Taiwan Television Enter-prise (TTV, 台視) and Chinese Television System (CTS, 華視). In response, Government Informa-tion Office (GIO) Director-General Su Tzen-ping (蘇正平) said that the government and the military would be able to withdraw from the two stations only after they have become 100 percent state-owned TV stations.
The idea of the government owning TV stations seems at odds with the aim of eliminating government influence in the media.
In fact, however, turning TTV and CTS into public TV stations and getting them to form a public TV group in cooperation with Public Television Service (PTS,
If the government sells its stakes in TTV and CTS, the stations will be taken over by conglomerates which will probably maintain relations with governments and major political parties. This will create a situation in which the tigers (parties) are stopped at the front gate but the wolves (conglomerates and parties) are ushered in through the backdoor.
The TV and radio stations that have created the boom in call-in programs and played up the argument between Chen and DPP legislator Lin Chung-mo (林重謨) are all owned by private companies. The country's state-owned TV station, PTS, does not air many call-in programs or manipulate political disputes.
Suggestions for improving media standards and business efficiency with the help of the government did not begin with Su. As early as 1975, the KMT's Central Standing Committee approved a set of recommendations proposed by the party's Cultural Affairs Department on TV companies.
In 1980, then premier Sun Yun-suan (孫運璿) suggested that a public TV station be established. In 1981, then-GIO Director-General James Soong (宋楚瑜) pondered whether to levy a "special frequency licensing charge" on net commercial revenues as part of reforms on TV station ownership.
In the 1990s, legislator Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), now DPP chairman, said, "The three [terrestrial] TV stations should be incorporated into a public TV system ... but they should generate revenues by broadcasting commercials. Their profits should contribute [to society] ... only then can the TV companies be reformed."
In its 1996 election campaign guidelines, the DPP said privatization of the three terrestrial TV stations could result in their being taken over by conglomerates, which would in turn result in the perpetuation of the same "currently prevalent poor programming. Reform of the three stations should therefore focus on turning them into public TV stations." President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) platform for last year's presidential campaign contained similar statements on TTV and CTS.
When the Taipei Society (澄社) launched a movement calling on the government, the military and parties to withdraw from the media, a proviso in their statement that went relatively unnoticed read: "Neither political parties nor government agencies shall operate or invest in terrestrial TV stations, but this restriction does not apply to government agencies investing in public-service TV stations."
To establish a public TV group is the right thing to do. As Su said, however, there are many problems. The GIO has to persuade the nation that establishing a public TV group will not increase government interference. He will have to demonstrate that this is the first step to ending political control of TV stations.
Another problem is money. The government's finances are strained at the moment, making it difficult to draw up a budget to buy the privately-held shares of the two stations. The GIO therefore plans to let the stations set up a strategic alliance with PTS.
This is a commendable approach, but the GIO should first persuade the management and the employees at the three stations that it will be beneficial to them. The strategic alliance will first allow them to get to know each other and build mutual understanding and trust. This will lay a good foundation for the establishment of a public TV group.
To show that its intentions are genuine, the GIO can draw up symbolic budgets (for example, three-year budgets of NT$1 apiece) until the government has the funds to nationalize the TV stations, perhaps in four years. Though symbolic, the budget can carry substantive significance. People who believe those in power will monopolize the reforms and control the public TV group will understand that it would be impossible to do so.
More importantly, after years of preparation, both the public and the TV workers will be prepared both psychologically and practically. Also, there should be sufficient checks and balances by then against interference from the government and parties.
The TV media need reforms far beyond the establishment of a public TV group. China Television Company (CTV, 中視) is still controlled by the KMT, and Formosa TV (民視) is controlled by a DPP legislator. But the creation of a public TV group will bring opportunities for Taiwan's TV companies to develop.
Feng Chien-san is a professor of journalism at National Chengchi University.
Translated by Francis Huang
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