Mon, Oct 29, 2001 page2

• Media watchers urge journalists to be more thorough

  • By Tsai Ting-I / STAFF REPORTER
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  With the Dec. 1 polls drawing near, scholars and media watchers are urging journalists to be more thorough in their reporting on candidates and of the claims made by election hopefuls.

  There are five 24-hour news cable channels, three major newspapers and many more small publications competing for the attention of the nation's 23 million people.

  With the competition for news fierce, many candidates understand that the cheapest way to generate publicity is by holding press conferences and stirring up controversy.

  But media watchers warn that the claims made by candidates are often unchecked and usually forgotten after an election is over.

  "It's the media's responsibility to report newsworthy issues raised by the candidates," said Chen Ping-hong (陳炳宏), an associate professor at National Taiwan Normal University's Graduate Institute of Mass Communications. "But the media also have the responsibility to examine a candidate's credibility and test their claims."

  Chen said that in the coverage of this year's race, the media have done a poor job. "Reviewing reports about this year's elections, the media have totally ignored their duty," Chen said.

  Take for example the allegations made against Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), the son of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).

  Taipei New Party City Councilor Lee Ching-yuan (李慶元) -- who is running for the legislature -- alleged that the younger Chen enjoyed his own private room at boot camp and was under the special care of senior officers.

  Many media outlets repeated Lee's claims without further confirmation -- even though the politician had no evidence to prove the claim beyond a phone call he said he received from one of Chen's colleagues.

  An army official at Chen's base was quick to counter the allegations, showing reporters Chen's bunk in a room that he shares with 161 other recruits. He also denied that Chen was under the special care of senior officers.

  Hsiang-wen Hsiao (蕭湘文), chair of the Public Communications Department at Shih Hsin University, said journalists failed to report the news accurately.

  But Wang Cheng-chung (王正重), deputy executive director of the TVBS news department, said his station has always tried to confirm allegations made by candidates, rather than going ahead with what could be an inaccurate report.

  But reporting on elections correctly and objectively isn't good enough, scholars say. Journalists must also go to the public to learn what issues they care about.

  Hu Yu-wei (胡幼偉), a professor at National Taiwan Normal University's Graduate Institute of Mass Communications, said the media pay too much attention to a candidate's platform and often overlook what's on the minds of the voters.

  Reporting on what the candidates have to say about themselves isn't enough, Hu said.

  Ho Jung-hsing (何榮幸), the former executive editor of Media Watch and a political journalist with the China Times, said that he wasn't optimistic that reporters could improve their coverage of elections. Ho said commercial concerns make the idea of "public journalism" almost impossible.
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