An academic said yesterday that the "tabloidization" of Taiwan's media was not necessarily negative, given the unique situation of Taiwanese society and the lack of mechanisms for dialogue in the country.
A two-day conference called Global Communication in the New Media Age began yesterday, hosted by National Chengchi University's (NCCU) College of Communications, with journalism professors from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and the US participating.
Commenting on media trends and the development of the popular press in Taiwan, Su Herng
Tabloidization is often defined as an increase of less newsworthy elements of secondary importance with a visually oriented layout, dramatic news content, sensational news coverage and erotic content, Su said.
In the West, tabloids are usually regarded negatively, but in Taiwan, the increase of tabloidization is not necessarily bad, she said.
For one, Su said, Taiwan lacks mechanisms for dialogue, whether between political parties or between the government and the people, and therefore an outspoken media has become the only communication method.
Given the country's unique circumstances, tabloidization in Taiwan with regard to promoting justice and facilitating government dialogue is in a way acceptable, she said.
Newspapers in the country have their own self-image and political identity to uphold, but with the introduction of tabloid-type publications in recent years, major Chinese-language papers here have reorganized to follow a tabloid business model, she said.
Su said that such reorganizations included establishing paparazzi teams to uncover and follow scandals, and increasingly sensational coverage of crime and entertainment news.
However, according to her research, readers in the country seem to choose newspapers based mainly on political identity, and less because of news quality, Su said.
As for the wider global media phenomenon, Paul Lee (
"At present, `world opinion' is mainly elite media opinion controlled by global media giants," Lee said.
Media information is usually supplied by elites such as government officials, and often does not represent mass opinion, he said.
However, only an uninhibited flow of information and exchange of ideas can induce the formation of a global, civic, non-governmental consciousness, Lee said.
Chang Ching-ching (
Other topics to be presented today will include issues such as media technology, political communication, advertising and public relations.
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