The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday approved the renewal of Formosa News’ broadcast license, provided that it has a content editor for its political talk show.
It was the first time that the commission specified such a requirement as a condition for a news channel to renew its broadcast license.
Formosa News was fined 18 times over the past six years, with accumulated fines topping NT$7.4 million (US$236,891), said Chen Chin-shuan (陳金霜), a senior specialist at the Department of Broadcasting and Content.
Photo: Chen Hsin-yu, Taipei Times
Six of the fines were related to the content on its political talk show Hot News 152 (辣新聞152), hosted by Clara Chou (周玉蔻), Chen said.
“The show has received many complaints and was fined a total of NT$3 million. It was fined four times for failing to verify the facts presented in the show, one for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) and another time for airing content that disrupts public order and adversely affects good social customs,” Chen said.
Meanwhile, the commission also allowed SET News to renew its license on the condition that its news ombudsperson publishes an annual report on the news channel’s operations, specifically on whether the news department verifies information before airing it, and the network maintains clear separation between news and advertisements. The report must also show how the channel is held accountable for its performance, it said.
“We are aware that SET News has recruited Huang Wei-wei (黃葳威), a professor in the Department of Radio and Television at National Chengchi University, to be its ombudsman... The Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法) only requires a news channel to stipulate its own code of ethics, and recruiting an ombudsman is not a requirement for renewing a broadcast license, but they all serve to help the channel elevate the program quality and ensure a quality control mechanism,” NCC Vice Chairman and spokesman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said.
However, the commission ruled to move to a continuance on the license renewal application filed by Global Finance News.
“In addition to the distinctions among Global News, Global News Taiwan and Global Finance News, we have noticed that the Global Finance News has 30 staff members. We will ask them to increase the size of its staff and raise the percentage of self-produced programs from 39 to 50 percent. Its largest shareholder, Jay San Lyn Group chairman Chu Wen-yu (祝文宇), is in the real-estate business, and the channel is obligated to disclose such information,” Wong said.
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