1、媒改社 21 世紀報章評論文選 1A 21th Century Anthology of Media CriticismThe Campaign for Media Reform (Taiwan)Website：http:/twmedia.orgCompiled and edited by Lin, Yu-Peng1st ed. January 21, 2008 Translated by Taipei Times Translation Section1 All of articles printed herein were originally published in various l
2、ocal Chinese newspapers before being translated in English by the English daily, Taipei Times.iContentsForeword 1About the Campaign for Media Reform 3About Authors 7Chen Ping-hung 8Keeping focused on a free press 8Dishonest arguments threaten media idea 10Be careful with media regulations and laws 1
3、2Nation is being torn apart by media bias 14KMT should give up on TV fight 16TV viewers should use the phone to complain 18Media must stop trying to beguile audiences 20The media watchdog is not a toy for politicians 22State ads replace professionalism 24Feng Chien-San 27GIO idea on TV ownership is
4、good 27A public TV group answer to good TV 30UK example can shed light on GIO press moves 32Rail system must not be privatized 34Laws need to protect people, not monopolies 37GIOs passivity renders it useless 39Policies can encourage more media discipline 42NCC must take closer look at the TV market
5、 44Ho Tung-Hung 46Music and politics are inseparable 46Hung Chen-Ling 49NCC must maintain independence 49Down with multimedia monopolies 52Intervening is the only route for the NCC to take 54Kuang Chung-Hsiang 56Lin better at planning than action 56Its best to think before uprooting a TV station 59i
6、iA need for more broadcast reform 61Kuo Li-Hsin 64Whose interests are being served? 64Public TV need not be a stifling experience 67Lee Ming-Tsung 69Media outlets more blue than blue 69Lin Lih-yun 73Media needs emergency overhaul 73Society has a key role to play in reforms 75Taiwanese public TV like
7、 a ship lost at sea 77Liu Chad 79Sports on PTS needs more energy 79Lo Shih-Hung 82Its time for the media to fulfill their mandate 82The BCC is failing on every count 84Wei Ti 87Imported films need some form of taxation 87Nations media must be reformed 89Give free rein to Taiwans media 92Media need t
8、o do soul-searching 95Appendix 1 97Help to campaign for citizens TV 97Appendix 2 102About Campaign for Media Reform 102Activists decry privatizing TV stations 102KMT must return its media to the public 104Civic groups back TV reforms 106GIO urged to detail reform plans 108Academics call for clearer
9、guidelines for reporters 110Social groups call for turning off the television 113TSU denies Lee behind rumored TV station sale 115Action wanted on WTO motion 117媒改社 21 世紀報章評論文選A 21th Century Anthology of Media Criticism1ForewordThe anthology is a collection of articles of media criticism written by
10、members of the Campaign for Media Reform (CMR). It also contains the press coverage on media reform activities which CMR initiated or took part in. The anthology gives readers a clearer idea about what CMR does and the current problems of Taiwans media in the critical moment of democratic transition
11、. In the post-martial law era, since 1987, the democracy in Taiwan has taken a giants leap forward in politics, economy, and the civil consciousness. Yet against the tide of democratization, the performance of the media remains stagnant because capital and political power games join hands to push th
12、e media in Taiwan toward partisanship and egocentricity. Todays commercial media in Taiwan deviate from the need of the common citizen and fail to serve as a public sphere. Recognizing the indispensability of healthy media for democracy, CMR initiated in November 2002 as a civil movement to advocate
13、 for media reform. The CMR was formerly known as the Campaign for Citizens TV. It gathered communication scholars aiming at restructuring the state-owned TV stations into public entities. Later, in order to diversify its issue of concern and to expand the scope of its social involvement, the Campaig
14、n for Citizens TV was renamed the Campaign of Media Reform and has been involved in dialogues, criticisms, negotiations, and lobbying on various media reform issues ever since. Throughout the years, CMR has campaigned for the divestment of political parties from wireless TV ownership, the conglomera
15、tion of public TV, the founding of the media regulator National Communication Commission (NCC), and the protection of labor rights of media workers in several cases of corporate downsizing or bankruptcy. These campaigns were widely covered by the local media as shown in the appendixes of this book.
16、Along with our efforts in lobbying the government and appealing for public support on media reform projects, CMR members actively published works in newspapers to lay solid discursive groundwork for reform actions. Our compiled works from 2001 to 2007 compose the main body of this book. The contribu
17、tors are mostly scholars from different local universities who have critical minds and are convinced of the importance of rendering intellectual labor on issues of social concern. These works address a variety of timely issues related to media reform, such as the blueprint for media restructuring, t
18、he critique of media content performance, the call 媒改社 21 世紀報章評論文選A 21th Century Anthology of Media Criticism2for government re-regulation on the commercial sector of the media, and the advocacy for civil participation and education in media literacy. In general, through these works we seek to argue
19、 that medias failure to serve democracy is rooted in their structural constraint conditioned by the ever concentration of political and economic powers in the society; therefore, a basic change of media structure and the adjustment of relationship between media and other social forces are crucial fo
20、r building a real democratic media. In sum, the book is a record of CMRs efforts in media reform in the past years. To the CMR members, it is also a means to communicate our ideas and ideals, and to bridge coalition with concerned citizens and activists of media reform from Taiwan and from all over
21、the world. We sincerely invite you to share our efforts and join our campaigns for a better media environment. Chen-Ling Hung Convener of CMR2008/7/3媒改社 21 世紀報章評論文選A 21th Century Anthology of Media Criticism3About the Campaign for Media Reform-A True Democracy Begins with Media Reform- Introduction
22、The Campaign for Media Reform was officially launched on May 4, 2003, by individuals from the academia, the press, the social advocacy groups, as well as concerned citizens who share common objectives of restructuring the worsening media milieu. The campaign seeks to restructure Taiwans media with p
23、reliminary focus on issues such as curbing the privatization and commercialization of media ownership, protecting labor rights of media workers, engaging in media watch and criticism, and lobbying for policies benevolent to the public interest of media access. The ultimate goal is to advocate for th
24、e communication rights of the citizen and to reform Taiwans media ecology. Background A. Why was the Campaign for Media Reform launched? It all starts with the problem of “who controls the media.”For a long time in the past, the ruling party KMT (The Nationalist Party) had held Taiwans media as an i
25、nstrument of manipulating politics and reaping wealth. In KMTs authoritarian rule, media was in the stranglehold of its twisted state/party machine which left no room for genuine public participation. Since the late 1980s, a series of political glasnost seemed to have brought Taiwan a ray of hope fo
26、r media democracy following the lift of ownership bans and the abrogation of censorship. Yet, to the disappointment of many anticipators, a new media milieu modeled after the neo-liberal market style of deregulation and privatization did not come with the realization of the medias designated role. N
27、ot only that the media failed to assume the role as a facilitator on Taiwans road to democracy, often times it constituted a major stumbling block.媒改社 21 世紀報章評論文選A 21th Century Anthology of Media Criticism4B. Then, whats the problem of Taiwans media today?The problem of the media today lies in that
28、despite political democratization, neither the ruling administration nor the oppositional parties are willing to give up on controlling the media, although the nature of control seems more subtle than the previous era. A new form of social control via the media has been exerted underneath the skin-d
29、eep liberalization as a handful of corporations soon replace the political parties to become the new manufacturer of public consent. In Taiwan, unrestrained market liberalization since the 1990s has created a handful of mega-media corporations. Corporate grasp on the media in the form of oligopoly h
30、as further consolidated the political stake of the power that be by being their accomplice in exchange for quick financial input. As a consequence, the media in Taiwan failed its role as a democratic institution. Lacking public interest in the mind of most media operators, the commercial media have
31、become the proxy of the socially privileged. Driven by rating numbers and market share, the media content are saturated with overblown sensationalism, unjustified bias and partisan opinion. Hence, what has emerged before the publics eye is the most ugly and vicious intertwining of corporate and poli
32、tical interests. These all came at the sacrifice of the public sphere obligation of the media and at the peril of the very foundation of democracy. C. What needs to be overcome?Todays media reform in Taiwan seeks to overcome the public dilemma of relying on the media for information while tolerating
33、 its poor performance. In general, there is a prevailing awareness that the media performance in Taiwan is in deep trouble. A strong sense of disillusionment came from within and without the field of its production: Despite disappointment at its performance, the public today barely has a clue on how
34、 to cope with the flaws of the media-sensationalism, overcharge and underinvestment, violation of privacy, inaccuracy of report, to name just a few. At the same time, media workers often find themselves disoriented as they are sandwiched between the public discontent and the pressure given by the ma
35、nagement hierarchy within the media institution. A common sentiment of defeatism has kept both the public and the media workers from seeking remedy for the problem.媒改社 21 世紀報章評論文選A 21th Century Anthology of Media Criticism5Nevertheless, the media is the key mechanism of social representation and sym
36、bolic production. Its every development closely relates to what the society makes itself felt among the public. A malfunctioned media should be regarded as both a sign and a cause of social illness. Therefore, pessimism and leniency needs to be overcome. The prevailing disillusionment with its perfo
37、rmance should be turned into catalyst for public involvement calling for medias restructuring. Media reform is a vital step that makes democracy worth its name. Things should be done to redress the defective media structure. Particularly, the corporate/political control should be curbed because it o
38、nly takes us further away from realizing a real democracy. Media reform demands effort and participation from a broad base. So, what do we do?A democratic society requires democratic media. With a commitment to righting the wrong, The Campaign of Media Reform seeks to engage in reforming Taiwans med
39、ia with the following missions: 1. To research on the contemporary developmental trends of the media industry and to stimulate public debate on communication policies.2. To explore and expose inadequate media performances and to prevent media from inappropriate political and corporate interventions.
40、 3. To advocate for civic education on media-related issues in order to promote the public realization of the value of democratic media.4. To organize activities, seminars, or speeches to popularize the vision of media reform and restructuring.5. To redress the flaws of the media by proposing concre
41、te blueprint to improve media structure, and by forming coalition with the other progressive power of social reform. 6. To lobby the legislature and government agencies for drawing up media policies contributing to media reform and restructuring.7. To carry on the other activities that are consisten
42、t with the organizations objectives and goals or those that could help the organization fulfill its mission.Website: http:/twmedia.org媒改社 21 世紀報章評論文選A 21th Century Anthology of Media Criticism6About AuthorsChen, Ping-hung is Professor in the Graduate Institute of Mass Communication at National Taiwa
43、n Normal University.Feng, Chien-san is Professor in the Department of Journalism at National Chengchi University. Ho, Tung-hung is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Fu-Jen Catholic University. Hung, Chen-ling is the Convener of the Campaign of Media Reform and Associate Professo
44、r at the Graduate Institute of Journalism at National Taiwan University. Kuang, Chung-hsiang is the Chairman of the Board of Director at the Media Watch Foundation and Assistant Professor of the Department of Radio, Television and Film at Shih Hsin University. Kuo, Li-hsin is Associate Professor in
45、the Department of Radio, TV and Film at National Chengchi University. Lee, Ming-tsung is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at National Taiwan University.Lin, Lih-yun is Associate Professor in the Graduate Institute of Journalism at National Taiwan University. Liu, Chad is Assistant
46、Professor in the Department of Journalism at National Chengchi University.Lo, Shih-hung is Associate Professor in the Department of Communications at National Chung Cheng University.Wei, Ti is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication and Technology at National Chiao Tung University. 媒改
47、社 21 世紀報章評論文選A 21th Century Anthology of Media Criticism7Chen Ping-hungKeeping focused on a free pressBy Chen Ping-hung Monday, Nov 26, 2001According to news reports, while inspecting the General Information Office (GIO) some time ago, Louis Chao (趙榮耀 ) and four other members of the Control Yuan exp
48、ressed a wish that, since they were worried over the “chaotic“ media situation, the GIO keep an eye on it. The role and performance of the media has been an issue of concern for President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and now members of the Control Yuan want their say
49、as well. In theory, there are three forces regulating the media. The first is “self-discipline,“ which is the hope that all media will understand their special role and develop the capacity to critique government policymaking, monitor the social climate and promote the development of democracy - all without fear or favor. This is the most essential media-regulating force. The second force is “the discipline of others,“ which means the monitoring of media performance by non-governmental organizations who can hold the media to the principles of jo
