This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, if you turn on the TV or check electronic news, you'll find that coverage is almost entirely dominated by the virus. Taiwan's disease prevention is cautious, and the CDC regularly holds press conferences to release epidemic information. As a medium for transmitting information, news outlets not only gain access to first-hand information but also risk causing excessive public panic amid the flood of information. Reports showing long queues at mask factories, masks and alcohol running out at convenience stores and pharmacies create a certain degree of tension around the epidemic among the public.
(Media coverage of mask factory queues)
On January 30, the NCC issued a press release stating: "In response to the increasing number of confirmed cases of severe pneumonia of unknown origin (COVID-19 from Wuhan) and to prevent the transmission and spread of false information that could interfere with prevention efforts or mislead the public and cause social panic, the National Communications Commission (NCC) once again urges broadcast media to pay serious and careful attention to epidemic information. Faced with the serious dangers that the spread of false information may bring, broadcast media should actively fulfill their fact-checking obligations when reporting or commenting on epidemic-related information, avoid using speculative or sensationalized language to transmit false information, exercise journalistic professionalism, embody the social responsibility of the media as a public good, strengthen internal controls and self-regulatory mechanisms, and ensure legal compliance. Those who violate the law will be severely penalized in accordance with the law to fully protect the viewing rights of the public to obtain correct information."
In short, the NCC hopes that "broadcast media" will self-regulate—yes, only broadcast media, with no expectation for online media to self-regulate COVID-19 coverage! You frequently see netizens asking in comments "Why not regulate online media?" Let me briefly introduce the NCC (National Communications Commission) and its regulatory scope, which includes telecommunications, communications, and digital convergence. In summary, it manages "electronic media." This includes cable TV, terrestrial TV, radio (FM/AM), and telecommunications—but not the internet!
This is because "electronic" media refers to those that occupy "spectrum" and other public resources, so the internet has no spectrum issues and therefore falls outside the NCC's jurisdiction.
Why is spectrum public property? It's because of the "spectrum scarcity doctrine."
A brief explanation of the "spectrum scarcity doctrine":
In April 1912, the Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank, prompting the United States to recognize the importance of regulating wireless communication. That August, the U.S. Congress passed the "Radio Act of 1912," which emphasized that radio waves are a scarce resource to be shared by all people and should be managed and allocated by the government to prevent a few from monopolizing radio use.
From the perspective of spectrum scarcity theory (spectrum scarcity), broadcast channels are public goods. When opening related frequencies for application, comprehensive consideration should be given to the interests of the audience (both listeners and non-listeners), the distribution benefits of existing broadcast channels, media access for disadvantaged groups, and supply and demand in the advertising market.
How to make effective use of radio frequency spectrum and maximize the realization of public interest, public service, and even the ideal of media access rights is the main consideration in frequency allocation and management across countries; this is especially the important basis for allocating non-commercial broadcast frequencies.
Because of this, television and electronic media are regarded as "public property" with social responsibility. Therefore, news is legally prohibited from product placement and sponsorships, and must provide content suitable for all age groups, classified as "general audiences." This is why there are regulations such as pixelating suspects' faces in TV news, blurring fight and car accident scenes, and altering the color of blood.
For lifestyle coverage, the same news story should feature two or more brands, or brand logos should be pixelated. Word choice must be carefully considered because these all involve public interest. Violations result in fines from the NCC. (Of course, TV still has sponsored content, just done in ways you can't see through, like Hai X Music Festival, Sheng X Chang, Cai X, and so on.)
But the internet is different. The internet is a free space, with heavy users currently ranging from 15 to 35 years old. Because Taiwan has freedom of speech, before the crackdown on misinformation began, there was essentially no government agency managing online media. However, this doesn't mean there's no way to regulate it. Taiwan uses the "Child and Youth Welfare Law" to manage online content. Facebook, which everyone commonly uses, has also begun implementing mechanisms to manage graphic images, though this is still in an immature stage, as violent and bloody content is still easily accessible.
Child and Youth Welfare Law, Article 46-1:
"No one shall disseminate or transmit content harmful to the physical or mental health of children and adolescents on the internet, without adopting clear and feasible protective measures or cooperating with the protective mechanisms provided by internet platform providers, allowing children and adolescents to access or view such content."
These few simple lines regulate online content. For instance, when news involves harm to minors such as sexual assault or abuse, clothing is altered in color and heavily pixelated, and graphic images are also pixelated to prevent adolescents from accessing content that might "affect their well-being." As a result, the choice of words is not as strictly scrutinized, and balanced reporting—such as legal perspectives—is done less frequently. However, this distinction exists in a "gray area."
Online news uses "click-through rate" to judge whether a news story is "good," and you can find out the click count immediately. As a result, many pieces are recycled with different headlines, or images are covered with logos to pique curiosity. Headlines use "misleading" language to trick people—all for clicks. With this standard, over time, regardless of content quality, depth, or professionalism, if it gets clicks, it's considered good news. (Of course, more professional media outlets like The Reporter and Initium Media are outside this discussion, as they prioritize content.)
TV news judges performance by "viewership ratings," using Nielsen as the standard, with ratings revealed the next day. However, content isn't the priority; factors like "breaks" and "ad time" also affect viewership. Think about your TV-watching experience—when an ad comes on, don't you change the channel? That's a "break." If the ad is long, don't you lose patience?
This is a matter of "time." So the editors at ON-air TV stations have screens full of other news channels in front, monitoring which channel is showing ads and which news story, so they can adjust the broadcast order in real time. As for content quality, that's really left to the discretion of each TV network's management.
The mindset of online and television media is completely different. This article doesn't argue which is more professional or which is superficial; it merely expresses that online and television are different news media with different operations, different emphases, and different regulations. Therefore, naturally there will be differences. Hopefully, through this article, the public can develop greater media literacy.
Other media-related articles: Elevating the Commercial Value of Press Releases—Using "Agenda Setting" to Manipulate Media! Decoding 5 Journalist Selection Mindsets
Author: Karen
Graduate of National Chung Cheng University Institute of Telecommunication and Broadcasting | Presented papers at Fudan University in Shanghai; specializing in audience reception and news media research
Former reporter for Hong Kong 01 Group Duowei News | TVBS News writer | CTi News writer | ETtoday social media editor | GoSky startup media consultant
Contact: info@ladykaren.org
