MEDIA IMMEDIACY: ASIA ONLINE

Sinorama www.sinorama.com.tw/main/en/
Taiwan, as a longstanding bastion of independence, could be expected to have a tough and radical press tradition. Surprisingly — or maybe not, given the historical context of 40 years of martial law engaged in unremitting propaganda warfare — the dominant voice is, just like on the mainland, the Government Information Office. What is unexpected however is the current objective level of self-criticism. Sinorama, a monthly culture’n’society magazine, promotes Taiwan to the world (distributing six different editions to 165 countries), but judging by its online archive, goes further than would be expected to deliver authentic  insights, with investigative pieces such as the following, by Teng Sue-feng:

The Fall from Grace of Taiwan's Media

After the murder of Liu Pang-you and his staff in Taoyuan, an executive with the United Daily News held a meeting with his local news bureau reporters on the 14th floor of their building. Referring to the breaking of the case or the capture of the killers, he told his reporters, "If you fail to get this story, jumping from the 14th floor is too good for you. You should climb up to at least the 20th floor and jump from there." This speech chilled the bones of the local reporters, who replied, "If we fail to get the story, we'll turn in a resignation without another word."

"Every reporter goes through a learning phase," says the head of one local newspaper. But with 70% of news staff new to the job, there's no one to teach them. The problem is that "the industry has expanded too quickly. As soon as a new reporter comes to work he's thrown into a complicated situation," says Luo. He uses politics as an example saying that the new reporters believe everything the politicians say. "Politicians aren't evil, but they do live in an complicated environment. A cub reporter can't instantaneously understand all of the background against which these people operate. They need time to learn." But, in the current situation, there's no time for them to grow into their role. This problem is even more serious in the "no picture, no news" world of electronic media.
 

Public TV's Last Stand

Today, when the number of  television channels has surpassed 100, what importance does Public TV actually have for our society and culture? Why is there no room in Taiwan for the idea that television belongs to the public?

A Virtual Surprise from an Aboriginal Community: A Look Behind the Prize-Winning Piyouma Website

When most people think of the Internet, they think of urban kids or white-collar office workers. Therefore, it was quite a surprise when the winner of this year's National Community Website Design Competition turned out to be "Piyouma" [need Chinese-capable browser] a small community in the mountains of Pingtung inhabited by Paiwan indigenous people, with a population of less than 600. How did this poetically named tribe in southern Taiwan do it? What has been the impact of the Internet on their lives? What new hopes and expectations do they have as a result of the Net?
    The sponsoring organization, a foundation called the Youth Community Development Center, or UCOM for short, relates that more than 400 community websites entered the competition.

The rapid expansion of the media has led to over-crowding, excessive competition, and hyper-aggressiveness. Taiwan, an island of 22 million people, has 80 radio stations, 140 cable television operators with 70 channels, 360 newspapers, 235 domestic news agencies, and 5700 magazines. Consequently, both electronic and print media are now facing fierce competition.

    It can be argued that the forces of competition will eventually solve the problem of media overcrowding, with "survival-of-the-fittest" thinning out the industry and eventually eliminating excessive competition. In theory, the best will eventually rise to the top, and competition will bring the added benefit of introducing innovative concepts and cultivating resourceful talent, thus improving the overall progress of the media.
    Nonetheless, there are real and significant dangers of allowing competition alone to act as the driving force in stabilizing an over-crowded media sector. The media industry is still an industry, and any industry depends on money. There is no guarantee that the winners in an industry shake-out will be the best in terms of quality. Rather, there is the unpleasant likelihood that those companies, which can hold out the longest in such an intense competition, may simply be those which have the highest level of financial backing.

First, we need to rediscover our own identity. This needs to be an inclusive identity, open to new immigrants who feel an attachment to Taiwan, its existence and its future. But it needs to be a Taiwanese identity, rooted in this island, its history, geography and economy.

    We also need to reemphasize our culture, literature, music, language and heritage. This can be rooted in the aborigine societies which are so rich in music and dance, but can also be rooted in the Ho'lo and Hakka-speaking societies, or even in the society of the immigrants who came after 1945.
    The essence is that it needs to be focused on our existence here in Taiwan, and not dwell on past glory or harebrain future "unification" schemes, which would in all probability turn into nightmares.
    Such an emphasis on our own identity needs to be translated into a new foreign and economic policy, which presses for Taiwan's acceptance in the international community as a full and equal member.

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