Newspapers Allowed to Run TV Stations
Published on | Source
By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff Reporter
The Cabinet Tuesday endorsed a plan to ban newspapers subscribed to by 20 percent of households nationwide or more from running TV stations, including terrestrial and news channels.
However, the measure will unlikely be able to prevent any major newspaper company from cross ownership.
According to the Korea Press Foundation, the subscription rate of the Chosun Ilbo newspaper stood at 11.9 percent in 2008; JoongAng Ilbo and Dong-A Ilbo followed with 9.1 percent and with 6.6 percent, respectively.
Newspaper readership dropped to 36.8 percent in 2008, down from 69.3 percent in 1996, according to the foundation.
Experts predict that the newspaper market will further contract and no newspaper will manage to secure more than 20 percent readership, or half of the market share.
The government, however, says the measure will improve the transparency of newspapers as those wishing to enter the broadcasting industry will need to submit business records, including the number of prints, sales records and financial statements to the authorities.
They will also be required to comply with circulation auditing by a government accredited body. Currently, only a small number of newspaper companies are certified by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), a non-profit circulation auditing organization.
Newspaper firms have been reluctant to participate in the ABC's surveys since the government used compiled circulation data for extensive tax investigations in 2002. Some fear circulation surveys may trigger excessive competition among newspaper companies.
Lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) warned the decision will only benefit large conservative newspaper firms and undermine the integrity of their content.
"Today's Cabinet decision, which ignored the people and the Constitution, will be judged by the vast majority of people who long for fair media coverage", said Rep. Jun Byung-hun of the DP.
Staff Reporter
The Cabinet Tuesday endorsed a plan to ban newspapers subscribed to by 20 percent of households nationwide or more from running TV stations, including terrestrial and news channels.
However, the measure will unlikely be able to prevent any major newspaper company from cross ownership.
According to the Korea Press Foundation, the subscription rate of the Chosun Ilbo newspaper stood at 11.9 percent in 2008; JoongAng Ilbo and Dong-A Ilbo followed with 9.1 percent and with 6.6 percent, respectively.
Newspaper readership dropped to 36.8 percent in 2008, down from 69.3 percent in 1996, according to the foundation.
Experts predict that the newspaper market will further contract and no newspaper will manage to secure more than 20 percent readership, or half of the market share.
The government, however, says the measure will improve the transparency of newspapers as those wishing to enter the broadcasting industry will need to submit business records, including the number of prints, sales records and financial statements to the authorities.
They will also be required to comply with circulation auditing by a government accredited body. Currently, only a small number of newspaper companies are certified by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), a non-profit circulation auditing organization.
Newspaper firms have been reluctant to participate in the ABC's surveys since the government used compiled circulation data for extensive tax investigations in 2002. Some fear circulation surveys may trigger excessive competition among newspaper companies.
Lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) warned the decision will only benefit large conservative newspaper firms and undermine the integrity of their content.
"Today's Cabinet decision, which ignored the people and the Constitution, will be judged by the vast majority of people who long for fair media coverage", said Rep. Jun Byung-hun of the DP.
Advertisement