The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday rejected Next TV's (壹電視) application to set up news and information channels, saying the news content it intends to show on both channels went against the core values upheld by the commission and violated regulations on TV program ratings.
The ruling came as no surprise as NCC spokesperson Chen Jeng-chang (陳正倉) had said on various occasions that the chances of the commission granting the Next Media group a license was very low given the controversy generated by the animated “News-in-Motion” feature of its newspaper arm, the Apple Daily.
Last week, the commission also decided to postpone review of Next TV's entertainment, movie and sports channels, saying its plans did not clearly detail how it intended to present sports and entertainment news.
In response to the ruling, Next TV chairman Chu Wah-hui (朱華煦) said in a statement yesterday that while the company respected the commission's decision, it felt that it was “misunderstood.”
Chu said the company felt sorry about the commission's ruling even though it had promised not to present controversial news using animation.
“Our determination to build a brand new TV network will not be shaken,” Chu said.
“We also promise to become the first TV network to have an ethics committee and to set up a self-regulatory system,” he said.
Despite the ruling, the NCC spokesperson said Next TV is entitled to file another application, and the commission is obligated to review the case within three months of receiving an application.
Chen said the commission had issued its ruling based on the video clips submitted by Next TV in its application. The contents presented in the clips obviously contradicted the values stated in Article 5 of the Communications and Broadcasting Act (通訊傳播基本法), which states that “communications shall safeguard human dignity, respect minorities' rights and interests, and promote the balanced development of cultural diversity.”
“Instead, the contents trampled on human dignity,” he said.
Chen added that the commission has consulted media researchers and animation experts before it ruled on the case.
“They said that there was a huge difference between the content of News-in-Motion and genuine news,” Chen said. “The contents in News-in-Motion can be called 'docudrama' at best, which combines the characteristics of news and drama. But it's not news.”
Chen added that media experts said News-in-Motion had deviated from the goal of seeking the truth by trying to imagine the mood and thoughts of the parties involved in any given incident, and even added imaginary dialogues or sound effects to the presentations.
It also failed to protect the rights of children, young people and minorities by devoting a large percentage of the coverage to violence and sexual abuse, Chen said.
Animation experts said the content of News-in-Motion could be seen as animation about news, not animated news. They said footage of real news cannot be edited or modified.
Article 13 of the “Regulations Governing the Classification of Television Programs” (電視節目分級辦法) states that images used in news programs should meet general rating guidelines, Chen said.
And while Next TV has guidelines that govern the production of the animated news, which has specific regulations on handling news on crimes, suicides, sexual abuse and traffic accidents or those involving corpses, they do not follow regulations on television program ratings, he said.
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