The National Communications Commission (NCC) could adopt the criteria used for the approval of Mirror News (鏡電視) to evaluate the performance of cable news channels, NCC Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥) said yesterday.
Mirror Media was last month granted approval to establish the news channel after it was reviewed by the commission for two years.
However, NCC commissioners Lin Li-yun (林麗雲) and Wang Wei-ching (王維菁) wrote a letter of dissent regarding the ruling, saying that the commission should not review applications for the establishment of news channels as if they are judging an essay competition.
The commission should review its policies governing the establishment and evaluation of news channels, they said.
Chen told reporters at a luncheon that he respects the diverse opinions of NCC commissioners, adding that it is normal for commissioners to write letters of dissent.
However, Mirror News’ business plan was probably the best one he has seen so far, he said.
“Taiwan has neither the legislation nor the policy to cap the number of news channels on cable. We want competition in the market, but if we had rejected Mirror Media’s application even though it had presented a well-composed business plan, we would in reality be limiting the number of news channels. I simply cannot accept this logic,” Chen said.
“We are dissatisfied with existing channels, but if new ones have no way to [launch] either, one has to question if this is really good for the country. Whether a news channel can survive after it secures a license is its own business, but we should not limit the entry of newcomers into the market,” he said.
Chen also questioned the fairness of blaming Mirror News for causing the chaos that has existed in broadcast news media for years.
Communications experts disagreed with the NCC ruling, because they have severe doubts about Mirror Group chairman Pei Wei (裴偉), who was widely credited with bringing sensational, paparazzi-style journalism into the country, Chen said.
“I approved the case because the channel has pledged to retain communications expert Weng Shieu-chi (翁秀琪) as a full-time ombudsman to control quality,” he said.
The case highlights the importance of having an accountability mechanism, Chen said.
“Such mechanisms include whether the new channel has an internal quality control system and can produce and review independently. We will deliberate whether it is necessary to require all news channels to have an ombudsman. [These] could become criteria we use to evaluate their performance and license renewal application,” he said.
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