Lo Hsih Ming
Neighbourhood Chief in Sinjhuang
“The media not only exposed Losheng, but also falsely accused it.”
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News media reporting
The news media in Taiwan have long been criticised for its superficial and biased coverage.
How is their reporting performance on Losheng?
Mainstream media
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Former deputy chief of the Department of Rapid Transit Systems (DORTS) Chuay Ho-Yen suspects that the political concern made the news media understate the Losheng issue. A Losheng activist also revealed that a reporter had admitted he was asked to keep a low profile on Losheng by the editor. Yet the senior editor of Central News Agency Lee Heng-Shan doesn’t think so. “I make editorial judgement on the principle of news value. If there isn’t something new, we wouldn’t pay much attention to it,” he explains.
The chairman of Media Watch Kuang Chung-Hsiang noticed that the news media are not capable of dealing with social movements. They tend to focus on the violent clash on the scene of any protest rather than the protestants’ appeals. He warned that “Lack of fair reporting on social movements makes the citizens indifferent to public affairs, which can be dangerous to a civil society.“
Independent media
Losheng supporters rely on some independent media to express their voices. These meida not only update the latest status of Losheng but have some feature reports on it. Reporter of Lih-Pao Hu Mu-Ching‘s report on the suspicious profits of sand and stone on the site of Losheng has forced the DORTS to face the problem. However can the deep involvement of the reporters in the Losheng movement lead to biased reporting?
“Sometimes I get confused if I’m a journalist or an activist,” reporter of Pots Guo An-Jia admitted. Kuang Chung-Hsiang said that it’s fine for news media to take a stand as long as they don’t attempt to ignore or even distort the facts. Hu Mu-Ching said that she feels alright because she always tries to find out more stories behind the scenes in order to make communication possible.”
Next Page to see Losheng's support from abroad...