Taiwanese media

i'm sure many of you would have some idea of Taiwanese media.. sensational news, free speech, anything goes.. and one of the biggest reason why i wanna come to Taiwan for exchange is to experience such a media environment, something totally different from Singapore's, something not restricted, something exciting..

indeed it is very different.. though i dare not say for the better.. for one it is seriously lacking in international news.. front pages are mainly about sensationalized news about anything in Taiwan.. politicians, artistes, common folks.. as long as the news sell..the gatekeepers feel that people are not interested in international affairs, they won't sell.. and so they keep them out of the papers and indeed people get used to not knowing about international stuff.. it's a cycle..

i'm have an especially strong feeling regarding this after reading my fren's blog entry on taiwanese media.. a story her teacher accounted in class..

“有 一次，他去一個講座，來聽的人是台灣各縣市的中小學教師及校長，講座完畢之後，只有兩位人舉手問問題，有一位彰化縣的校長問：　如果 與媒體抗衡？　老師覺得很奇怪，為什麼突然這樣問，便問校長原因。那位校長說：我們學校有一位小五的女生，她很胖，但是她胖的原因是因為生病，而不是亂吃 東西，但是卻吸引了一大批傳媒人去採訪。這些媒體問小女孩，你為什麼這麼胖？　小女孩天真的說：　我不知道～，媒體再問：　那你喜歡吃ｍｃｄｏｎａｌｄ及 肯得基嗎？年紀小小的小女孩便回答：　喜歡。於是媒體又要求小女孩在上衣打開，讓她露出團團肥肉，原因是電視台需要有畫面。校長立刻阻止，便請媒體離去。

可 是，事情是：　媒體們等小女孩放學，跟她回家，一方面又派人去買麥當勞，一方面又派人去買肯得基。小女孩回到家，她的家是於彰化縣的一個小小的鄉 村，家裡是十分窮困的，爸爸媽媽生平看到這麼多媒體，不知所措，結果媒體便叫小女孩揭開上衣，好讓媒體們拍攝一團團的肥肉，又請小女孩吃麥當勞及肯得基， 令畫面更豐富！說到這裡，我不禁流淚了，這是一個怎樣的世界，是一個怎麼樣的媒體！！！” - excerpt from here

i'm especially sad upon reading this.. this is the extent the Taiwanese media go to juz to get a 'good' story.. in the light of competition and media deregulation, there is no more ethics, no more morals.. whatever we learn in school is but thrown out once you enter the industry..

now i am thankful for the regulation we haf in Singapore.. at least we are getting a fare share of international news, i dare say we still speak of ethics and morals.. i'm so much more appreciative of Sg's media.. it's restricted but at least i feel it is doing what the media should be doing..

the way the taiwanese media blow up the slightest thing that happens in the community paints a picture of a chaotic and lawless society.. but it is in fact a pretty peaceful one.. it is not doing justice to the country and people.. it is not projecting the right image to others.. and the lack of international news is causing the students to lack a global outlook.. i was interviewed by a student about Sg's media and she could not understand why we can be interested in international news and happenings.. it never occured to me that it is weird to want to know more..

whoever said competition is good? it seems like ever since Apple Daily entered Taiwan, the media is juz spiralling towards more and more sensationalization.. Apple Daily is 2nd most widely circulated papers in Taiwan, in just 2 yrs after they enter the market..

台灣媒體死了一半 or so my fren laments...