[Cheonji Daily] Broadcasting Centres Raise Audience Ratings through 'Shincheonji Hatred'…“Enormous and Malicious Influence on National Progress”

On 18th March, Cheonji Ilbo (Daily) published an article entitled “Broadcasting Centres Raise Audience Ratings through 'Shincheonji Hatred'…“Enormous and Malicious Influence on National Progress”. This is a translation of that article.

(Photo) MBC’s investigative report 'Straight', which aired an episode about Shincheonji Church on the 2nd, recorded a rating of 6.8%.

Focus on current affairs that promote 'Shincheonji Hatred’

False reporting of Shincheonji Church is void of triangulation

Seok-Woo Lee: “Shincheonji, The Sacrificial Lamb for Audience Ratings”

Sang-byeong Park: “Media amorality matches and reveals government appetite” 

Public TV, current affairs programmes on cable and news are placing Shincheonji Church as the focus of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, criticism has emerged that this is irrelevant to resolving the COVID-19 crisis and promotes hatred of Shincheonji Church and is a 'marketing ploy to up ratings'.

The content of each broadcaster’s slanderous Shincheonji Church preview which began on the 27th last month largely differed. The broadcasts mainly focused on fostering aversion to Shincheonji Church, citing the views of self-proclaimed 'Shincheonji experts' who had been dismissed from Shincheonji Church.

The reason why each broadcaster drew attention to Shincheonji Church was to raise audience ratings by playing on the public’s fear of COVID-19. It was also pointed out that this is the result of long-standing oppression by our press, which manipulates the government into blaming Shincheonji Church.

According to Nielsen Korea, Spotlight was broadcast on the 27th last month that increased viewer ratings by 4.5% (2.2% → 6.7%) on the previous week, and straight (6.8%) and PD Note (6.4%) also significantly increased.

In addition to current affairs programmes, the news is throwing in the form of 'or not,' and throwing it together with Shincheonji. There is also criticism of there being no basic triangulation, so it has deviated greatly from reporting ethics and standards.

Regarding the media's reporting ethics of Shincheonji Church, a co-representative Seok-woo Lee of the Media Alliance said during a call with Cheonji Ilbo: "Shincheonji Church was victimised to take on all the blame and public broadcasters are in charge of ratings." He added, "As a result, public opinion has been misled and national opinion is divided, which has had a serious adverse effect on national development."

Political analyst Sang-byeong Park also said in a call with Cheonji Ilbo, “At present, the government and those with vested interests are working together to look for scapegoats for the public."

He continued, "This COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vile ethics of our media which is colluding with the government to publish reports tailored to their own liking."

"The absence of one’s religious freedom belongs to a communist regime," said Myeong-gi Cho, a co-representative for the Media Alliance. 

To read the original article as published in Cheonji Ilbo, please click here http://bit.ly/2UhbKQW