[Editorial] ChoJoongDong’s irrational reply to netizens

Posted on : 2008-06-20 13:09 KST Modified on : 2008-06-20 13:09 KST

As if by a coordinated decision, on June 19 the Chosun Ilbo, JoongAng Ilbo, and DongA Ilbo all ran articles criticizing the country’s netizens and portal sites. Specifically they were criticizing the campaign to boycott their advertisers. Red baiting with words like “terror” and “leftist” has reappeared in their pages, and there are demands for legal punishment and a crackdown. The Chosun Ilbo has sent a warning letter to various internet sites calling the boycott illegal. This is a blast-from-the-past “opinion herding” move that attempts to strangle the Internet.

It is quite pathetic. Even if they were to be in desperate straights because of less advertising, they still should not be treating people like criminals and threatening them. The reason netizens and citizens online and offline are criticizing these newspapers is because they think that instead of acting as news media the papers are distorting the truth and being misleading. This is a criticism and action for goals that are in the best interest of the public, and it is a media consumer movement of sorts.

These newspapers need to listen to the criticism and take the opportunity to look at themselves and examine their own shortcomings. How are you any different from organized thugs if you start wielding your fist because there is less in your rice bowl to eat from? These papers look cowardly for the way they changed their tone in covering the candlelight protests as they grew in scale, only to jump on what seemed like a good opportunity to mount a counterattack.

The Chosun, JoongAng, and DongA need to see that this kind of response is not going to help them. If instead of considering criticism, a news medium focuses its efforts on trying to censor people, it will lose its channels for communicating with the general public. In this day and age the media has to find its role in interactive communication instead of handing down one-way enlightenment, so this is a silly regression to the past.

It is all the more dangerous if these papers are thinking they are going to recover the power they used to have over public opinion by controlling the way opinion and information is circulated on the Internet. Thoughtlessly thrusting things like criminal law and the law on information and communications networks at the Internet could lead to self-censorship.

It could infringe on constitutionally stipulated freedom of press and expression and the participatory politics still sprouting through the internet. There could be no such thing as a free press in such a situation, which is why the Chosun, JoongAng, and DongA need to engage in some more fundamental self-reflection. The Korea Communications Standards Commission, for its own sake, should not make its decision hastily.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]