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Building the media up

Published: 01 Nov. 2009, 20:23

The Constitutional Court on Thursday turned down an application for a provisional disposition on stopping the revised media reform laws from taking effect. The application was filed by the four opposition parties, led by the Democratic Party. We should use the momentum of the Constitutional Court ruling to end the long and exhausting controversy and start developing the media industry. A tremendous amount of the nation’s time and energy has been already wasted on the debate over the media laws. It’s time to put all of that aside and bring our media in line with the global trend toward cross-ownership in the industry.

The government should step up its efforts to formulate the follow-up measures necessary for the enforcement of the laws in this regard.

The media-related laws and regulations, which will have a huge effect on the advertising market once the laws go into effect, have still failed to yield any tangible progress. In addition, the selection of a general programming business operator is an urgent matter. As an issue attracting the attention of the whole nation, in particular, there should be no doubt about the criteria for selection of such an entity. The chosen business operator should be equipped with quantitative and qualitative capabilities to engage in the broadcasting business so as not to provoke any serious privilege controversies. It would also be good to disclose the inspection results in a transparent manner.

The global community is making an enormous effort to make it easier for companies to enter the media industry and to encourage local media firms to penetrate global media markets. This proves that the comprehensive media services industry, encompassing online and off-line mediums, is as full of possibilities for the future as the prospect of an open sea.

Though belated, we should also strive to invest out national strength and vitality in becoming a global media powerhouse. We have the potential. The nation’s semiconductor industry, which climbed to the top of the world just 10 years after its entry into the global market despite derision from other advanced countries, is a prime example.

One study shows that more than 20,000 jobs will be created by facilitating entry into the media business. If development of this nationwide project is blocked by individual interests, people will no longer accept it.

We should bear in mind the message from the Constitutional Court ruling that it is high time we put an end to useless controversies undermining our nation’s competitiveness and join in the efforts to build the media industry up, not break it down.