Who is the Master of the Media? - From CBSC's Decision

By Zhong Yan

(Clearwisdom.net) At around 8:30 p.m. on December 6, 2001, Talentvision [a Canadian Chinese-language TV station] broadcast a part of "China satellite news" from CCTV [China's state-run Television Station], which reported a story of Fu Yi-bin being charged with murdering his wife and father. A letter of protest signed by more than 1,000 individuals prompted the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council to announce a decision on August 16, 2002. This decision concerns a rebroadcast from CCTV by Talentvision, a Canadian Chinese-language TV station. The CBSC decision stated that Talentvision's broadcasting the CCTV program, the "Fu Yi-bin murder case" on December 16, 2001, had breached four articles of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' Code of Ethics and Violence Code and the Radio and Television News Directors Code of (Journalistic) Ethics. The commissioners felt that the news report constituted unjust comments on its content involving Falun Gong, and at the same time it was extreme that this video full of violence was repeatedly shown. Talentvision was directed to air this decision twice within seven days.

However, in China, similar slanderous reports including the Fu Yi-bin case are first "processed" by the government's largest media outlet, CCTV, and then they are not only broadcast throughout China, but also rebroadcast by TV stations at the county, city and province levels in order to bombard the people in China with "news reports" full of horrific scenes. Moreover, people in government agencies, organizations, departments and schools are organized to watch these in groups, followed by organized "condemnation." Then it spreads the "condemnation" around the country as "public opinion."

The two different societies have two different definitions of "public opinion." It makes us wonder, who really represents public opinion? If the media represents public opinion, then the people should be in control. Therefore, aside from transmitting objective information, the news media including newspapers, TV stations, broadcast stations and Internet websites should also take up the responsibility of reflecting the voice of the people. At the same time, the media also serves as the watchdog as well as the connection between the law and morality. Therefore, from the beginning to the end, the media should be responsible for the people and the master of the media should be the people.

So the objectivity, authenticity and transparency of the news media are the touchstone upon which the civilization of a society is tested. The more open a society is, the more independent its media is and the more objective the media reports will be. On the contrary, if the news media is manipulated by a dictator who uses it as his mouthpiece to force evil lies upon people and enslave their mind, then this society is at risk. If the media loses its ability to listen to public opinion and the law is abused by the dictator, then the people will have nowhere to turn for justice.

In China, 1.2 billion innocent people are forcibly exposed to this Falun Gong-slandering propaganda almost 24 hours a day. The TV screen is filled with bloody and violent scenes, and the program host often has an expression full of hatred. Malicious criticism fill up radio broadcasts. Furthermore, this propaganda is still continuing. All local TV stations are required to rebroadcast this "important news" by CCTV. This forced propaganda and instilment will numb people's minds after a while, and eventually make them lose their objective judgment and rational thinking.

Regarding media outside the dictator's ruling regime, a strict blockade is applied. VOA, Free Asia broadcast station, BBC and other international media have problems getting their signals into China. Jiang has also put 500,000 websites on his "blacklist." When Falun Gong airs truth clarification videos on TV broadcasts, he turns around and uses international law to put the blame on Falun Gong.

However, lies cannot endure the test of time. As the truth of the staged "Tiananmen Self-Immolation" was exposed by the world media, more and more people have clearly seen through the ugly farce put up by the dictator attempting to manipulate the media, deceive hundreds of millions of people, slander Falun Gong practitioners and demonize the foundations of human morality.

The decision of CBSC is telling people: in an open society, the people are the masters of the media. The public has the right to reject shameless propaganda filled with terror and lies.
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2002/9/1/35948.html

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