🚨 Editorial Guidelines: Media Independence and Editorial Rights Violations

Today Korean Social News | 2025.07.16

📌 Major Shareholders' 'Editorial Guidelines' Controversy...Growing Demands for Legal 'Appointment Consent System' to Protect Broadcasting Independence

💬 The Broadcasting Law amendment includes an appointment consent system for news directors, but regional and commercial broadcasters are excluded, causing strong opposition from the field. SBS introduced this system after past major shareholder editorial guideline controversies, but management later abolished it, reigniting the debate. Regional commercial broadcasting workers are demanding legal institutionalization, claiming that major shareholders' influence is damaging news fairness. Commercial broadcasting faces a more vulnerable situation due to the difficulty of institutional checks to prevent privatization. Regional MBC stations are legally independent corporations but have clear subordinate relationships with headquarters, raising equity issues.

Summary

• Editorial guidelines are internal guidelines that set news reporting directions, but they become tools of editorial interference when major shareholders intervene.
• The Broadcasting Law amendment includes an appointment consent system, but regional and commercial broadcasters are excluded, causing controversy.
• Institutional improvements are urgently needed to ensure media independence and fairness.

1️⃣ Definition

Editorial guidelines are internal guidelines that set the direction, standards, and principles for news reporting in media companies. Originally, they serve as editorial guidelines to help media companies maintain consistent reporting principles and manage quality.

However, problems arise when these editorial guidelines are misused for the interests of major shareholders or owners. When guidelines are issued to report in favor of specific political forces or companies, or to refrain from reporting on certain issues, media independence and fairness are seriously damaged.

💡 Why is this important?

• It's a crucial issue for editorial independence and fair reporting in media.
• It directly relates to the basic democratic rights of knowing and freedom of expression.
• It affects whether media properly performs its role of checking power.
• It has important effects on citizens' proper access to information and judgment.

2️⃣ Problems and Current Status of Editorial Guidelines

📕 Cases of Editorial Guideline Abuse and Problems

• Major shareholders' interference with editorial rights is the main problem. Key cases include:

  • SBS had cases where major shareholders directed reporting directions on specific politicians or issues.
  • Some media companies have issued guidelines restricting negative reports related to major shareholders' businesses.
  • During election periods, pressure is applied to report in favor of specific candidates or parties.
  • Requests to refrain from reporting negative issues related to advertisers or partner companies are frequent.

• The negative effects of such interference are serious. Key problems include:

  • Citizens' right to know is violated and accurate information delivery is hindered.
  • Media's power-checking function weakens, potentially causing democracy to retreat.
  • Journalists' motivation for reporting is broken and self-censorship is strengthened.
  • Public trust in media decreases, creating ground for fake news spread.
  • There's a risk of being misused as a tool for opinion manipulation favoring specific forces.

📕 Structural Vulnerability of Commercial Broadcasting

• Commercial broadcasting is structurally more vulnerable. Key characteristics include:

  • Unlike public broadcasting, private capital is invested, making major shareholders' influence inevitably large.
  • The structure of relying on advertising revenue makes them easily exposed to advertisers' pressure.
  • Ownership and management are often not separated, allowing direct intervention.
  • Legal regulations or check systems are relatively insufficient compared to public broadcasting.

• The situation of regional broadcasting is even more serious. Key realities include:

  • Regional influential people or large regional companies often own them, making independence even more vulnerable.
  • Limited financial conditions make them more influenced by advertisers or sponsors.
  • Regional MBC stations are legally independent corporations but structurally subordinate to headquarters.
  • Compared to central media, social interest or monitoring is lacking, so problems often don't surface even when they exist.

Key Issues of Editorial Guidelines

1. Editorial Independence: Problems of authority and responsibility separation between media owners and editorial staff
2. Legal Regulation Limits: Current laws make it difficult to effectively regulate editorial guideline abuse
3. Discrimination between Public and Commercial Broadcasting: Same public role but different regulation levels
4. Regional Broadcasting Exclusion: Vulnerability of regional broadcasting lacking protection compared to central broadcasting
5. Effectiveness Problems: Cases where systems exist but don't actually work

3️⃣ Appointment Consent System and Broadcasting Law Amendment Discussion

✅ Concept and Purpose of Appointment Consent System

• The appointment consent system is an institutional device for editorial independence. Key contents include:

  • A system requiring consent from labor unions or journalists when appointing key news directors like news bureau chiefs or editorial directors.
  • It serves as a check mechanism to prevent major shareholders or management from unilaterally appointing news directors.
  • SBS previously introduced this system after major shareholder editorial guideline controversies.
  • It's a system legally mandated in some European countries.

• The expected effects of this system are considerable. Key effects include:

  • News directors are more likely to work according to journalism principles rather than major shareholders' interests.
  • An environment is created where journalists can freely report and cover news without external pressure.
  • Democratic decision-making structures within media companies are strengthened.
  • Citizens can access more fair and objective news.

✅ Limitations and Controversies of Broadcasting Law Amendments

• Current amendments are limited to partial application. Key contents include:

  • The appointment consent system will apply to public broadcasters like KBS and MBC.
  • However, commercial broadcasters like SBS and regional commercial broadcasters are excluded.
  • Regional MBC stations are excluded for being legally independent corporations, but they're structurally subordinate to headquarters.
  • This creates a paradoxical situation where commercial broadcasting, which actually faces more serious editorial interference, isn't protected.

• Strong opposition and expansion demands are emerging from the field. Key demands include:

  • Regional commercial broadcasting workers demand legal protection, claiming they face more serious editorial interference.
  • Commercial broadcasting unions argue that the appointment consent system should apply to all broadcasters.
  • Some suggest that not only appointment consent systems but also ownership structure reforms are necessary.
  • Criticism continues that without legal enforcement, there's no effectiveness.

4️⃣ Related Terms

🔎 Editorial Independence

• Editorial independence is the most basic principle of media.
• Editorial independence means that media companies' reporting and editing authority is exercised independently without external interference or pressure. External forces here include government, political circles, advertisers, and even media owners.
• Key elements of editorial independence include: First, freedom of reporting where journalists can report facts without restrictions. Second, freedom of news reporting where covered content can be reported without distortion. Third, freedom of editing where media companies can autonomously decide news selection, placement, and weight.
• Editorial independence is important because in democratic society, media must properly perform its role of monitoring power and satisfying citizens' right to know. When editorial rights are violated, media becomes a tool representing specific forces' interests and cannot perform public roles.

🔎 Broadcasting Laws

• Broadcasting Laws are the core legal system for broadcasting.
• Broadcasting Laws refer to the Broadcasting Act, Act on Establishment and Operation of Korea Communications Commission, and Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act. These three laws form the basic framework of Korea's broadcasting system.
• Key contents of Broadcasting Laws include: First, the Broadcasting Act regulates broadcaster licensing, broadcasting program composition and content, and viewer rights protection. Second, the Korea Communications Commission Act defines the composition and role of the Korea Communications Commission that establishes and implements broadcasting policies. Third, the Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act regulates EBS's establishment purpose and operation plans.
• Recent Broadcasting Laws amendment discussions focus on strengthening editorial independence, ensuring fairness, and regulating platform operators. Particularly, introducing appointment consent systems, improving board composition, and strengthening ownership regulations are raised as core tasks.

🔎 Media Independence

• Media independence is an essential element of democracy.
• Media independence means a state where media can report fairly and objectively, free from political power, economic power, and various social pressures. This includes independence not only from government but from all external forces including owners, advertisers, and interest groups.
• Components of media independence include: First, political independence where reporting can be done without government or political intervention. Second, economic independence where reporting can be done without influence from advertisers or sponsors. Third, independence from owners where reporting shouldn't be done for media company management or major shareholders' private interests.
• To secure media independence, legal and institutional safeguards are necessary. For public broadcasting, diversity in board composition, appointment consent systems, and budget independence are important, while for commercial broadcasting, ownership regulations, editorial rights protection, and internal check mechanisms are needed.

5️⃣ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Won't introducing an appointment consent system cause problems for media company management?

A: Concerns about appointment consent systems are understandable, but they can actually help healthy media company management. First, appointment consent systems don't limit all management authority but only apply to appointing news directors - a limited system. Management can still maintain core management rights including personnel, finance, and business. Second, when editorial independence is guaranteed, social trust in media increases, potentially helping improve ratings or subscription rates. Third, European cases show that media companies operating appointment consent systems or similar systems operate well without special management problems. Fourth, most importantly, media companies have social responsibility to prioritize public interest over private interests as institutions performing public roles. Therefore, operating under appropriate checks and balances is desirable.

Q: Are all editorial guidelines bad? Aren't internal guidelines necessary for media companies?

A: Editorial guidelines themselves aren't all bad. Guidelines for media companies to maintain consistent editorial principles and quality standards are absolutely necessary. The problem is when these guidelines are misused for specific forces' interests. Good editorial guidelines should: First, be based on basic journalism principles (accuracy, fairness, independence, etc.). Second, be transparently disclosed for anyone to check. Third, be created democratically with journalists and editors participating. Fourth, not include content favoring specific political forces or interest groups. Problematic editorial guidelines are those unilaterally created by major shareholders or management, restricting or forcing reporting directions on specific issues, and operated secretly. Therefore, what's important is the content of editorial guidelines, how they're created, and how they're operated.