Public TV Networks Rebuked for Entertainment Programs

Viewers’ criticism for public TV networks such as KBS and MBC is growing, for not reporting the fire on Sungnyemun, one of South Korea’s centuries-old landmark gates, Sunday night.

When the fire broke out at 8:58 p.m., KBS and MBC reported the news with telephone reports and subtitles without showing video clips in their evening news program.

Then KBS 1TV delivered three-minute-long breaking news three times before midnight and sent out the latest live news among three major networks from 0:57 a.m. to 3:14 a.m. At the time, KBS 1TV was airing a special documentary program, and KBS 2TV was broadcasting “The Forbidden Quest,” a Korean movie.

MBC was airing an entertainment program, but stopped the program to send out the breaking news for three minutes at midnight. It started broadcasting live news at 0:40 a.m., right before the gate began to collapse. SBS sent breaking news at 9:57 p.m. once, and began to air live news at 0:15 a.m.

The major networks’ websites were bombarded with complaints, and as many as 50 posts were put on the website of KBS, the network that reported the tragic news latest.

Some of the posts include: “While the No.1 national treasure is burning, (KBS) is airing a movie. Is it really a public broadcasting network?” (Kim Joo-ho); “KBS cameras are not where they are supposed to be at this critical moment, despite the fact KBS takes fees from us?” (Jin Yeong-beom); and “The national treasure is burning but KBS is airing an announcer talk show. I’m speechless.”(MRXON)

Im Byeong-geol, director of the national desk at KBS press department, said, “Even experts realized that the blaze was a major fire by midnight. We sent out enough breaking news reports and now with the benefit of hindsight, people criticize that we did not air live news immediately.”

Hwang Geun, a journalism and mass communications professor of Sun Moon University, said, “This is what public networks got after putting breaking news delivery, their primary role, on the backburner while focusing more on entertainment programs.”

polaris@donga.com