Media workers, academics urge gov't support for Taiwan journalism

Taipei, June 12 (CNA) More than 110 individuals from Taiwan's journalism industry and academic circles have launched a campaign calling on the government to prevent online platforms from exploiting the local media sector.

The 116 signatories of the petition urged the government to introduce legislation that would allow news outlets to negotiate with online platforms over profit distribution, as well as to establish a fund to support the industry.

According to a statement on the campaign's website, platforms such as Google and Meta have monopolized advertising revenue while using news content for free.

The petition was signed by 64 academics, 22 media professionals, 14 members of related associations, and 16 students or student organizations.

"This is likely the first time in Taiwan's communication academia -- and a rare instance overall -- where professors from a specific field have collectively voiced their frustration with the government," National Taiwan Normal University professor Wang Wei-ching (王維菁) said Thursday at a public hearing on a draft bill concerning media bargaining in Taipei.

Citing the campaign's data, Wang said digital advertising expenditures in Taiwan increased nearly fivefold between 2012 and 2023 from NT$11.6 billion (US$390.9 million) to NT$61 billion, while traditional media advertising spending dropped by half from NT$42.5 billion to NT$21 billion.

This shift, she said, has made it extremely difficult to improve salaries in the journalism sector.

She highlighted the issue of low wages and warned that the decline of the news industry -- driven by the dominance of digital platforms -- could have a detrimental effect on Taiwanese society.

"If we don't have the resources to produce quality journalism and allow it to be replaced by oversimplified, clickbait-driven content, it will only harm our democracy and deepen social divisions," said Wang, a former member of the National Communications Commission.

Wang stressed the importance of establishing a "compulsory, fair and just" pricing mechanism that would enable media outlets of all sizes to negotiate with digital platforms. If negotiations fail, an independent authority should be tasked with arbitration, she said.

The proposed system would also require generative artificial intelligence (AI) models, many of which are trained using real news content, to pay for the material they use. Wang noted that companies like OpenAI and Amazon have already paid international media outlets such as the Associated Press for their content.

In addition, Wang said a journalism development fund is needed, to be financed through taxes on digital advertising revenue from global platforms or through donations from businesses, government agencies, and private entities.

It should be managed by an independent committee and used to support investigative reporting, improve labor conditions in the industry, and fulfill other public interest goals.

Thursday's hearing marked the first discussion of the issue in the current legislative session, during which about six versions of the draft bill have been proposed.

In a written statement, the Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) said it "firmly supports the value of journalism." A MODA official added that Minister Yennun Huang (黃彥男) recently said the ministry aims to present its version of the draft by the end of 2025.

However, Legislator Lin Kuo-chen (林國成) of the Taiwan People's Party, who chairs the legislature's Transportation Committee, urged MODA to act more quickly due to the urgency of the matter.

If the ministry fails to submit its version soon, Lin said the committee will proceed based on the draft bills already submitted and reach a consensus among the majority, with the goal of sending a finalized version for review by year's end.