Media Bills Generate Controversy in National Assembly

The Joongang Daily today carried an article with the headline "Controversial Media Bills Advance" and a sub-head indicating that the T.V. unions were planning a general strike over the measures to ease rules on ownership.  The controversy erupted again when the chairman of the National Assembly's Culture and Broadcasting Committee introduced the media bills at a committee session yesterday despite pleas from the opposition not to do so.  The action takes the disputed bill one step closer to a final vote at the Assembly's main session.  The media bills were sent to the committee almost six months ago.  To protest the committee chairman's action the National Union of Media Workers said it would start a general strike at 6:00 A.M. today.

Media Preferences of South Korea's Teenagers

The Korea Times today reports on a survey of middle and high school students by the Korea Press Foundation in September.  The survey showed that Korean teenagers prefer internet portal sites to newspapers for getting news, and trust them more than conventional print media.

When asked which media they are likely to use the most when they become adults, 46 percent selected Internet portals, while 25 percent picked terrestrial television, 12 percent internet news, 7 percent free newspapers distributed at subway stations, and only 5 percent newspapers. When asked to rate the credibility of 30 private and public media organizations, MBC, KBS, Portal Sites and Hangyoreh daily ranked first, second, fourth and fifth respectively.  Netizens ranked third on the measure of reliability, while the Joongang, Chosun and Donga Ilbo newspapers ranked 22nd, 24th and 25th.

Internet portals, online communities, and friends or family dominated the teenagers reported sources of information about this year's candlelight vigils.