Tuesday, October 26, 2010

關於無國界記者與自由之家發布的新聞自由指標 (press freedom index by RWB and Freedom House)

這是幾天前的舊聞了! 無國界記者(Reports Without Borders)發布了2010年的新聞自由指標(press freedom index), 台灣進步了11名來到了第48名. 進步當然是好事,但是台灣媒體還是有個問題,那就是片面性的報導. 在這裡不能說是斷章取義,也許只能算是報喜不報憂吧!

我們看原文是這樣報導的:
Asia-Pacific country rankings can be impressive. New Zealand is one of the ten top winners and Japan (11th), Australia (18th) and Hong Kong (34th) occupy favourable positions. Two other Asian democracies, Taiwan and South Korea, rose 11 and 27 places respectively, after noteworthy falls in the 2009 Index. Although some problems persist, such as the issue of the state-owned media’s editorial independence, arrests and violence have ceased.
姑且翻譯重點如下: 兩個亞洲的民主體制,台灣與南韓,繼2009年的大幅滑落之後,(今年)分別進步了11與27名.

紅色的是被眾媒體省略的部份. 請注意,台灣的新聞自由(48)還不及香港(34)!


所以我就好奇查了台灣近幾年的排名,分別是: 32 (2007), 36(2008, tie with USA), 59(2009),48(2010). 也就是說, 整體新聞自由雖然進步,卻還沒回到幾年前的水準,甚至比不上2008執政始的水準(先退了23名,再進11名), 實在是還有進步空間!

至於同時被點到的南韓呢? 2009滑落了22名來到69名,但今年進步了27名,不但回到退步前的水準,甚至還有所超越, 實可謂南韓超越南韓.

順便查了今年稍早自由之家(Freedom House)的, 整體指標為自由(Free), 其餘各項為(數字愈小愈自由):

                             2010      2009    2008
Status:                    Free      Free     Free
Legal Environment:  7           7          7
Political Environment: 9        9          7
Economic Environment: 8     7          6
Total Score:                 24   23        20


關於台灣的摘錄部分如下:

Given that most Taiwanese can access about 100 cable television stations, the state’s influence on the media sector is minimal. Print media are completely independent, and following reforms in recent years, broadcast media are no longer subject to GIO licensing and programming reviews. Nonetheless, observers expressed concern that personnel changes and reform measures initiated by the government or its allies in the legislature were aimed at influencing the editorial content of nonpartisan public media outlets. Local media monitoring groups and international observers noted in 2009 that criticism of the government in coverage by the Central News Agency (CNA) appeared to be markedly toned down since the end of 2008, when the former spokesperson for President Ma Ying-jeou’s electoral campaign was appointed as the agency’s deputy president and CNA staff reported receiving editorial directives to alter certain content. In a positive development, proposed legislation requiring item-by-item government approval of Public Television Service (PTS) programming was dropped in mid-2009 after public protests, and the outlet’s budget was also unfrozen. However, local press freedom advocates and the Control Yuan watchdog entity criticized subsequent government measures to expand the PTS board and prematurely end the contracts of the broadcaster’s management.

Media owners have exercised influence over the editorial content of their outlets. After Want Want owner Tsai Eng-Meng, a businessman with significant commercial interests in mainland China, purchased the China Times Group in November 2008, several incidents pointed to increased editorial pressure to soften criticism of the Ma administration and Beijing. This also raised concerns over the potential direct or indirect influence of the Chinese government on free expression in Taiwan. Anecdotal evidence suggested a broader increase in self-censorship on topics deemed sensitive to Beijing, particularly the treatment of minorities such as Tibetans, Uighur Muslims, and Falun Gong practitioners. Between September 17 and October 1, the signal of the Falun Gong–affiliated New Tang Dynasty Television network encountered interference, and the station was entirely unavailable in Taiwan on October 1. The problem coincided with the Chinese Communist Party’s celebration of its 60th year in power, raising suspicions that the signal—which is accessible to some mainland viewers in addition to Taiwanese—had been deliberately interrupted to limit access to critical news coverage during the anniversary. At year’s end, the NCC was investigating the matter.

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延伸閱讀:

去年的新聞自由指標,分別是無國界記者與自由之家發佈的:
[轉載] Press Freedom Index 2009:Authoritarianism prevents press freedom progress in much of Asia(2009新聞自由指標:政府干預媒體顯見於亞洲各處)


(轉載:自由之家)New Study: Global Press Freedom Declines in Every Region for First Time Israel, Italy and Hong Kong Lose Free Status

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