A stronger content regulation had been imposed on the broadcasting systems of Korea than other media such as newspaper and etc. For considering social influences of the broadcasting industries entrusted with the broadcasting wave, the broadcasting sh...
A stronger content regulation had been imposed on the broadcasting systems of Korea than other media such as newspaper and etc. For considering social influences of the broadcasting industries entrusted with the broadcasting wave, the broadcasting should be democratic, which is one of public properties and opinions. Hence, the main purpose and the key concept of the Broadcasting Deliberation has been the public interest. The deliberation by Korea Standards Communication Commission (KCSC) has been involved with different problems, which was occurred by regulating MBC’s ““PD’s Note””. The deliberation agency for communication, the dispute about fair deliberation or its unconstitutionality, and the problem of after-fact deliberation were the most controversial topics. This study, thus, would try to find appropriate voluntary deliberation with the comparison between the deliberation by KCSC and the voluntary deliberation by ground-wave broadcasting systems themselves.
In case of shifting to the voluntary deliberation, ground-wave broadcasting systems would be the subject of that deliberation. For the practical examination of their deliberation system and capability, the current deliberation systems and its result in ground-wave broadcasting systems, were used to analyze, which include only KBS and MBC. Scholars, deliberation participants and producers in broadcasting systems, and KCSC deliberation members were also interviewed.
In the result of analysis, both the ground-wave broadcasting systems and regulatory agencies have been deliberated most for the Product Placement, but the ground-wave broadcasting systems have been more focused on the broadcasting language, the object, or the presentation technique. On the contrary, the regulatory agencies have been focused on the ethics, the responsibility, the objectivity, and the fairness for the public interest.
The result also shows that there are some positive changes increasing the shift possibility to the voluntary deliberation. Firstly, the deliberation criteria in three ground-wave broadcasting systems in Koreaare almost identical to KCSC’s and that makes the deliberation function works properly. Secondly, after the establishment of self-deliberation system in ground-wave broadcasting systems, KCSC’s regulations have been decreased (although there has been rises and falls more or less) since 2004. That fact proves the stabilization of self-deliberation system.
In the in-depth interviews with the experts, on the other hand, it is found that there are demands and capabilities virtually to the voluntary deliberation system. The deliberation systems in ground-wave broadcasting systems consisted of two stages. One is a beforehand deliberation according to Article 33 of The Broadcasting Act, other is an after-fact deliberation for the quality control of their programs. Also they have been established a self-deliberation committee and hired outside-monitoring agents. It proves that now they have an organized and informative deliberation system similar to KCSC’s. Secondly, in the changes of the broadcasting circumstances they have been tried to strengthen the self-deliberation (e.g. ‘Strikeout Rule’) and that shows their possibility of establishing a foundation to shift to the voluntary deliberation.
For strengthening the voluntary deliberation, however, the structural problem in the deliberation of regulatory agencies should be solved. As involuntary regulations by the regulatory agencies have been criticized for the functioning to ‘control’the broadcasting systems by a government department since 1963, the establishing of Korea Communication Ethics Commission, the necessity of solving these problems has the legitimacy. Solving structural problems of KCSC like Disputes about the fairness, unconstitutionalities, violations of the freedom of express, impracticalities or ambiguities of the regulation rules, and robotic deliberations, shifting to the voluntary deliberation is an ultimate solution. The changes of government’s media policies and of broadcasting circumstance, including the fusion between broadcast and communication and the newly approved Media Act, are strengthening the necessity of the voluntary deliberation. Involuntary regulations are conflict with the global trend of autonomy and the present government’s policy to deregulate media. The Media Act that was approved recently in the National Assembly of Korea is for deregulatingthe media ownership and regulation, including the business friendly media globalization. Deregulating media would be achieved only if when the deregulation for broadcasting deliberation, which controls the contents that is an essence of the broadcasting, is achieved in advance. For the consistency of policy of the government, involuntary regulations should change to the voluntary.
On the basis of the result, before the complete shifting to the voluntary deliberation there should be a ‘Korean model of voluntary deliberation’ with correction of the current involuntary deliberation, which makes the deliberation for the content voluntary in fact. So we suggest ‘Korean model of voluntary deliberation’ as following. Because of the fundamental limitation of the after-fact deliberation that causes problems like conventional deliberation, establishing “Deliberation Commission for Broadcasting Programs (DCBP)”affiliated with Korean Broadcasters Association, Korean Cable TV Association and etc. might be the solution to deliberate and regulate their contents in associated broadcasting systems. Deliberating normal programs beforehand by each broadcasting systems and obligating them to deliberate them after-fact might be other solution that uses the current self-deliberation system.
Once DCBP is established, current KCSCshould change their role to ““Deliberation Evaluation Commission for Broadcasting and Communication”” which would gather viewers’complaints, ask DCBP to re-deliberate, supervise these deliberations and plans for the total broadcast evaluation. That is, the shifting of KCSCis the change from current after-fact deliberation and regulation to overseeing the voluntary deliberation, managing and evaluating it. At the present, media circumstances are changing and the policy of deregulating media is about to be visualized. The discussions and studies are needed now because the task for shifting to the voluntary deliberation is unavoidable in Korean broadcasting systems. There would be no independency or freedom of the broadcast without the voluntary deliberation for their own contents.