TAIWAN: NCC to review TV and radio stations' ethics committees

Operators with ethics committees will receive up to five bonus points on their license evaluation sheets

Taipei Times
Monday, July 27, 2009

By Shelley Shan

The National Communications Commission (NCC) will propose an amendment to the Satellite Radio and Television Act to establish an ethics committee as another criteria in its evaluation of satellite TV and radio services.

The commission completed an amendment of the Radio and Television Act earlier this year, which stated that TV and radio operators should establish ethics committees to regulate program quality. The new amendment would add the requirement to the evaluation sheet.

Operators who have established ethics committees will get a maximum of five bonus points on their evaluation sheets. Those who fail to do so may get a notice to address the matter within a designated period of time.

Article 6 of the Radio and Television Act states that operators that fail to address the issue in time could have their licenses revoked.

The commission evaluates each service provider every two years. The amendment would also allow the commission to invite representatives from civic groups and media professions to evaluate service providers.

Chien Hsu-cheng, deputy director of the commission's Communication Department, said the civic representatives would be drawn from people who "have expressed concern over the development of the nation's media industry or media content over the years."

Date Posted: 7/27/2009