[미오 사설] The reason why the ABC Association incidental manipulation suspicion was not shown

On the 25th of last month, lawyer Seung-soo Ha, who appeared as a debator at the’ABC Association’s incidental debate on suspicion of incidental manipulation,’ co-hosted by the Citizens’ Union of Democratic Media, National Media Workers’ Union, and Media Today, said, If it came, all the media wouldn’t have reported it.” As a result of a field survey by the newspaper office of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the actual number of copies of daily newspapers such as the Chosun Ilbo and the Hankyoreh was fabricated. As a result of the investigation, lawyers pointed out that the media is completely ignoring important issues that could lead to media consumer damage due to the high possibility of distortion of the newspaper market. In fact, a reporter from the JoongAng daily newspaper covered the discussion on the day, but the article did not come out the next day.

Other media are no different. According to Min Eon-ryeon, from November last year to February 26 this year, there were only 15 reports dealing with the alleged manipulation of the ABC Association’s subsidiary work. Most of these are at the level of delivering a remark that Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hwang-hee said that the request for an investigation could be reviewed. If you look at the reports from major central daily newspapers, there is no doubt that there is no suspicion of incidental manipulation of the ABC Association.

Of course, it is possible to argue that it is the result of editorial rights that prioritize reporting, but it is a problem because it is close to concealing the truth for the protection of private interests, not for public interest values. The number of paid copies of the ABC Association symbolized the influence of the newspaper. However, people who pay money and read newspapers are counted in the hand even if they look around. It is inevitable due to the rapid decline of the newspaper market, but the newspaper forced us to believe in the’old myth’ of the ABC Association’s payload. The results of this field investigation by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism indicate that the expiration date of the subsidiary work of the ABC Association has expired.

Compared to the time when the internal disclosure that the ABC Association announced in 2002 and 2003 that the Chosun Ilbo was inflated once in a while was released in 2008, this problem is not serious. At the time, the revelation was that the ABC Association conducted a thorough investigation of only the Chosun Ilbo branch offices and announced that the figures were manipulated even though they found that the number of paid copies was less than the number of reported copies of the Chosun Ilbo. However, this issue expanded to a problem in the newspaper industry as a whole, as it was revealed that the sincerity rate of both copies was less than 50% by conducting a field investigation of the number of reports (paid) and the number of due diligence in 9 branches of the Chosun Ilbo, 3 of the Hankyoreh, and 2 of the Dong-A Ilbo. done. In fact, it can shake the foundation for the existence of the ABC Association. In fact, voices from politics that the permission to establish the ABC Association should be revoked also came from the politics.

Although we have to watch the situation, in addition to the results of the on-site investigation, if a problem arises in the accounting investigation, it can lead to serious crimes leading to legal punishment. Paid copies affect the cost of government advertisements and are also used as a basis for differential support for government subsidies. If an unfair trade act has occurred and there have been several gains accordingly, it is possible to apply violations of the laws according to the nature of the gains. On the other hand, the business situation of’GapJil’ in newspapers can also burst at any time. He even complained that the company was forced to read the newspaper by crying and eating mustard by handing over the entire newspaper through a turnkey contract.

The ABC Association claimed in the media today’s article that it was reported without knowing the basic procedure of the subsidiary construction, and requested compensation for damages of 100 million won and information map to the media arbitration committee. Even though the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism researched data such as expansion diaries, distribution diaries, and collection details, and confirmed the remarkable difference (sincerity rate) between paid copies and actual copies, it denies this.

He even said, “It is surprising that the government is conducting an incidental investigation of newspapers.” The ABC Association dismissed former secretary general of the ABC Association, Park Yong-hak, an internal revealer, and argued that Media Today is driving’retribution disciplinary action’ and insisting that it is responsible for the poor investment in Optimus. This is a typical messenger attack. In the’overwhelming fact’, which revealed the circumstances of the incidental manipulation, it seems that the intention is to block further reports in the future by closing his eyes and cutting out the messenger who raised the issue.

Ask again. “What the hell is the size of newspapers that subscribers pay for in 2021?” This issue is a question of whether a true answer can be given to this question.

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