KBS Pres. Pledges to Reduce Producers` Partiality

The state-run broadcast network KBS will boost cooperation between producers and reporters to ease concern over the partiality of producers, KBS President Kim In-kyu said yesterday.

In a forum on the advancement of the domestic broadcast industry at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul, Kim said, “News programs made by producers focus on storytelling, so oftentimes they’re unbalanced.”

“If the strength of producers is combined with that of reporters, this will result in quality news programs.”

He said reporters can excessively focus on neutrality because they value objectiveness, but producers tend to be partial due to their emphasis on creativity. To resolve this problem, Kim said KBS will consolidate the positions of producers for current events and news and reporters when it hires new staff this year.

Saying the main news of Japan’s NHK network contains six to seven items while that of Korean broadcasters consists of 25, Kim said KBS will cover news more in-depth by reducing the number of stories.

chance@donga.com