Japan Media Review Update: September 14, 2004

JMR Staff (Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California)

Review
The following reviews are posted at: http://www.japanmediareview.com/japan/digest/digest.php

Spurning Google Might Cause More Harm Than Good
From Poynter Online: A major daily Japanese newspaper is absent from recently launched Google News Japan because of copyright issues. According to the September 2004 NSK News Bulletin, when Google asked Yomiuri Shimbun executives to allow their headlines to be included on the news site, the paper refused, saying that Yahoo paid them for their headlines and that they were protected by copyrights. E-Media Tidbits contributor Amy Gahran believes the attempt at self-preservation may become business suicide. If Google News is as popular in Japan as it is in the United States, Yomiuri Shimbun might have to relent.
-- By OnlineJournalism.com Section Editor Stephanie Woo

Monthly Pressnet Bulletin
Journalists, Educators Meet on Newspapers in Education
From the September Pressnet Bulletin: Teachers from elementary, junior high and senior high schools met with journalists in late July to discuss Newspapers in Education at a national convention in Niigata Prefecture. This year's theme: "Preserve and Develop the Print Media Culture." Asahi Shimbun President Shin-ichi Hakoshima said parents of students who are reading newspapers in school expect more analytical articles, adding that editors should meet that need. One teacher showed how his students connected with the news by making scrapbooks of articles, which led them to discuss current events. Others said the Newspapers in Education program should be simplified for beginning students as well as teachers unaccustomed to the curriculum.
-- By Japan Media Review Managing Editor Shellie Branco

NHK Directors Do Penance Through Pay Cut
From The Japan Times: NHK announced salary cuts for its board directors due to several misdeeds involving its producers. Among the recent scandals: A former chief producer was found to have misused 48,886,600 yen (about $446,000) in July, resulting in his firing. The public broadcaster also found that two producers and some senior officials claimed expenses for fake business trips and meals. In addition, its Seoul bureau chief has been suspended for inflating the costs of news gathering operations. NHK's president, Katsuji Ebisawa, apologized to the audience in a news conference, saying "I am feeling grave responsibility."
-- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori

Asia Is World's Biggest Telecom Market
From The Korea Herald: New data from the International Telecommunication Union show that Asia is the world's largest market for telecom subscriptions and equipment. The booming region accounts for more than a third of the planet's installed telephone lines and roughly half of all new telecom equipment. Most of the growth has come in China and India, but Japan is leading the charge for broadband Internet access and third-generation wireless. Japan leads the world in wireless Internet use, with 80 percent of its mobile subscribers having Internet capabilities.
-- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Eric Ulken

Fair Coverage of Sino-Japanese Relations Urged
From the People's Daily Online: Experienced journalists from Japan and China advocated objective and balanced coverage of the relationship between the two countries in a seminar to commemorate the 40th anniversary of exchanging correspondents between Japan and China. According to Liu Deyou, a former correspondent in Japan for China's Xinhua news agency and the Guangming Daily, the media should pay more attention to issues and negative elements regarding mutual relations. "They should try their best to write dispassionate reports without involving their personal feelings and without exaggeration so that the public can see possible solution to these problems," he said. Yokobori Katsumi, a former correspondent for the The Asahi Shimbun in Beijing, said, "The Japanese media should correctly understand the situation in China as much as possible and introduce that to the Japanese people in a comprehensive way."
-- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori

NFL Renews Broadcast Rights in Japan
From the Associated Press via SFGate.com: The National Football League renewed deals with three Japanese broadcasters -- NHK, Gaora and NTV -- to provide television coverage of the league's American football games. ABC's "Monday Night Football" program will continue to be carried by NHK, which also has rights to show the Super Bowl in high-definition. Satellite sports network Gaora will broadcast up to six games a week compared with NHK's three. NTV produces a weekly half-hour NFL-related show.
-- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Eric Ulken