2023.May.26

REPORTS

Report on the Second Event for the Publication of “Iine! botan o osu mae ni: jendā kara miru netto kūkan to media (Before Clicking the Like Button: Internet Space and Media from the Gender Perspective)” entitled “To Prevent Traditional Media from Being Swallowed Up by the Internet”

 

 On March 30, 2023, “Media and Diversity Forum (MeDi),” a sub-project of the B’AI Global Forum, held its second event to commemorate the publication of its second book, “Iine! botan o osu mae ni: jendā kara miru netto kūkan to media (Before Clicking the Like Button: Internet Space and Media from the Gender Perspective)” in a hybrid format.

 The event focused on the theme of “To Prevent Traditional Media from Being Swallowed Up by the Internet.” Expanding on the discussions from the first event, “Who are ‘Influencers’?” held on March 1, which highlighted the interdependence between traditional media and social media, speakers consisting of media practitioners and researchers critically examined the current state of traditional media, which has been criticized for neglecting its essential role by excessively prioritizing internet public opinion. The speakers for the second event included Keiko Hamada, a journalist and author of Chapter 1, “Why Princess Mako Received Such Severe Backlash,” Misook Lee, an associate professor at the Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies at the University of Tokyo (as of March 2023) and author of Chapter 2, “Considering the Controversial ‘Moe Characters (cute anime characters)’ and ‘Beautiful Girl Characters’,” Kaori Hayashi, a professor at the Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies at the University of Tokyo and author of Chapter 5, “The Crisis of the Public Sphere in the Smartphone Era: Considering from a Gender Perspective,” and as the moderator for the event, Touko Shirakawa, a journalist and co-author of Chapter 4, “Why Are There So Many Mistakes on Gender-Related Topics?”

 

The Internet and Public Discourse

The discussion began with a reference to Professor Hayashi’s column titled “The Internet and Public Discourse: The Chaos Seeping into the Real World,” which was published as an op-ed article in the Asahi Shimbun on February 23, 2023. This article served as the catalyst for selecting the theme of this event. Hayashi, the first female columnist in the 60-year history of the Asahi Shimbun’s op-ed section, completed her two-year tenure with the final installment on the day of the event. She wrote the article with the question in mind: What is “public discourse” in the current state where the worlds of traditional media and the internet are completely divided? As Hayashi points out, while newspapers are losing their influence as forums for public discourse, influencers such as Hiroyuki and Yoichi Ochiai have gained significant power in shaping public opinion through the internet. Furthermore, traditional newspapers and television are said to be inferior in terms of information dissemination compared to portal sites such as Yahoo! and social media platforms. Additionally, there has been criticism of traditional media for engaging in reporting that takes advantage of internet controversies.

 Why have audiences started paying more attention to internet influencers rather than traditional media? In other words, why have traditional media outlets failed to fulfill their role as bearers of journalism? While factors such as the diversification of information sources in the digital age play a part, they alone cannot fully explain the audience’s aversion to and dissatisfaction with traditional media. Therefore, this event aimed to explore a path towards a healthy coexistence between traditional media and the internet by addressing the problems faced by traditional media in recent years.

 

Traditional Media Evading Judgment

 The issues with traditional media that were raised throughout the discussion can be summarized into three main points. Firstly, there is the issue of “evading judgment.” News organizations are expected not only to simply report events in society but also to provide information and perspectives necessary for healthy discussions, as well as to monitor and criticize various forms of power, all in service of their significant mission to contribute to a democratic society. However, in recent years, newspapers and television stations have been criticized for adopting a stance of “objective neutrality” and failing to clearly express their position even in cases where a critical perspective is required, according to the speakers. They often report official statements as they are without providing independent analysis or attempt to avoid risks by perfunctorily presenting both sides of the argument. In particular, Hamada suggests that the media’s passive attitudes may have been caused by the severe stance of the second Abe administration towards media coverage of the government. This perspective is supported by the administrative documents within the second Abe administration that are currently at issue, which describe the Prime Minister’s Office urging the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to revise the interpretation of “political fairness” in the Broadcasting Act to sanction against programs critical of the government.

 Then, who bears the risk and assumes the role of judgment? According to Hamada, that role is currently entrusted to commentators and experts. However, this gives rise to the problem that when online public opinion ignites and criticism arises, it is directed towards these individuals. The media, which should protect them, are instead neglecting their responsibilities by adopting an attitude of “reporting only the facts” and shifting the blame. In contrast, influencers boldly express their opinions using provocative language, which leads both the audience and, consequently, traditional media to increasingly rely on them, Shirakawa said.

 

The Issue of Not Reporting

 The second point regarding traditional media is the issue of “not reporting” in the first place, rather than just evading judgment. According to Lee’s argument, there are instances where newspapers and television stations, which often overreact to online controversies, completely neglect or provide minimal coverage to topics that have gained significant attention on the internet. This tendency is particularly noticeable in cases of sexual violence. Lee strongly criticized why, despite the prevalence of sexual violence as a form of abuse of power that journalism should be monitoring, there is a lack of thorough investigation, exposure, and the initiation of societal discussions for improvement.

 The reasons why the media does not cover specific topics can include the social taboo associated with those topics or some kinds of connections between the media and the subjects under investigation. It is likely due to these reasons that major media outlets remained silent for a long time regarding the sexual violence issue within Johnny’s Entertainment, which was brought to light by a recent documentary by the BBC. However, it is not only that; there are also cases where the media simply fails to recognize the significance of the topic worthy of news coverage. The speakers pointed out that behind this is a structural problem of lack of diversity within the media industry, namely the homogeneity of organizations. Shirakawa, who wrote about sexual violence in the film industry in the “Before Clicking the Like Button,” analyzes that the “risk of homogeneity” is deeply involved as a factor contributing to the frequent occurrence of harassment issues in the field of expression. Furthermore, it is also attributed to the high level of homogeneity within organizations that the media fails to properly report on this problem. In other words, just like the film industry, the television industry also suffers from a poor gender balance and a persistent culture of sexual harassment, which results in a failure to recognize sexual violence as a serious social issue. Additionally, Hayashi mentioned the current state where the media industry is dominated by a homogeneous group of Japanese men and warned that unless news is created from different perspectives by different people, creative news will never emerge.

 

Traditional Media Confined to A Fixed Mold

 Traditional media that lacks independent judgment and criticism and fails to disseminate creative news incorporating diverse perspectives. These inherent characteristics inevitably lead to the emergence of a third issue, namely, the problem of news being confined to a fixed mold, which is the primary factor creating a gap between traditional media and online media.

 Hayashi cited the reporting on the assassination of former Prime Minister Abe in July 2022 as an example that illustrates the extent to which the coverage by traditional media is standardized. At the time, the headlines in major newspapers were exactly the same, without a single difference in wording. Additionally, concerning the “Unification Church” to which the suspect’s mother belonged, all newspapers refrained from mentioning its name until the church held a press conference, instead referring to it as “a specific religious group.” While the newspaper companies argue that “headlines are meant to be that way,” according to Hayashi’s viewpoint, the problem lies in not questioning why they have become that way. She criticized that despite the various possibilities for expression in today’s newspapers and television, they fail to explore those possibilities and confine themselves within self-imposed limits.

 

Q&A Session

 From the discussions among the speakers, it seems natural that the audience is increasingly gravitating towards the internet. Then, what opinions do other participants have regarding the current state of traditional media and its relationship with the internet?

 During the Q&A session following the discussion, one participant expressed his opinion regarding the concerns raised by the speakers about the increasing focus of news media on the internet. He suggested, “today, especially for young people, it seems that it is thanks to the internet that they are able to access newspaper and magazine content in the first place.” In response, Hayashi pointed out that since the internet serves as the medium, its inherent characteristics as a media platform inevitably come into play. This results in a different style of information reception by the audience compared to reading on paper. On the other hand, media outlets tend to prioritize content that generates page views (PV) and conversions (CV: CV refers to one of the performance indicators of a website. In the case of media sites, it primarily refers to paid membership registrations.). As a result, news that caters to “casual browsing” becomes mainstream, potentially undermining the concept of quality reporting and even the definition of journalism itself, according to Hayashi. Furthermore, Hamadaemphasized that young people today rely more on platforms like Yahoo! rather than media company websites. On these platforms, news is highly personalized through algorithmic mechanisms, exacerbating the problems of echo chambers and attention economy.

 Regarding the issues of news platforms and the attention economy, one participant shared the opinion that “the comment sections of online news platforms also serve as a forum where many people gather to write various comments and engage in discussions. In the sense that many people gather there due to the attention economy, can it be said that there are positive aspects to the attention economy as well?” In response to this opinion, Lee pointed out that while quantity is indeed an important aspect, in the current internet era, there is an excessive focus on quantity while the quality aspect remains chaotic. She mentioned that when looking at the comment sections of Yahoo! News, for example, comments with a higher number of “likes” are ranked higher, excluding minority voices, which suggests that there are limitations to discussions within the attention economy that prioritize quantity.

 In addition, there were also various opinions and questions from online participants that contributed to deepening the discussion. Some participants pointed out the lack of psychological safety for minorities within the Yahoo! News comment section, while others asked the speakers about their views on the peculiar neutrality prevalent in media reporting. Hayashi criticized the persistence of the media in adhering to a strange form of formal neutrality, despite the long-standing recognition in journalism research that “neutrality” is a myth. She argued that this practice actually distorts the news.

 

What Is Increasingly Demanded in the Internet Age Is “Conviction”

 The various issues discussed today regarding traditional media, including mechanical neutrality, are actually interconnected. Hayashi pointed out the media’s complacency and lack of conviction as the fundamental problem. What is truly beneficial for society? What is the ultimate goal of journalism to achieve that? Due to the lack of a clear conviction on these matters, the current traditional media mechanically produces standardized news without making judgments, according to Hayashi. Furthermore, Hamada added that presenting various opinions in the same quantity without a guiding set of values or convictions cannot be considered neutrality. She emphasized that media outlets need to establish their own values firmly.

 The traditional bearers of journalism such as newspapers and television are faced with various choices in their reporting due to their societal influence and imposed norms: Should we focus on considering majority opinions as an indicator of public opinion or should we pay more attention to the voices of minorities?; Should we cover issues that other outlets are not reporting?; Should we use real names or keep individuals involved anonymous?; Can we use photos circulating on the internet?; And should we employ a specific influencer who may generate high ratings despite using extreme expressions? These choices have become even more challenging with the presence of the internet. If each media outlet does not align its choices with its own convictions, only conventional news that fits fixed molds will be produced. A strong commitment to reconsidering whom they want to reach, how to effectively deliver information to them, and what kind of society they want to create through news is strongly demanded from traditional media in the internet age.