This paper discusses the idea that the industry can have a differentiator of program quality by encouraging the activities of the Broadcasting Ethics ＆ Program Improvement Organization （BPO） in Japan. The BPO, a wo...This paper discusses the idea that the industry can have a differentiator of program quality by encouraging the activities of the Broadcasting Ethics ＆ Program Improvement Organization （BPO） in Japan. The BPO, a worldwide independent organization, has a mission of a breakwater against state power, and thus can be regarded as a kind of media accountability system, as proposed by Claude-Jean Bertrand. We review some controversial affairs in the TV industry and discuss BPO＇s activities aimed preventing ＂yellow journalism＂ and improving the quality of programming. High-quality content may be a differentiator for viewers faced with a choice of media, and thus, we focus on BPO and its role as a differentiator of the Japanese TV industry among the other, especially, Internet media. We also propose four ideas in response of critiques of BPO. Those are to strengthen transparency of governance of BPO, to improve the conformity of the TV industry to BPO＇s assessments of it, to establish a new committee to examine the whole concept of journalism, and to introduce a new certification institution to guarantee quality.展开更多
基金福建社会科学规划青年项目"闽台数字内容产业比较与合作研究"(2013C063)中央高校基本科研业务费专项资金资助(Supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities)"海峡两岸财经媒体联手提高华人国际话语权研究"(20720140032)+2 种基金福建省软科学项目"发挥‘先试先行’优势闽台数字内容产业合作对接研究"(2014R0094)国家社科基金青年项目"台湾政治转型与新闻传播制度变迁"(12CXW017)
文摘This paper discusses the idea that the industry can have a differentiator of program quality by encouraging the activities of the Broadcasting Ethics ＆ Program Improvement Organization （BPO） in Japan. The BPO, a worldwide independent organization, has a mission of a breakwater against state power, and thus can be regarded as a kind of media accountability system, as proposed by Claude-Jean Bertrand. We review some controversial affairs in the TV industry and discuss BPO＇s activities aimed preventing ＂yellow journalism＂ and improving the quality of programming. High-quality content may be a differentiator for viewers faced with a choice of media, and thus, we focus on BPO and its role as a differentiator of the Japanese TV industry among the other, especially, Internet media. We also propose four ideas in response of critiques of BPO. Those are to strengthen transparency of governance of BPO, to improve the conformity of the TV industry to BPO＇s assessments of it, to establish a new committee to examine the whole concept of journalism, and to introduce a new certification institution to guarantee quality.
