Journalists gaining popularity in screens

A promotional photo for tvN's journalist drama "Argon" / Courtesy of CJ E&M

Reality of news reporting persuade viewers

By Park Jin-hai

Documentary “Criminals Conspiracies,” directed by former MBC producer Choi Seung-ho, who was dismissed by management of the TV network and founded the independent media outlet Newstapa, tells the story of how public broadcasters MBC and KBS have acted as an accomplice of the past two conservative governments and how journalists have lost autonomy of their reporting.

Documentary “The Reservoir Game,” directed by journalist Kim O-joon, follows reporter Joo Jin-woo who tracks down former president Lee Myung-bak's black money.

SBS drama “Falsify,” telling the story of media colluding with politicians and the prosecution to manipulate public opinion recently ended, topping the TV ratings. But, the live version of the drama is ongoing in Korea.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) revealed last Monday that the former president Lee Myung-bak administration created a blacklist of 82 artists to cut them off from state subsidies prior to the Park Geun-hye administration repeating the same blacklisting. The NIS formed a “task force confronting left wing celebrities” in 2009 and it has systematically staged online attacks on such entertainers.

As part of it, the government manipulated a photo of veteran actor Moon Sung-keun, who has been a supporter of the late president Roh Moo-hyun, lying naked with actress and social activist Kim Yeo-jin, and distributed it online to defame the two celebrities.

Moon, who has been excluded from TV shows for the past eight years, appearing on SBS News Briefing, Friday, said, “I thought it was made by some ultra right wing extremists. Now that I learn it was actually orchestrated by the government, it is enough to make the world’s weirdest news.”

At the same time, union members of public broadcasting companies KBS and MBC are staging a strike and production boycott calling for autonomy in news coverage and the resignation of its top management, who allegedly meddled in news reporting to pander to the previous two governments.

Producers and newscasters have come out and told their stories of how their shows have been under pressure. MBC producer Choi Haeing-ho revealed that the NIS pressured producer Kim Tae-ho of popular show “Infinite Challenge” through MBC management to air programs promoting former President Park Geun-hye’s “‘creative economy.’” Writer Rhyu Si-min, who was confirmed to appear as a guest on “The Knee-Drop Guru,” could not appear on the show because MBC’s entertainment show division head canceled it at the last minute, attributing it to the top management’s decision, while songwriter Kim Hyung-suk, a panel member of “King of Mask Singer,” had to leave the show because he was “too political.”

In tandem with what is happening in the real world, screens both big and small are paying attention to stories of journalists. In the SBS drama “Falsify,” journalists finding truth and fighting against powerful news media that collude with politicians were depicted, while tvN’s ongoing drama “Argon” tells the stories of an investigative reporting team struggling to separate “fact” from “fake news.”

The title of the drama and also the investigative news program “Argon” is named after a chemical gas that is used to protect compounds from oxidation, in the hope that the truth will not be oxidized (changed). As the first incident, the tvN drama aired a story about a building collapse, where Yoo Myung-ho, an ambitious news team manager colluding with politicians, goes on a witch hunts for the wrong person on his news program to prevent public opinions from targeting government.

Immediately, other media outlets picked up the news and spread it fast.

In the episode, reminding viewers of the ferry Sewol sinking in 2014, anchorman and investigative team leader Kim Baek-jin, played by Kim Joo-hyuck, declines his company’s request to report on in-depth follow-ups, based on Yoo’s reporting and not confirmed by fact-checking. Kim fumes with rage toward Yoo and says “You think that many people have died for your career?”

“Kim’s remark impacted viewers profoundly. Because it reflected people’s rage against the media that neglected its duty, scaled down or covered up facts in a series of recent accidents and scandals this country had,” said culture critic Jung Duk-hyun. “At a time when people’s desire to know the truth and clean up deep-rooted irregularities in the local media, over the past nine years during the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations, runs high, viewers cannot help but be supportive of such a show.”

Journalistic documentaries booming

If the small screen tells realistic fiction stories on journalists, the big screen journalist-produced documentaries are making a big splash.

The recent sets of journalistic documentaries, including “The Reservoir Game” and “Criminal Conspiracy,” where journalists’ thorough investigative reporting raises issues and unearth the hidden truth, has changed the perception that documentaries are boring and has been met with great viewer responses.

“Criminals Conspiracies,” directed by former MBC producer Choi Seung-ho, who was dismissed by management of the TV network and founded the independent media outlet Newstapa, tells the story of how public broadcasters MBC and KBS have acted as an accomplice of the past two conservative governments and how journalists have lost autonomy of their reporting. Since it was released Aug. 17, it remains in the top 10 at the local box office, with a total 250,000 viewers.

“The Reservoir Game,” directed by journalist Kim O-joon, follows reporter Joo Jin-woo who tracks down former president Lee Myung-bak's black money. The documentary, premiered on Sept. 7, is about to mark 90,000 moviegoers.

“Customary independent documentaries struggle to attract even 10,000 viewers. Since recent journalistic documentaries contain both pressing social issues and fun, people’s perception that films are only subject for entertainment is changing,” said film critic Hwang Jin-mi. “Since the candle lit protest that impeached former president and has made a great difference in society and politics, public’s attention on documentaries has grown as well.”