Shin Kyung-min |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter
MBC TV prime time news anchor Shin Kyung-min has criticized KBS for what he claimed was a distortion of footage shot at the scene of a New Year's Eve celebration, Thursday.
In a closing comment to wrap up the MBC News Desk at 9 p.m. on the first day of 2009, Shin, 55, said, ``A broadcasting company has deleted disturbance and noise from the footage.''
He also said the mood of the New Year's Eve celebration, Wednesday, was different from previous years, with anti-government protestors holding banners and some 10,000 police officers obstructing them.
``The scenes shown on television can be different from the truth. Viewers should know that the ownership structure of the media, especially broadcasting firms, is a matter affecting not only the media industry itself, but viewers also,'' Shin added.
Shin's remarks referred to live coverage shot on New Year's Eve near Jongno in central Seoul Wednesday and aired by KBS, the state-run network. The footage is suspected of not having been live and offered views of Cheonggye Stream instead of demonstrators with banners gathered around Bosingak pavilion opposing the amendment of the media law.
Some citizens complained at KBS' Web site, insisting that the broadcasting station intentionally edited the scenes. They also argue that KBS inserted a pre-recorded applause soundtrack to muffle crowd members shouting anti-government and anti-President Lee Myung-bak slogans.
Others defended the station, saying the program was meant to be entertainment and the rally did not sit well with the overall atmosphere of the program.
meeyoo@koreatimes.co.kr
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yistory@koreatimes.co.kr
