This won’t take too long, trust me. I don’t have much to say since this is an old article but I just wanted to give my two cents. But after reading this, it seems like netizens should be the reporters.
We all know that the companies pay for good press for their artists and that’s nothing new but some of the stuff I learnt from this article makes me feel so stupid. I can’t believe I started liking K-Pop for just the music and the idols the way I always did.
The issue seems to be that companies are able to control the media and what reporters put into their articles – which is pretty much the same positive impression repeated in about 5 other articles. No variety, it’s just the same. As the degree I am taking is Japanese & Journalism, I felt very interested in this article because it made me understand the Korean journalism and reporter side or rather the celebrity reporter side of it.
Especially this quote:
netizens have no choice but to take the role of the bad guy and QUESTION everything. Companies are trying to brainwash everyone about the images they’re creating for the artists through all of this manipulation, so do you expect netizens to just sit there, nod their heads, and take it?
I am especially disgusted at JYP Ent. and JYP himself for following up the positive outlets that SidusHQ put out for Jay Park with negative ones to give him a bad impression to the public. I can no longer feel neutral towards JYP after reading this statement.
It makes me wonder how many groups and their companies have done the same especially in articles when they say “so-and-so group rookie group is making their comeback” just to stay relevant when the majority of us don’t even know who they are at all.
Now I don’t blame netizens for uncovering what goes in behind the scenes. Well most of it, I find what happened to Tablo ridiculous and unnecessary to think that it almost cost his career. But sometimes I also have to wonder apart from exposing companies and giving fans of K-Pop an insight to their industry, why do they have to pick on an idol’s body which is not even – for instance – fat? But I also think if netizens were reporters, they would be the worst kind. Kind of like those hungry Hollywood celebrity reporters taking pictures of stars coming out of cars and pestering them everyday.
The way I see it, reporters should not be controlled or be forced by the companies and comment on their own. I hope one day they’ll have more freedom to put a range of opinionated articles out there not what the companies may be paying them secretly in order to create positive or negative impressions.
I know that this is only about the idol-focused reporters and not the entire countries.
Anyways, what are your opinions after reading the article?
Hi! I’ve seen your comment on my old blog post and I’m gonna share my opinion.^^
Yes, media was and always is in control by companies, either it’s the agency or the media corporation itself. that is unavoidable. But then again media has huge impact on people who read it and different region has different type of media, that I know of. For instance from what you wrote above, yes media is under control. Somehow media was given the press release and asked not to ask more about what topic they put up on media. that is in Korea.
In my country, the media is too demanding, that they think they have the power to overturn the company they reported about. they, who are not kpop related media in my country, don’t know how Korean company works, and that makes them too demanding to Indonesian people who arranged the event. I’ve been there and the scene wasn’t pretty to be described.
Now, media, either in Korea nor my country, has its own flaws, to control or to be controlled. and yes I should agree with you if the netizens were media, they would be the worst kind. I know.
tbh, media isn’t the cleanest work out there, not much different from politics, believe me. there will be more about media in the future… and I myself who work as media know what is at stakes, it’s either the artist you wrote, the company the artist you wrote, the company you work for or you yourself who wrote it