[The Editors' Verdict] "Media 2023": Innovation and Chaos

"Scaling Influence of Generative AI Commercialization"
Structural Crisis and Political Turbulence in Media
Industry Must Seek Its Own 'Journalism' Breakthrough

‘Fake news, generative artificial intelligence (AI), policy changes of major portals, sale of news channels, normalization of public broadcasting, the three broadcasting laws, news trustworthiness at 28%’

In 2023, the domestic media industry in Korea experienced various ups and downs amid technological innovation, changes in governance, and political strife, without finding a clear direction. From the beginning of the year, generative AI technology based on large language models (LLM) was a hot topic across industries, and the media was no exception. Above all, legacy media recalled the trauma of helplessly ceding control of news platforms to major portals and worried about their survival.

Throughout the year, the media struggled to find its footing somewhere between pessimism and optimism. The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers announced survey results showing that 70% of news organizations worldwide responded that AI would be a useful tool in newsrooms, adding a call for media solidarity to make AI work for journalists. Meanwhile, some movements were detected where major tech companies and individual media outlets began negotiating content usage fees separately.

Even amid political strife, media policy remained a major issue. The political sphere expanded the existing concept of misinformation to push news content into the realm of fake news debates. Regardless of political camps, the media’s critical function was accused of bias, and investigative journalism seeking truth was claimed to be a conspiracy colluding with power. Attempts to interpret and redefine the proposition ‘media = the foundation of democracy’ in their own ways and clashes over framing were incessant.

On the 9th, the partial amendment bill to the Broadcasting Act (alternative) was passed at the plenary session of the National Assembly. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

In this process, one side of the political spectrum leveraged administrative power through the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), while the other mobilized legislative power in the National Assembly. In September, the Korea Communications Standards Commission opened and began operating a Rapid Review Center for Fake News, continuing sanctions against media outlets citing past reports related to presidential remarks. Around the same time, the so-called three broadcasting laws?amendments to the Broadcasting Act, the Broadcasting Culture Promotion Act, and the Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act?were passed solely by the opposition party but were ultimately vetoed by the president and discarded.

Uncertainty over media governance and the environment for news content production and distribution deepened further. Under the KCC’s banner of normalizing public broadcasting, the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) underwent significant personnel and material changes, with this trend expanding to other media outlets. The news-specialized channel YTN is on the verge of privatization from quasi-public status, selected for exclusive negotiation with the Eugene Group. The major domestic portals, previously cautious of the government, have suspended the News Alliance Evaluation Committee and changed news search policies, busily aligning their codes.

The changes and upheavals that swept through the media industry this year are widely seen as just the beginning. The advancement and commercialization of generative AI are expected to accelerate and expand their influence, and due to the political timeline aligned with the general election in April next year, constructive discussions seem unlikely. Coincidentally, domestic news trustworthiness was the lowest in the Asia-Pacific region at only 28% (Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism).

Can the media industry find a breakthrough on its own? American writer Mark Twain said, ‘History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes.’ The value that the media has summoned whenever facing structural crises and turbulent times has been ‘journalism.’