The Access Paradox: Media Environment Diversity and Coverage of Activist Groups in Japan and Korea

Abstract

To what extent is a diverse news media environment good for activists who seek attention for their cause? Scholars agree that activist groups depend on the media to reach policymakers and bystanders. Yet prior scholars have overlooked how factors that contribute to media environment diversity—including journalistic norms, market structures, outlets’ partisanship, and audiences’ news consumption habits—can have contradictory implications for activist groups. Disaggregating questions of gaining publicity from questions of the message and reach of coverage, this article shows that while pluralistic media environments are more accessible to activists, more homogeneous media environments help groups that manage to break into the mainstream news reach wider audiences with more coherent narratives. These findings challenge common assumptions about the news media in Japan and Korea. A paired comparison of hepatitis C-related activism in both countries demonstrates how the forces democratizing access to the media are paradoxically reducing the persuasive potential of publicity.

A Proposal for an “Environmental Sports Journalism” (ESJ) Approach: Principles and Illustrative Examples From Coverage of the Rio 2016 and PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Games

“…With ESJ in mind, we suggest that an important characteristic of this article is that the perspective of an environmental activist group (i.e., Green Korea) is highlighted. This is notable (and in alignment with Principle 2), recognizing that voices from the political periphery are commonly marginalized-and key messages offered by these groups (when reported at all) are often not adequately explained (Arrington, 2017;Martin, 2004). Fortunately, there is evidence from more recent research that journalists are in some cases doing a comparatively better job in this regardas demonstrated in Boykoff's (2014) study of media coverage of protests around the London and Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Games.…”

Korean NGOs and Reconciliation with Japan

“…Korean media periodically attack Korean officials for failing to outmaneuver Japan; after the successful April 2015 Obama–Abe summit, outlets in Seoul criticized ROK diplomats as “inept,” “silent,” and “cowardly,” with some articles even calling on the foreign minister to resign (Kelly 2015). Research on media coverage of activist civil society in South Korea suggests that grievance groups can “inhibit reasoned political debate and compromise” as they “render decision-making slower and more complicated” (Arrington 2017, 88).…”

Has South Korean democracy hit a glass ceiling? Institutional‐cultural factors and limits to democratic progress

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