25 daily newspapers evaluated over one year from June last year
Top 4 outlets showed no discriminatory elements in family coverage
The Korea Healthy Family Institute, an agency under the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, announced Wednesday that it had selected four news outlets — The Herald Business, Chosun Ilbo, Hankyoreh and Money Today — as exemplary media organizations for covering family diversity without bias.
The institute analyzed society and culture articles from 25 general and business daily newspapers published between June last year and May this year. A review panel the institute formed with outside experts evaluated the outlets using four indicators: whether coverage treated only marriage-based, birth-based or blood-related families as normal; whether marriage and childbirth were taken for granted; whether family members' gender roles were portrayed based on stereotypes; and whether certain nationalities, ethnicities or religions were discriminated against or denigrated.
The monitoring found no instances of negative bias or stereotyping in the coverage produced by the four recognized outlets, including The Herald Business. It marks the first time a business newspaper has been selected as an exemplary outlet since the institute began its media monitoring program.
The institute plans to hold a results presentation at its headquarters on Toegyero in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Nov. 18, where it will present commendation plaques to the four outlets.
"We hope a media environment will take shape in which all forms of family are respected, beyond the single framework of the 'normal family,'" said Park Gu-yeon, president of the Korea Healthy Family Institute.
nyang@heraldcorp.com
