a really really old post from way back in the beginning when she was more personal. I think it's still relevant
You don't even have to be around in K-Pop for that long before you realize that Korean reporters are a piss poor example of journalism. Every single Korean entertainment article you read, whether translated or not, basically comes directly from the mouths of the companies involved. By now, you're aware of select entertainment companies manipulating the media or even paying up certain outlets to release articles in their favor, but what you don't probably realize is that it's not only those select companies, but everyone.
In my experience working for a Korean media outlet, I've come to realize that the entertainment media is completely controlled by the upper-ups, and reporters/journalists are only that in name because they really function as nothing more than the ctrl and c+z keys on your keyboard.
What essentially goes on is that Korean companies, big or small, basically draft what they want written about their artists down to every fine detail. They send these out as elaborate "press releases" directly to the inboxes of reporters, and what the reporters do is copy and paste the content and release it into our feeds. That's fine, that's how press releases work. Where the issue lies is that these reporters don't check the information they're being fed, nor do they question it. The company can basically make any statement, far-fetched or not, they want and it'll make it to the news simply because Korean journalism is crap.
How do I know this? I've had press releases come into my inbox, and in no more than 30 seconds - I kid you not - I see the article already out in my news feed from a competing outlet without a single edit from the original copy sent to us. There are variations of this laziness: some outlets will leave out paragraphs while others rearrange the paragraphs, but at no point in between do the reporters think to edit or cross check the information they're being handed.
There are two problems with this.
One, this has allowed companies to get away with controlling and manipulating the media to their favor. The companies that you're all probably familiar with have fine tuned this down to an art. What I mean by this is that it's not just the information that's being handed over. Companies will also include three to five titles they specifically want used as well as netizen comments they completely made up themselves to give the image/idea of positivity associated with their artist.
Two, they can get away with whatever BS they want in the actual content and it's going to make it to the press whether it's true and relevant or not. You think those sel-ca articles you see all the time are just fillers from bored reporters with nothing better to do? No. They were specifically sent out by the companies. Before the picture is even uploaded to the artist's Twitter, we'll receive a press release regarding said picture along with the titles and netizen comments they want used. They're essentially creating their own hype for the purpose of keeping their artist in the headlines and relevant.
That's manipulation, is it not?
Their control doesn't end there, though. For a few extra bucks, companies can buy out entire outlets, like what Kim Kwang Soo/Core Contents Media did with Newsen, and just pay them to constantly release positive press about their artists. Another fun example I like to use with anyone that asks is Park Jin Young/JYP Entertainment paying up Asia Economy to release back to back, nonstop onslaughts of editorials slamming Jay Park back when his scandal was at its height. Sidus HQ releases something good about Jay Park? Asia Economy follows up two seconds later with the release of yet another negative editorial to try and steal the spotlight.
Some companies go even further by buying out the entire portal itself. Netizens are already well aware of companies paying Nate to push articles regarding their artists into the top 10 whether netizens vote it up or not. Every once in a while, you see an article that jumps from rank #698 to #2 in the span of a second, and you know right then and there that the company paid its way up.
Some companies go even further by buying out the entire portal itself. Netizens are already well aware of companies paying Nate to push articles regarding their artists into the top 10 whether netizens vote it up or not. Every once in a while, you see an article that jumps from rank #698 to #2 in the span of a second, and you know right then and there that the company paid its way up.
The company, in turn, can then go and brag that their artists are the top searched or the top ranking - all those key terms that K-Pop fans love to hear - and in turn write up another "press release" saying their artists are top ranking, therefore continuing the cycle... It doesn't take much to turn a nobody into a top ranking artist provided that your company has the money for it
