Have you heard of these broadcasting companies: KNN, TBC, JTV, and CJB? If you just heard them for the first time, you may guess that they are overseas broadcasting stations. However, they are local Korean broadcast companies. When watching their channels, we can see their local program along with programs produced by KBS, MBC, and SBS. Korean local broadcast companies have an important role as local residents hear about local news and people can make their community better through the information they receive from the broadcast station. In addition, the local broadcasting stations can be revitalized to prevent the centralization of Seoul’s broadcasting monopoly and to exercise their local influence.

What is the problem?
Local broadcasting stations have come to a crisis. Their continuing existence is dependent upon how many local programs they can make and how various the local programs are that they can broadcast. The purpose of the local broadcasts should be these things, so they should be eager to achieve it. However, their main role is to supply programs made by KBS, MBC, and SBS rather than make their own local programs. As most local broadcast stations are dependent on Seoul broadcast companies  (KBS, MBC, SBS), it is hard for them to make their own competitive local programs and exercise their influence.   

What is worse, the appearance of new media, such as Cable TV, Satellite Broadcasting, and Internet Broadcasts, makes it impossible for them to compete. They have many problems because they do not consider local residents’ desires and the local programs they make do not have any sense of their community. The technical inferiority of the programs produced also has problems. The local residents think the broadcasts produced by local stations are boorish. They even protest against the stations for not broadcasting programs produced in Seoul.

Reorganization of the system
It should not be considered as only an internal problem. Historically, Korean political, economic, and cultural broadcasts have been centralized. This makes it hard for local broadcasting stations to solve the ideological problems. However, they should not be bystanders. They should think about how the local broadcast stations can be competitive, and consider the reason why they should exist.

First, there should be an established system to manage a stations personnel management, budget, and equipment. From this, the local broadcast stations can make a plan to develop themselves effectively.

In addition, the local broadcasting station should be unified with its community. This means they should cooperate with each other to secure many viewers, so that their scale of influence will enlarge. If this is realized, the scale of their budget and equipment will get bigger. It also prevents them from wasting their money.

Improving their programs
One of the important ways to develop a local broadcasting station is by improving their local programs. In order to do that, programs must be produced based on the consideration of viewers’ demands or the reflection of local traits and those viewers’ interests in a program. This will increase when the program manager focuses on the quality of broadcasting. According to one survey, the reason for viewers’ hatred of local programs is their lack of quality. (16% answered that it is the lack of diversity of the programs.) Therefore, viewers’ interest in local programs is decreasing.

To overcome this unfortunate situation, programs of good quality should be created with a perfect plan and consideration of the worldwide market.

Realistically, local programs are not more competitive than programs from our nation’s capital. However, one genre where local broadcasting stations can compete against mainstream broadcasting stations is the documentary. KNN (Busan broadcasting) gives viewers beneficial information in the name of ‘a special project’ by producing documentary programs about some issues. ‘Sansha Dam, a disaster of Korea’, a special project produced by KNN, received an accolade at the ‘33rd Korean Broadcasting Awards’. This program is about the possibility of the ‘Sansha Dam’ in China destroying the surrounding environment, as well as the environment in the neighboring nation of Korea. By showing viewers that the destruction of the environment is not only a problem within the nation but also in surrounding ones, this program could yield viewers’ interests and is high enough quality to be broadcast to a whole nation. When these kinds of program are galvanized, local programs can survive in the competition with mainstream programs.

Since the advent of new media, the local broadcasting stations cannot help but compete with other media. The local broadcast stations should not regard this situation as a crisis but as a chance to takeoff. In order to do so, they need to strengthen their competitiveness in areas that another media cannot be stronger. In addition, the relationship between the Seoul broadcasting stations and the local broadcasting stations should not be a subordinate relationship but horizontal relationship.

To develop local broadcasting stations, revitalization of local media needs to be realized. At this point, the existence of the local broadcasting stations has a high value. Therefore, national support is needed with the efforts of local broadcasting staff.