As more people resort to Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sources to obtain news, many are beginning to realize that the game is changing; competition among these sources is rising and they are

also clashing with traditional journalism. This was the main reason why many of the credible media newspaper companies such as the New York Times, Boston Globe, Herald, and other traditional newspapers are moving to the online social media platform. The main reasons why traditional newspapers cannot keep up with the online realm is because people can read the news for free, and once newspapers are printed, reporters cannot edit or update them, unlike the digital

news outlets.

 

Due to this, many portal sites are taking economic advantage of the online realm by uploading ads and trying to gain as much profit as possible. While the revenue stream should have flowed to the media outlets, the highly distorted profit structure of the media industry is causing discontent among media

industry insiders. The Pew Research Center Journalism & Media reported that in 2016, Google was responsible for 64 percent of Internet searches in the United States (U.S). Also, another finding from Quartz indicated that more people trust Google for their news than they trust the actual news outlets. According to Quartz, it reported that in 2016, around 63 percent of the respondents trust search engines, while only 57 percent of the people responded that they trust the traditional media. 

 

 

What about South Korea? Naver, Google’s equivalent portal site in South Korea, has been accused of monopolizing, giving rise to a need for a set of preventive measures for the monopolization of news media outlets as well. Back when Naver was established in 1999, many newspaper companies mistakenly believed that providing news to Naver and other portal sites would increase their

publicity and revenue. Little did they know that by giving out news to Naver, the news media outlets were losing power while Naver users had access to free news without having to visit other media websites. 

 

 

Naturally, as print revenue of local newspapers and traditional news outlets declined, these traditional media corporations had to move to the online realm. However, because of Naver’s previously established control over an all-in-one news service, Korean netizens did not pay attention to the media companies. To deal with the crisis, various media outlets tried to provide premium, quality news to the public. Unfortunately, this approach also resulted in failure and these media companies were barely able to make ends meet.

 

Not many people are aware, however, that Naver also gets a lot of profit through its ad revenues. According to a study released by Korea Communications Agency (KCA) in 2014, 76 percent of the news is obtained through Internet portal sites such as Daum and Naver, whereas only five percent of people use traditional media. Indeed, in most cases, South Korean citizens take news articles for granted and believe that these portal sites indeed are news companies. In fact, according to a survey from JoongAng Ilbo in 2016, 56.4 percent of respondents believed that news from Naver, Daum, and

other major portal site companies are considered legitimate.

 

Some of the common responses from people are that Naver provides convenience; technology allows it to pick out interesting headlines, eliminating the need for viewers to look for many different websites to get the news. In fact, about 70 percent of Korean people now read the news through portal

sites, according to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism in 2016. The local news outlets that used to thrive back in the 20th century fail to publish stimulating content nowadays, which leads to more people relying on search engines. 

 

Furthermore, out of the 70 percent of the participants who use portal sites as their main news source, only 22 percent of Koreans replied that they can trust the news in Korea, placing them in the bottom amongst 26 major countries around the world. This may be the reason Naver is thriving. Because traditional news media outlets lack credibility and sensational news topics presented in other media platforms, people are losing interest.

 

According to Professor Kim Seong-cheol (School of Media and Communications), “People in other countries also read news through portal sites such as Yahoo or Social Networking Service (SNS) such as Facebook. Newspaper sites failing to attract attention is one factor that sets Korea apart, and a core

factor that turned Naver into a news provider.” He went on to say that “newspaper companies tend to be small, and only through combining forces—maybe to develop a new business model or an app together—would they have a chance to attract interest.”

 

With Naver continuing its monopolization, according to Blotter Academy, its digital ad revenue has increased another 19 percent. This unfair competition has caused societal pressures among the government and other traditional media, calling for new regulations and legislations. In response, Naver launched a three-part project earlier this month. A new proposal to provide 10 billion won fund to encourage the paid subscription of newspapers on its news platform. In addition, Naver also promised to pay 70 percent of its ad revenue coming from the news section to other media outlets. Finally, Naver plans to offer more exposure to the reporter’s profile pages on Naver news section in order to promote individual journalists.

 

Even though Naver’s pledge sounds promising, many news media outlets are ambivalent about this situation because even though it may help reliable news media outlets and journalists, it is still more likely to direct more viewers to Naver in the end. As Naver continues to dominate over nearly all other media outlets and digital platforms, it remains to be seen how Naver’s three-part plan proposal will impact South Korea’s media industry.