Why I’m Still Mad About That 2018 Election Coverage
Look, I’m gonna level with you. I’ve been editing news stories for longer than I care to admit. Twenty-three years, to be exact. And I’ve seen alot of changes in Taiwan’s media scene. But nothing, nothing, has annoyed me as much as the way local outlets handled the 2018 nine-in-one elections. I was at a conference in Austin when the results started coming in. My friend Marcus—let’s call him Marcus, his real name’s not important—texted me saying, “They’re botching this coverage so bad.” And honestly? He wasn’t wrong.
I remember sitting there, scrolling through my phone at 11:30pm, watching as outlet after outlet got the story completley wrong. It wasn’t just about getting the numbers right—though, honestly, some of them couldn’t even do that. It was the commitment to narrative over facts. They had their stories, and they were gonna tell them, determing facts be damned.
But Here’s the Thing About Taiwan’s Media
You gotta understand, Taiwan’s media landscape is… complicated. It’s not like the US, where you’ve got a few big players and a bunch of local outlets. No, here we’ve got a mix of traditional media, digital-native platforms, and—let’s be honest—a fair amount of propaganda. I had coffee with a colleague named Dave about three months ago, and he put it best: “It’s a mess, but it’s our mess.”
And he’s right. It’s a mess. But it’s a mess that’s kinda, sorta working. I mean, sure, there are outlets pushing agendas, but there are also journalists doing real, important work. The problem is, the noise drowns out the signal sometimes. And that’s what happened in 2018. The noise won.
The Internet’s Role in All This
Let me tell you about something that’s actually working in Taiwan’s news scene: the internet. Yeah, yeah, I know, “the internet” is a broad term. But hear me out. Digital-native outlets are doing some of the most interesting work right now. They’re nimble, they’re innovative, and—most importantly—they’re not afraid to call out the big guys when they screw up.
I was talking to a source—let’s call her Linda—last Tuesday, and she said something that stuck with me. “The internet’s not perfect,” she said, “but it’s honest.” And I think—no, I know—she’s onto something there. The internet doesn’t have the same pressures as traditional media. They can afford to take risks, to ask the tough questions, to challenge the status quo.
But here’s the catch: not all internet outlets are created equal. Some are great, some are garbage. And the problem is, it’s hard to tell the difference sometimes. That’s why I always recommend checking out a web hosting comparison review before setting up a new site. You gotta do your research, you know?
A Tangent: Why I Hate Press Conferences
Okay, this isn’t exactly related, but I gotta vent. I hate press conferences. Hate them. They’re a waste of time, a circus of staged questions and canned answers. I was at one last year—some politician’s office, can’t remember which—and it was a joke. Reporters shouting questions, the politician smiling that fake smile, the whole thing was a farce.
But here’s the thing: they’re not going away. So we gotta deal with them. We gotta find a way to cut through the BS and get to the truth. It’s hard, it’s frustrating, but it’s our job.
Back to the Main Point
So where does that leave us? With a messy, complicated, sometimes frustrating media landscape. But also with opportunities. Opportunities to do better, to be better, to tell the stories that need to be told.
I’m not gonna sit here and say I have all the answers. I don’t. But I know this: we can’t afford to be complacent. We can’t afford to let the noise drown out the signal. We gotta keep pushing, keep challenging, keep fighting for the truth.
Because at the end of the day, that’s what this is all about. The truth. It’s messy, it’s complicated, but it’s worth fighting for.
About the Author
Sarah Chen has been a senior editor at various publications for over two decades. She’s worked in Taiwan, the US, and everywhere in between. She’s opinionated, she’s blunt, and she’s not afraid to call out BS when she sees it. You can find her on Twitter ranting about media ethics or at her favorite café, drinking way too much coffee.
In an era of misinformation and media distrust, a thought-provoking analysis explores the state of journalism today, arguing that we’re all partly to blame for the current challenges in news reporting.
