Apple Daily animation boss defends explicit cartoons

Jason Chan, CEO, NextMedia Animation, told Media: “Apple Daily is regarded as 'evil' but popular in Taiwan. Taiwan's media industry may feel threatened by it or fear it, I guess.” 

Apple Daily received a barrage of complaints from concerned parents after broadcasting explicit, erotic and violent content on its animated news channel on Nextmedia.com.

Apple Daily launched its animated news website in Hong Kong and Taiwan on 26 November. The site received 120,000 clicks on the first day of its launch in Taiwan, with viewer numbers increasing by 60 per cent. However, the site was also boycotted by elementary and junior high schools and the Taipei City Council which found its content offensive.

Apple Daily added an aged 18 and above rating to its stories two days after it received the complaints and has modified its animated news content. CEO of Apple Daily Taiwan Yip Yut Kin has issued a statement in Apple Daily apologising if its animated content made parents feel uncomfortable. 

Chan emphasised the fact its animated news content had received an enormous amount of attention. "We received a call from Time magazine today. They wanted to know if we are going to do anymore Tiger Woods animations. There are at least 100 websites, including YouTube and Time that are using our graphics. It is also reportedly being dubbed on the Bloomberg terminals by the traders."

Reports have said The Taipei Government intended to sue Apple Daily, but has since refrained from doing so as Apple Daily has modified its content.

Robert Hsieh, CEO ZenithOptimedia Taiwan said: “Apple Daily's animated TV is a good selling point as it is almost the only one of its kind in Taiwan. It has received free publicity as every TV channel has widely reported on its animated news content for the past two weeks. Now everyone knows about this."

“In Taiwan traditional and conservative people think animation is not news as it’s dramatising news,” Chan added. “But our belief is that, as news reporters, we have checked and balanced opinions. The New York Times has used animation for its court news for a long time. Animation used to have a supplementary role. It has now jumped onto the main stage and has taken a key role in news reporting. Our insistence is that we have not created or made up any stories. We have followed the facts and ethics of news and media reporting. We just want to make the news stories more visual and alive.”

Animated news is a new initiative that media mogul Jimmy Lai launched two years ago. Lai recently argued that the future of the next generation is image and vision, as younger generations spend more time on computers than watching TV and tend to watch news on computers.

Apple Daily plans to launch the television equivalent of Nextmedia.com, Next TV, imminently, despite still not holding a licence from the National Communications Commission (NCC). Apple Daily has applied for five TV licences (entertainment, sports, movies, news and variety). Three of those licences are pending after the NCC requested further information. Two others, including the news licence, are believed to be under threat as a result of the animated news row, according to reports in Taiwan.

“We are ready to launch our animated news any time now and we have conducted an internal test run already. Our new building for Next TV near our office in Neihu in Taipei is also under construction," Chan said.

“We are not worried about not attracting advertisers. Our main priority to resolve the current controversary and continue to improve the quality of animinated news. Our key competitors tend to learn from us. It may take them six to nine months to come up with a similar product. I sincerely hope that animation becomes a good tool for telling news stories and serving the public.”