JTBC Newsroom

JTBC Newsroom is the main flagship newscast of JTBC Television Network. The newscast is aired from 20:00~21:40 KST. JTBC Newsroom replaced two of its predecessors, namely, JTBC News 10 and JTBC News 9.

History

As JTBC News 10

It was launched on December 1, 2011 as JTBC News 10, together with the launch of the network itself. It was JTBC's first flagship newscast, which was then hosted by Jeon Young-U and Cha Ye Rin. Unlike newscasts from the mainstream networks, JTBC News 10 is more focused on providing in-depth stories throughout the program. It was one of the pioneer programs of JTBC that time, usually getting 1% rating according to AGB Nielsen Korea.^[1]

From News 10 to News 9

On November 5, 2012, major programming revamp happened within the JTBC network. This includes a major shift between drama and news programs. Its drama series were moved from 20:45/23:00 to 21:45, and their main newscast JTBC News 10 became JTBC News 9. Also, JTBC News 10 anchors Jeon Young-U and Cha Ye-Rin were eventually replaced by Jun Young Gi and Hwang Nam-Hee weeks before the 2012 South Korean Presidential Elections. Although it was entitled JTBC News 9, it actually starts at 20:50 KST. JTBC News 9 focused on news summaries similar to the mainstream networks, with some exclusive news features. It did not became that popular with viewers, as the newscast would place third among General Cable news programs, behind Channel A Main News and TV Chosun News Show Pan.^[2][3]

Sohn Suk Hee takes over News 9

On May 9, 2013, Sohn Suk Hee was named as the president of JTBC News department.^[4] He was considered as the most prominent and the most influential news anchor in South Korea, having been with MBC Television and Radio for so many years. He left his anchor post on MBC Radio. Another major revamp was made within the entire network programming, including more news and current affairs line up,^[5] before he assumed the anchor post on the 16th of September. JTBC News 9 airs at 20:55. Like its predecessor JTBC News 10, JTBC News 9 focused more on in-depth reporting, increased live field reports and studio interviews. Its pilot episode rated 1.948%.^[6] Its ratings went up from the time that Sohn assumed the anchor post, rating between 1.5-2%, and it emerged as the No.1 General cable newscast.

Sewol Ferry coverage and the rise in ratings

On April.16,2014, Sohn's, and the whole network's credibility were tested when one of JTBC's anchor asked a very controversial question to one of Sewol ferry's survivors. Sohn apologized on the anchor's behalf during the newscast's opening.

Korean transcript taken from JTBC News website. ^[7]

저는 지난 30년 동안 갖가지 재난보도를 진행해 온 바 있습니다. 제가 배웠던 것은 재난보도 일수록 사실에 기반해서 신중해야 한다는 것과, 무엇보다도 희생자와 피해자의 입장에서 사안을 바라봐야 한다는 것이었습니다.

오늘(16일) 낮에 여객선 침몰 사고 속보를 전해드리는 과정에서 저희 앵커가 구조된 여학생에게 건넨 질문 때문에 많은 분들이 노여워 하셨습니다. 어떤 변명이나 해명도 필요치 않다고 생각합니다.

제가 그나마 배운 것을 선임자이자 책임자로서 후배 앵커에게 충분히 알려주지 못한 저의 탓이 가장 큽니다. 깊이 사과드립니다.

English translation:

Over the past 30 years, I have witnessed and reported so many disasters. The thing I learned about covering these disasters is that we should carefully base our reports on facts. And more than anything else, we should look at these reports from the perspective of the victims, and of the victims' families.

Today (16th of April), so many audience were angered by the question that our reporter asked a rescued student during our coverage on the ferry's sinking. No excuses nor explanations will be needed. It was my fault as a senior anchor and the head of our news department that I did not impart the things I learned to my junior anchors. I sincerely apologize

In what could have been a negative effect to the news department, Sohn's sincere apology was praised by viewers and netizens alike. He even became a trending topic on Naver.com after he had a moment of silence while interviewing Baek Jeom Gi, a shipbuilding engineer professor at the Busan University.^[8][9]

Ratings of News 9 went up during the coverage of the Sewol ferry accident. on the 16th of April, it got 1.81% and was the No.1 primetime news program among General cable networks. On the 17th of April, it went up to 2.5%.^[10] Not only it was the No.1 program among general cable stations, it was the only JTBC program which entered the Top 20 General cable shows that day.

On the 18th of April,Two days after the incident, Sohn had a ground-breaking interview with Lee Jong-in, a deep sea diving expert. He talked about an equipment called the "Diving bell" that could be used for search and rescue operations even through tough water conditions. Mr. Lee said that he tried to offer the diving bell and other diving equipments to the South Korean coast guard for their search efforts, but they declined him.^[11] After the interview was aired, Online community sites were flooded with criticisms from outraged netizens in response to the government's slow response towards the incident. Several days later, the South Korean coast guard allowed the use of the diving bell.^[12] For the first time, JTBC News 9 surpassed the 3% mark after hitting 3.118%.^[13]

JTBC News 9 continued to dominate news ratings as it reached a new high of 4.35% on the 21st of April.^[14] Sohn Suk Hee was also praised by viewers as he was the only news anchor who covered the search efforts live from Jindo.^[15] The newscast maintained its strength against other general cable newscast for the whole week as it rated 3.97% on the 22nd,^[16] 4.12% on the 23rd,^[17] 4.079% on the 24th^[18] and 3.735% on the 25th.^[19] In some cases, its ratings beat the combined ratings of TV Chosun, MBN and Channel A's newscasts.

On the 28th of April, JTBC News 9 broke its own ratings record, achieving 5.06%,^[20] and even threatening the main newscasts of MBC and SBS. Its ratings went up on the 29th as it reached 5.401%, and even beating MBC News Desk by 0.001%.^[21] So far, JTBC News 9 is the only General Cable newscast to reach 5%.

Cancellation of News 9 and the launch of JTBC Newsroom

It was announced on the 2nd week of September that JTBC will revamp its news division, and the cancellation of JTBC News 9. It will eventually be replaced by "JTBC Newsroom" on the 22nd of September. JTBC will move their main news cast from 21:00 KST to 20:00 KST, competing directly against MBC News Desk and SBS 8 News. To reflect the change, JTBC will extend its main newscast from the usual 50 Minutes to 100 Minutes, a first for Korean television news. JTBC Newsroom will also focus on more live reports, studio interviews and more in-depth coverage of today's news. JTBC will also retain Sohn as the main anchor. JTBC Weekend News, however, will have Jeon Jin Bae and Lee Ji Eun as its new anchors.^[22] JTBC Newsroom is split into two parts - The first being aired from 20:00~20:55 KST, and the second part, from 21:00~21:40. JTBC had also revamped its set and graphics package.

The launch of JTBC Newsroom was well received by viewers, rating 2.037% on its first night according to AGB Nielsen Korea, higher than the pilot broadcast of JTBC News 9 when Sohn took over a year ago.^[23]

Broadcast times

JTBC Newsroom is being aired on all cable and satellite systems in South Korea from 20:00 - 21:40 KST. It is also being aired live through JTBC's website, JTBC News's YouTube account, Daum and TVing.

Anchors

• Sohn Suk-Hee(Weekdays)
• Ahn Na-Kyung(Relief presenter)
• Jeon Jin-Bae(Weekends)
• Lee Ji-Eun(Weekends/Relief presenter)

References