With the development of new media, senior editors from both China and the Republic of Korea have urged the proper use of online information in creating rational and reliable news reports.

The media professionals made their comments at the fifth high-level dialogue between media from the two countries, held in Beijing on Tuesday.

New media is increasingly popular and influential, with more than 590 million netizens in China by early 2013 and nearly 49 million in the ROK by the end of 2012.

According to Kim Se-hyung, a senior writer at the Korean Economic Daily, social networks such as Facebook and Twitter give online audiences easy access to information.

"If well used, the new media can help boost the understanding of both peoples and strengthen ties between us," he said.

But if misused, it can become a means of spreading rumors that play up nationalism and harm bilateral ties, he added.

According to Kim, 30 percent of the information found online is groundless rumors, highlighting the difficulty of preventing the spread of rumor through online social media.

Meanwhile, the China Internet Information Center released a report in mid-July that said the number of new netizens in China this year has increased by 26.56 million, and that most of the new users are not well educated.

Im Chong-gun, a representative from the Seoul-based KBS television station, said that media should double-check and analyze information from the Internet before using it in their reports.

"Before using online sources, reporters should make clear how this information was obtained and how it is being spread," he said, calling for more cooperation between the two nations on the checking and sharing of online information.

As a representative from Chinese new media, Li Baodong, a senior producer of Xinhuanet.com, said both new and traditional print media should be responsible for making rational reports based on facts.

He said the favorable political atmosphere between China and the ROK offers a good opportunity for new and traditional media from both sides to engage in broader cooperation.

"But the scale is not enough and it lacks a broad cooperation channel," he said.

To deepen the cooperation between the media of both countries, Li Wufeng, deputy director of the State Council Information Office, urged his institution and its ROK counterpart to further enhance their exchanges and establish new communication mechanisms to upgrade the level of cooperation.

Media from both sides should offer real, objective and balanced information to the public, narrow the misunderstandings between the two peoples and avoid playing up nationalism, which could have a negative impact on bilateral ties, he said.

zhouwa@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/31/2013 page11)