Mongolia Web News,
Ulaanbaatar (GV). Recent controversy over Eagle TV's director Thomas
Terry exposes the contradiction of the channels mission as both an
independent news provider and as a christian missionary promotion
machine. A letter sent to media in Mongolia by the President of the
Buddhist Federation of Norway, Egil Lothe, accused Thomas Terry of
linking Buddhism to the root of corruption in a rather outdated
article, published 2 years ago on a personal blog. It didnt prevent the
letter from causing quite a stir.
Eagle TV
is one of the main sources for independent news in Mongolia. Although
still remaining strong ties with its founder and, for now, Democratic
Party leader Elbegdorj, it has kept a rare standard of independent
reporting in an otherwise rather corrupted media landscape. Most media
belong to groups with either a political or a business interest, or
both. The news coverage of Eagle TV is widely regarded as one of the
better ones around and especially in times of crisis Eagle TV seems
best equipped to provide fast and up-to-date coverage.
Local
politicians, as well as Mr. Lotte, have attacked Eagle TV on its partly
foreign ownership. However, other media have foreign management
including Channel 1 and Mongolia Web News, and have never experienced
any controversy. Why does Eagle TV seem to hit a nerve? Its news
coverage tries to give every political fraction a fair amount of
exposure, which surely will make enemies here and there. Mr.
Elbegdorj's involvement with the start-up is an additional argument for
suspition from people in other camps. The managing director, as a
foreginer, does not shy away from boosting his achievements and
critizing the Mongolian media landscape. But maybe ultimately the most
friction comes from the actual goal of the channel. As Thomas Terry
states on his personal blog: "Our most important mission is the
advocacy of Christianity in Mongolia and biblical training of Mongolian
Christians." A sizable portion of the programming consists of
missionary broadcasts, partly presented by Mr. Terry. In a recent blog
post he announced a program in which he states "Mohammad was a pedophile" and "Buddhism’s founder abandoned his family",
arguing there inferierity compared to Mr. Terry's personal religious
idol. He might have just stepped on a few already painful toes again.
There is not much to argue against a christian ownership
of a media outlet, but if the regular programming is meant to lure
viewers to missionary programs, it does pollute the image of
independent reporting. It is ironic that in this way one of the beacons
of independent news gathering itself is subject to alternive motives.
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