A pioneering Internet video newscaster is suing paid-listing provider Overture K.K. for allegedly refusing to distribute its advertisements because the ads mention news stories dealing with politically controversial subjects. News reports say the newscaster, Video News Network Inc. (VNN), sought a preliminary judgment Tuesday with the Tokyo District Court to force Overture to distribute its ads, saying the refusal violates its freedom of speech.
Calling itself Japan’s first news-only Internet broadcaster, VNN was launched in November 1999 by Tetsuo (“Teddy”) Jimbo, because he felt Japan needed “an independent, private sector broadcaster that didn’t rely on advertisement.” (As a matter of disclosure, this writer was a colleague of Jimbo’s at the Associated Press’ Tokyo Bureau in the late 1980s).
VNN’s videonews.com site has since become known for its willingness to take on controversial topics. For instance, it has broadcast a series of 233 weekly talk shows called “Radical Talk on Demand” in which Jimbo discusses the news of the day with outspoken sociologist Shinji Miyadai, a professor at Tokyo Metropolitan University known for his research on high school girl prostitution and juvenile crime.
In March of this year, videonews.com contracted with Overture to place its ads when it refreshes its own news site with current news stories. A fully owned subsidiary of Yahoo!, Overture manages a system that places Web advertisements according to how much an advertiser is willing to bet on specific search terms. Described from the user’s perspective, Overture’s system acts as a search engine that lists search findings according to how much advertisers bid on various search terms. Advertisers only pay Overture when visitors click on their ads.
In Japan, Overture’s search engine/advertising distribution system is used by Yahoo! Japan, the country’s most popular Web portal, MSN and Nikkei.net among others.
However, soon after reaching agreement, Overture began refusing to place certain ads, especially those containing references to VNN news stories concerning controversial subjects such as the Yasukuni Shrine to Japan’s World War II dead, the anti-war Article 9 of Japan’s Constitution, and anti-Japanese demonstrations. Such topics are commonly found in all of Japan’s mass media.
When asked about the rejected ads, Overture on July 13 responded to VNN saying, “In accordance with our [published] guidelines, we have decided that we cannot accept the ads for placement, because we have come across content that slanders specific political organizations and individuals.” In its basic rules of use, Overture requires its clients to guarantee that ad content will not include “slander, libel or intimidation.”
A dialogue between VNN and Overture ensued and finally in late July, Overture told VNN that it would no longer accept any VNN advertisements. VNN says a total of 174 ads were rejected.
For its part, VNN argues however that the articles or video referenced in its ads do not criticize specific people or organizations and therefore do not violate Overture’s guidelines. A spokesperson told the Mainichi Shimbun: “Because of [Overture’s] refusal [to place ads on our site], the number of visits to our site has continued to drop, and we have lost credibility as a media institution.”
Though it’s obviously very eager to advertise itself, VNN makes a point of not taking advertisement so it will retain journalistic objectivity. In a JMR story two years ago (“Video News Network Pioneers Internet TV in Japan”), JMR writer Jane Ellen Stevens noted that VNN gave founder Teddy Jimbo “the freedom to cover controversial topics the mainstream press ignores, but is anybody listening? Jimbo spends thousands a month to keep his Internet TV station running, but VNN’s alternative programming has attracted just 4,000 subscribers.”
About David Jacobson
