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🇹🇼 Taiwan /Culture & Society

Legislator's call to cut media funds for 'Golden Three Awards' met with pushback

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • A legislator proposed cutting 47.38 million NT dollars in media promotion funds for the "Golden Three Awards" (Golden Horse, Golden Bell, Golden Melody).
  • The legislator argued that these major events have inherent popularity and media will cover them naturally.
  • A director countered that promotional budgets are crucial for building cultural brands and maintaining international influence beyond temporary news cycles.

A proposal to cut substantial media promotion funds for Taiwan's prestigious "Golden Three Awards" has sparked debate, with a legislator arguing the events are popular enough to attract coverage on their own.

Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling of the Kuomintang party proposed eliminating 47.38 million NT dollars in media and publicity expenses for the Ministry of Culture. Weng contended that major events like the Golden Horse Awards (film), Golden Bell Awards (television), and Golden Melody Awards (music) possess inherent public recognition and will naturally garner media attention without dedicated promotional spending.

However, an unnamed emerging director expressed a different viewpoint, emphasizing that promotional budgets are more than just advertising. He argued that such funds are essential for cultivating cultural brands and building lasting international influence, which temporary news cycles cannot sustain.

The media reporting is certainly important, but the news cycle is often only a few days long. What truly allows an event to establish brand identity and accumulate international influence is a complete and continuous promotional strategy.

— Unnamed DirectorExplaining the long-term value of promotional budgets for cultural events.

The director explained that while media reporting is important, its impact is often fleeting. True brand recognition and international reach for cultural events are built through comprehensive and continuous promotional strategies. This includes overall marketing planning, brand image development, and diverse exposure channels, forming the crucial foundation for long-term cultural event management.

He further drew a parallel with corporate branding, noting that even highly established brands with significant market share do not eliminate marketing budgets but continue to invest in brand development to maintain competitiveness. The director asserted that cultural events operate under similar logic, requiring sustained and systematic exposure strategies for brand sustainability, rather than relying solely on temporary media buzz.

Brand sustainability cannot rely solely on temporary media attention; it requires long-term and systematic exposure strategies.

— Unnamed DirectorComparing corporate branding to cultural event management.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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