TDM internal report denies repressing June 4 show hosts

The president of TDM’s Executive Council, Mr Manuel Pires, revealed yesterday that – according to an internal report launched by the broadcaster last month – the two hosts of the “Good Morning Macau” show were not repressed in any way, after having worn black clothes in a program aired on June 4, the date marking the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre.
In yesterday’s Legislative Assembly plenary meeting, lawmaker Au Kam San questioned Manuel Pires on whether the report would be released soon, and to whom responsibility should be attributed.
A few days after June 4, the Hong Kong newspaper “Apple Daily” had reported that two TDM hosts were repressed and allegedly “punished” after wearing black clothes.
According to the newspaper, the hosts were informed that they would no longer host the show, being “suspended” from duties for an undefined period of time. Moreover, they were allegedly told that a salary increase or a promotion would be out of question at least within the coming two years.
Manuel Pires said yesterday that the broadcaster launched an internal investigation, resulting in a report handed in to the Executive Council on June 24. “It concluded that the [Apple Daily] article lacks accuracy (…) In their statements, the two hosts said they had not been subject to self-censorship, punished or treated in an unjust way,” he stressed.
Assuring yesterday’s plenary meeting that TDM respects and promotes editorial independence, Manuel Pires recalled that, before June 4, reporters were only told to remain unbiased throughout the next day while presenting news or shows.
“After June 4, the Head of Programs told these two hosts that they would be hosting the show on June 5 and 7, but not on June 6 as they were assigned to other tasks related to new productions,” he added.
The case was recently mentioned in a press freedom bulletin put together by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). CP