| Soccer player Ki Sung-yeung is dating actress Han Hye-jin sitting opposite him in a restaurant in Seoul in this photo released by Dispatch on March 27. |
Celeb-focused media enjoys reputation with a slew of scoops and errorless reports
By Park Si-soo
News stories ought to be based on facts. Yet this does not always happen, especially when it comes to the secret love affairs of celebrities. Although rumors frequently abound, obtaining concrete evidence to prove them true often remains elusive. Making it tougher still are management agencies that refute such allegations to “protect” their entertainers.
Within this difficult working environment, an online entertainment news outlet, Dispatch (www.dispatch.co.kr), is developing a solid reputation — among news consumers as well as journalist colleagues — after a slew of scoops and accurate reports.
The company was created only two years and three months ago with a handful of reporters and photographers from a vernacular daily specializing in sports and entertainment news. But it has since disclosed the love stories of several high-profile figures and made their names the talk of the town.
| Top actress Kim Tae-hee in white pants walks out of a supermarket before going to meet singer Rain in this photo released on Jan. 1. |
Star couples who had details of their private lives published on Dispatch include singer Rain and top actress Kim Tae-hee; actor Zo In-sung with actress Kim Min-hee; and Swansea City midfielder Ki Sung-yeung-actress with Han Hye-jin.
Dispatch's stories are extensive, based on data collected through intense information-gathering for days or even weeks, and they always appear with high-resolution photos that provide titillating evidence. Its proven track record on stories has earned the news outlet the honorable or — depending on whether you are a target subject — dishonorable nickname of “sniper.”
“Wow! Dispatch has lived up to its name,” wrote one netizen in a comment posted below the outlet's latest scoop regarding the romantic relationship between actor Zo and actress Lee.
| The red-painted two-story building is Dispatch headquarters in Nonhyeon-dong, southern Seoul. / Courtesy of Dispatch |
“This is the result of our unwavering passion and tenacity,” said Lim Geun-hoh, team leader of Dispatch, the second highest position in the newsroom that controls five reporters and three photographers, during an interview with The Korea Times at the firmheadquarters in Nonhyeon-dong, southern Seoul, Friday. “We do everything we can for thorough fact-checking before publication.” He refused to be photographed.
By coincidence, the interview took place on the same day when major portals were rumbling with speculation that Miss Korea-turned-actress Kim Sa-rang is marrying soccer player Park Ji-sung, about which Lim appeared to be nonchalant.
“It's not true. We've already checked all things necessary,” Lim said. The allegation, which was reported by almost all domestic news outlets, was later confirmed to be groundless by both sides.
“No matter what their agencies do to defuse the rumor, it will have limited effect,” he said, citing the old saying “no smoke without fire.” “I don't know why people stick to this maxim so strongly. No matter what the reason may be, people seem to barely believe what their agencies say in response. Rather, they take it as a cover-up attempt. That's why accuracy is so important in celebrity news.”
Noting his 12-year experience, Lim said, “Smoke frequently rises without fire” in the entertainment field.
He underscored that the declining accuracy of celebrity news is largely to be blamed on the growing influence of portals on people's news consumption.
“These days reporters feel pressured (by those higher-up in newsrooms) to bang out stories as quickly as possible because the frequency of news updated on major portals is a very important factor to attract more visitors to their news website,” he said. “The number of visitors to a website and its profitability are closely related. As a result, many newsroom managers and reporters tend to put more weight on frequency rather than accuracy.”
Perhaps the rigorous fact-checking is a key culprit behind Dispatch's chronic financial hardship. But Lim said he won't trade it for financial stability.
“Even if it's later than other news outlets, we post an article only after fact-checking is completed,” he said. “Sometimes we spend days, even weeks, for this.”
He refused to tell about the firm's financial status. “We've managed to stand on our own two feet,” he said. “We are trying hard to improve our financial stability by engaging in various profitable businesses.”
Source matters
Lim said Dispatch's fame was built upon its reporters' extensive network with sources. He remained tight-lipped on their identity, but hinted that they are “close enough” to know celebrities' all.
“One day, a source told me Jung Ji-hoon (real name of singer Rain) bought a new cell phone. Days later, another source informed me that he/she had found top actress Kim Tae-hee texting and phone chatting frequently with Jung,” he said, recollecting his scoop regarding the romantic relationship between the two top entertainers in January.
“Based on information from sources, we mapped out strategies to witness their dating scene with the naked eye and record it with photos. And we made it after ceaseless monitoring of the two in hiding for days.”
'Not paparazzi!'
Lim said Dispatch is not a form of “paparazzi” media.
“I would say we are ‘investigative reporting' specialists,” he said. “Paparazzi take photos of stars to sell them to media outlets, while we do so solely to prevent them and their managers from denying our reporting.”
He said his team members strictly abide by a guideline on reporting and information gathering to protect privacy of celebrities.
“We don't commit anything that runs the risk of infringing upon their privacy or badly affecting their business,” he said. There are some celebrities who are on his radar, he said, adding his team will soon start a new operation to surprise the public with a new scoop.
“Do you know where my happiness comes from?” he asked. “It comes with a scoop making things previously unknown into something everyone knows about.”