And we’re back with another episode of BuzzBeats!

On this episode, Fuse TV‘s podcast K-Stop was the topic of our discussion. While it might be a touchy subject, I felt it was important to talk about considering, well, we are a podcast and a “Western” media outlet covering k-pop.

A quick rundown of the situation: Fuse TV published a podcast covering BTS, GFriendBobby of iKon, and The Chainsmokers. The excerpts taken from the episode were specifically about BTS and GFriend and their comments were seen in a negative light. Their less than constructive criticism about certain members, their voices, and dance choices angered many fans and pushed for the shutdown of the podcast. First, the episode was taken off the air. Then, the fans were victorious in their bout and the podcast was discontinued.

This time around, Cy and Janine join the usual crew (Lo, Cjontai, and myself) answering two questions:

  1. As people who are involved with podcasting, should we be allowed to express our thoughts and opinions or should we filter ourselves to avoid backlash?
  2. Do we believe the situation could have been handled better or do we see the podcast ending as a fitting and fair end?

These two questions led into a whole discussion about what happened, why we think it happened, about the fans that caused the podcast to be suddenly pulled from the air, and more. There was so much to talk about that the podcast is actually split into two episodes.

What are your answers to the proposed questions and what’s your take on the situation? Feel free to leave your comments below to discuss this topic.

(Intro music: bensound.com; Image: BigHit)