Overview
- Explores a critical aspect of Hong Kong life
- Provides a critical angle on the impact of the NSL in Hong Kong
- Uncovers the complexities of HK’s cultural scene
Part of the book series: Hong Kong Studies Reader Series (HKSRS)
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Table of contents (7 chapters)
Keywords
About this book
This book explores the challenges to news professionalism and media autonomy stemming from the state, market pressure, the digitalization of communication, and a polarized civil society in Hong Kong. China is tightening its control over post-handover Hong Kong, which includes press freedom. Harsh market competition, coupled with shifting readership from mainstream media to digital platforms, is squeezing the business viability of media organizations. The polarization of civil society in post-handover Hong Kong had degraded consensual values upon which news professionalism relies. Journalists have had to reorient news professionalism and media power in the midst of state-society tension, market pressure, and the shifting communication mode driven by digitalization. These are the key questions for Hong Kong media. This dynamic intervention will be of interest to journalists, scholars of civil society, and scholars of Asian politics.
Reviews
“Hong Kong media: Interaction between media, state and civil society by Chan Chi-kit, Gary Tang and Francis L.F. Lee is an outstanding achievement. It is a must read for everyone who is interested and cares about Hong Kong. The book highlights the central role that the media and media professional played in shaping and often creating, modern Hong Kong. The book provides a comprehensive and critical analysis of media in Hong Kong society by examining the interaction and mutual influences of the media system, the state, and civil society. Chan, Tang and Lee offer novel theoretical insights into media transformation in a hybrid regime. These are embedded in rich empirical data which range from the colonial era to the new realities of the national security law. It is the great level of detail and eye for nuances paired with sharp theoretical perspective which makes the publication such compelling reading. The examination the relationship between journalistic professionalism, press freedom and censorship in the ever changing political and economic structures reveals the complexity in which media professionals navigate. In Hong Kong radical transformation of media and its role in society through the digitalisation of communication was exacerbated by increasing control from China, creating a uniquely high-pressure environment for journalists. The critical and balanced analysis of these developments are aptly followed by a fascinating study of the ethos and attitudes of journalistic professions. Together these chapters allow for deeper reflections on the agency of media organisations and the journalistic corps. The transformative impact of the media is outlined in exceptional detail in the chapters on the emergence of a distinct Hong Kong identity and social mobilisation, confirming that the Hong Kong we know, or knew until recently, would have been impossible without the media. The engaging writing reflects the vibrancy of the Hong Kong media during times of “liberal exceptionalism”. The authors manage to capture this spirit of a bygone era in an outstanding fashion that is engaging and invites deep emotional reflections. Although Hong Kong media stops with the national security law which ends “Hong Kong as a liberal enclave under Chinese sovereignty”, theauthors highlight the value of continue studying the territory and its transformations. The conclusion raises questions about how citizens and journalists maintain their values and identity and make sense of the new increasing authoritarian structures. The book underlines the important contribution of a free and dynamic media in creating and protecting liberal societies. In times in which civil liberties and freedoms are under pressure globally this message cannot be overstated.” (Dr Malte Philipp Kaeding, University of Surrey, UK)
“Communication studies and media analysis are vital components of Hong Kong Studies. Any attempt to grapple with the social, cultural, and political dynamics in contemporary Hong Kong society must cover the role of the news media and their impacts at the societal level. The significance of the news media is partly a reflection of the liveliness of the media business in Hong Kong. Such a vibrant news sector, in turn, facilitates the formation of an industry of professional journalists who function like guard dogs for the public. In a partially democratized polity, news media interface between the government and the general public, striking a delicate balance between the state and society. On the one side, political influence can shape news media via market pressure. On the other hand, considering its commercial interest, the media business cannot ignore its popularity among the audience. It strives to promote its readership, connecting news media to the public. As a result, not only will news media inform the public, they also come to play a role in social mobilization. In this regard, the news media are constitutive and constituted in the social setting. The economic and political environment makes its mark on the news media, and the news media, through the dissemination of messages, inform the public by providing them with different interpretive schema. The authors of this title offer an engaging discussion of the interactions between news media and state, market, and civil society. Not only do they give us a solid background to understand the changing dynamics shaping the news media before 1997, but they also offer us an up-to-date analysis of the emerging challenges since Hong Kong’s return to China. Their critical analysis and reflection of the current scene facilitate the readers to ask further questions on the news media and the status of Hong Kong society.” (Prof. Tai Lok Lui, the Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)
Authors and Affiliations
About the authors
Chi Kit Chan (PhD, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2014) is Associate Professor in the School of Communication at the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong. He works mainly in journalism, media studies, and political communication.
Gary Tang (PhD, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2016) is an assistant professor in the Department of Social Science at the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong. His research interests include political communication and social media.
Francis L. F. Lee (PhD, Stanford University, 2003) is Professor and Director at the School of Journalism and Communication, Chinese University of Hong Kong. He works mainly in the areas of journalism studies, political communication, and media and social movements.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Hong Kong Media
Book Subtitle: Interaction Between Media, State and Civil Society
Authors: Chi Kit Chan, Gary Tang, Francis L. F. Lee
Series Title: Hong Kong Studies Reader Series
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1820-9
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Singapore
eBook Packages: Political Science and International Studies, Political Science and International Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022
Hardcover ISBN: 978-981-19-1819-3Published: 12 August 2022
Softcover ISBN: 978-981-19-1822-3Published: 13 August 2023
eBook ISBN: 978-981-19-1820-9Published: 11 August 2022
Series ISSN: 2523-7764
Series E-ISSN: 2523-7772
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XV, 288
Number of Illustrations: 2 b/w illustrations, 3 illustrations in colour
Topics: Asian Politics, Media Sociology, Media and Communication, Social Sciences, general