Hong Kong's Market-Driven Journalism and Its Impacts
This paper is going to analyze both positive and adverse impacts of “Market-driven Journalism” in HK.
According to the sayings of John McManus, “ The heart of market journalism is the logic of the market place. A market place is where people come to buy and sell goods and services.” . It implies that business has replaced journalism. Since the principal norms of business are emphasizing profit maximization and production cost minimization, principal norms of journalism are often serving the profit-maximizing interest of the corporate by way of creating entertainment-oriented information.
To begin with, market-driven journalism has its advantages actually. News departments are not controlled by the state government which facilitates to avoid interference from the government. One of the features of market-driven journalism is the operation of news departments being in modern business management by corporate instead of by local government, intellectuals or individual investors. Compared with nowadays, news departments are megaphones of government, political parties and intellectuals in 70’s and 80’s. However, the entire journalism has altered to general public-concerned today unless it wishes for being eliminated from the changeable market where film and television culture is a booming trend worldwide. Without the government control, mass media could deliver sensitive social issues and reflect grassroots’ views towards the government. Moreover, mass media may take responsibility for monitoring the state mechanism. For instance, Chief executive candidate Henry Tang Ying-yen who was a Chief Secretary for Administration of HK before, was reported that there were unauthorized building works of his two adjoined residents at York Road, Kowloon Tong by almost all HK press. Even though Tang Ying-yen was a government official, in order to further find out the truth of incident, the press even rent 8 contractors for investigation. The incident has provoked widespread
According to the sayings of John McManus, “ The heart of market journalism is the logic of the market place. A market place is where people come to buy and sell goods and services.” . It implies that business has replaced journalism. Since the principal norms of business are emphasizing profit maximization and production cost minimization, principal norms of journalism are often serving the profit-maximizing interest of the corporate by way of creating entertainment-oriented information.
To begin with, market-driven journalism has its advantages actually. News departments are not controlled by the state government which facilitates to avoid interference from the government. One of the features of market-driven journalism is the operation of news departments being in modern business management by corporate instead of by local government, intellectuals or individual investors. Compared with nowadays, news departments are megaphones of government, political parties and intellectuals in 70’s and 80’s. However, the entire journalism has altered to general public-concerned today unless it wishes for being eliminated from the changeable market where film and television culture is a booming trend worldwide. Without the government control, mass media could deliver sensitive social issues and reflect grassroots’ views towards the government. Moreover, mass media may take responsibility for monitoring the state mechanism. For instance, Chief executive candidate Henry Tang Ying-yen who was a Chief Secretary for Administration of HK before, was reported that there were unauthorized building works of his two adjoined residents at York Road, Kowloon Tong by almost all HK press. Even though Tang Ying-yen was a government official, in order to further find out the truth of incident, the press even rent 8 contractors for investigation. The incident has provoked widespread
References: John McManus “Chapter One : The Rise of Market-Driven Journalism” Market-Driven Journalism Sages Publications,194, p1-13 John McManus “Chapter Ten : So What? Market Journalism’s Effect on Society” Market-Driven Journalism Sages Publications,194, p183-197 第五章 蘇鑰機 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Tang http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_news_release