Hong Kong Media: Interaction Between Media, State and Civil Society (Hong Kong Studies Reader Series)

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. Praise for Hong Kong Media Contents List of Figures List of Tables 1 Introduction Theoretical Considerations: Media, State, Market and Civil Society Media and the State Media and the Market Media and Civil Society Media, State, Market, and Civil Society The Context: Post-Handover Hong Kong and the Politics of Liberal Exceptionalism Before 1997: Colonial Hong Kong 1997–2019: Politics of Liberal Exceptionalism 2019 and Afterward: The Anti-ELAB Movement and Its Repercussions Final Remarks and Chapter Outline References 2 Press Freedom and Political Change Brief History of Press Freedom in the Colonial Era Political Economy of the Post-handover Hong Kong Media Professionalism, Self-Censorship, and Constitutive Censorship Evolution of the Media System and the Implications of Digital Transformation Press Freedom between 2012 and 2019: From China to Hong Kong After the National Security Law Concluding Remarks References 3 The News Professionals Understanding News Professionals Colonial Hong Kong: A Historical Continency to the News Profession Post-handover Hong Kong: Defensive News Profession Under Liberal Enclave Journalistic Corps in the 2010s and Beyond: In Search of a New Paradigm Conclusion References 4 The News Audience Levels of News Consumption and Interest News Consumption and Participation Through Digital and Social Media Perceptions of Press Freedom and Trust in the Media Willingness to Pay for Online News Concluding Discussion References 5 Transformation of Media, Social Values, and Hong Kong Identification The Birth of Hong Kong Identity in the Post-War Period Government’s Initiative of an Accountable Government and RTHK The Rise of “Local” Newspapers Hong Kongers in TV Drama and Cinema Identity Crisis During the Early Post-Handover Period Identity Shift in the Second Decade of the HKSAR Intertwining Impact of Value Change and Social Media on Identity Shift Hong Kong Identification After the Anti-ELAB Protest Concluding Discussion: Socio-Political Structure, Media Development, and Hong Kong Identity Phase I: The Birth of Hong Kong Identity Phase II: Post-Handover Anxiety Phase III: The Rise of Localism Phase IV: Post-NSL Period References 6 Media and Social Mobilisation Political Opportunity Structure and Social Protests in Hong Kong “Rule of Mass Media” and July 1 Rally Digitally Enabled Actions at the Early Stage The Umbrella Movement and the Disputes of the Movement Leader The Anti-ELAB Movement—LIHKG as the Window of Public Opinion Pro-Government Online Media and Counter-Mobilisation Pro-Government Online Influencers Conclusion References 7 Final Remarks Structure Versus Agency in the Struggle for Press Freedom in Hong Kong The Question of Media Effects Digitalisation and Media Politics The Question of Generalisability Missing Topics The Future of Media Research in or on Hong Kong References References Index