Selection of news is mainly the work of journalists, but sometimes their decisions are affected by some invisible hands, organizations and governments.
The presentation of news in broadcasting organizations is decided in editorial or section head meetings, usually an hour or two before news broadcasts.
Assignment editors and executive editors participate in deciding the priority of news stories, the time allocated to each piece, and which one of them is to be reported live.
Group decisions by editors directly affect the effort put into a news story. They choose the topics for news follow-up, allocate jobs among reporters and distribute technical resources among reporting teams.
They also decide the presentation format of news reports — the exact package of news audience receive everyday.
Mr. Mak Kwai Yuen, assistant managing editor of the News and Public Affairs Department of Asia Television Limited, tends to give priority to news that directly affects the livelihood of the masses.
“What the public is most concerned about is their livelihood,” said Mr. Mak, “so this is our leading direction of news editing.”
Editors also rank news stories by the shock effect they bring, and pieces with good scenes and well-written reports usually gain more credits.
In scheduling international news stories, Mr. Mak focuses on the political and economic consequences they bring to the relevant nation or to the world.
An example he cited was the civil war in ex-Yugoslavia.
It was not weighted heavily unless there were come to some breakthroughs.
In the commercial TV industry, an important selling point of companies to their advertisers is the audience ratings of the programs. News and public affairs programs are no exception.
However, Mr. Mak said that news editing is usually free from rating concerns.
He emphasized that major guidelines for broadcast news is strictly controlled by the government.
Moreover, Mr. Mak said their point of view is seldom hindered by the economic interests of their organizations.
“We could have a detailed report of anti-smoking campaigns and propaganda although tobacco companies are our major clients,” he said.
They have a standard of self-restraint. “We avoid reporting juvenile suicide and rape cases in great detail,” said Mr. Mak, “as our reports surely affect the public.”
During the transitional period, the media are suspected to be more and more liable to political influences.
Dr. Eric Ma, assistant professor in the Department of Journalism and Communication at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, said that in recent years the political factor commands a growing influence in newsreporting.
The arrests of several journalists reporting China news and the reprimand of Hong Kong journalists by some senior Chinese officials indicated that freedom of speech is being restricted, he said.
“The Xi Yang case is a warning to Hong Kong journalists,” said Dr. Ma.
As a result of the political influence, some broadcasting companies have been suspected of practising self-censorship in recent years.
Self-censorship is the changing of reporting style and content in response to expected environmental, particularly political, influences.
Mr. Lo Wing Hung is a former executive editor in the News and Public Affairs Department of Asia Television Limited. He said, “It is difficult to judge if an organization is practising self-censorship.”
Said Miss Joyce Nip, assistant professor in the Department of Journalism at Hong Kong Baptist University: “We cannot determine whether a decision is made from a self-censoring motive without the knowledge of the handling methods of editors and reporters.”
Even the “victims” of suspected self-censorship cases could not say for sure.
In May 1994, six senior journalists resigned from ATV because ATV refused to broadcast an exclusive documentary about the June 4 incident.
The management of ATV explained their decision like this: First, the case was outdated and of little prominence. Second, nobody could prove the film’s authenticity.
Mr. Lo Wing Hung and Miss Trinni Choy Pui Ying were two of those who resigned.
“Broadcasting companies should be responsible to the public since they use airwaves, a public asset, to distribute information. That means the public has the right to know,” said Miss Choy in recalling the event.
Said Mr. Lo: “We have no evidence to prove that it was a case of self-censorship, we can only make a guess.”
The act of management overriding the professional views of journalists, and the loss of mutual trust were the major reasons for their resignation.
“Yet we don’t know whether the management section was under political pressure form the Chinese authorities,” said Miss Choy.
Self-censorship and increasing political influences over news reporting cast a shadow over the future of media work.
A survey conducted by three academic researchers in 1990 revealed that 69 percent of the journalists who responded thought press freedom would be subjected to a certain degree of control after 1997.
Governmental control can be “soft” or “hard”. Many governments control the media indirectly by manipulating the information sources.
Some interfere directly by instructing what should be reported and what should not.
Said Ms. Nip: “Worrying without actually doing something is just a passive way to face the change.
“Media workers should handle their work carefully and prepare themselves for the future.”
Dr. Ma believes that healthy, cross-border interaction can be established with the Mainland media after the handover.
“Journalists should persist in guarding the freedom of press and inform the public and colleagues if any external pressure arises,” he said.
Dr. Ma also provided some advice to the public to secure freedom of press and speech.
They can voice their opinions and feedback through different channels, such as phone-in programs.
They can also reflect their opinions in their consumption habits.
“As commercial organizations, media vehicles can never ignore the responses from the audience,” he said.
