News and Social Media Interview
Ngooi Joelle
Interview questions
Segment 1
Segment 2
Segment 3
Introduction
- What is your age?
- Where do you come from?
Social Media Consumption
- What is the social media climate of your country? (which platforms are frequented most?)
- Explain your social media consumption daily
- What do you use social media for?
- What type of content do you like to see on social media?
- How do you think social media has impacted your life and society?
News and engagement with news
- What is the news climate of your country? (is it censored? what is the significance of news press in how people receive information?
- How do you get your information on the news?
- How often do you read the news? Why and why not.
About my interviewee
Edmond
- 20 years old from Macau, which is an autonomous region on the south coast of China
- Year 3 university student in University of Macau, studying Economics
- Born and raised in Macau
- Speaks Cantonese as his first language, followed by Mandarin, Portuguese and English
Background of Macau
- Macau was a former colony of Portugal until its handover to China in 1999
- Macau became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China, similar to Hong Kong. Under the principle of "One Country, Two Systems," Macau maintains a high degree of autonomy in all areas except defence and foreign affairs.
- The Chief Executive, who is appointed by the central Chinese government, heads the local government. Macau has its own legal system, currency (Macau Pataca), and maintains separate customs and immigration policies.
- Macau's economy heavily relies on tourism and gambling, making it one of the world's leading destinations for casino gaming
- 632,000 internet users by July 2022, comprising 95% of the population
- The official languages are Chinese (Cantonese) and Portuguese, and both languages are widely spoken.
Social Media Climate
- Popular social media platforms in Macau include Facebook, Instagram, WeChat, WhatsApp, and YouTube
- Older generation: Buy newspaper from the street, some of them use Facebook
- Younger generation: Most frequently used social media is Instagram, and WeChat for communication
- Highly censored -> Social media platforms are expected to cooperate with the government in removing or blocking content that is deemed illegal or violates local regulations. This includes content related to sensitive political topics, national security, and public order.
- Post daily life
- See friends' updates
Youtube
Telegram
- Only to connect with international friends
- Call and chat with friends
Screen time: 3 hours daily
Type of content
Psychology
Book Review
- Basketball, Finance videos
Productivity/Personal Growth
Travel Vlog
Censorship
- WeChat is also heavily censored by the Chinese government and with every message sent, the government will monitor. If something is said against the government e.g. bad words used on government, the user may get banned from WeChat.
- According to (Chen, 2022), WeChat is heavily censored and closely monitored at the direction of officials in Beijing. For example, WeChat became the platform where Shanghai’s outraged citizens aired their grievances about being confined to their homes, which then became a virtual protest. To regain control of the narrative, the government ordered internet platforms to wipe posts deemed negative or critical of the policies, sending WeChat censors into overdrive.
Impact of social media
- A form of distraction in daily activities -> can get lost easily in social media due to the vast amount of content
- Make communication within friends and with people in other country more convenient
- Communication done anytime anywhere
News Climate
- The local government is the main media player in Macau; it runs terrestrial TV and radio stations and subsidises the press.
- Macau
- Many people of the older generation watch Macao News Daily (owned by Macau's government) through television.
- Edmond watches news on Youtube and Instagram.
Press
Macao Daily News - main daily, Chinese-language
Va Kio Daily - Chinese-language
Hoje Macau - Portuguese-language daily
Jornal Tribuna de Macau - Portuguese-language daily
Ponto Final - Portuguese-language daily
Macau Daily Times - English-language
MacauNews - online news in English, Chinese
Censorship
- Macao News Daily, which is Macau's main daily radio and television broadcaster is funded by the government and many information is censored. The government will only post news favourable to China and not Hong Kong.
- Portuguese reporters at Macau’s largest TV and radio broadcaster have been given new guidelines requiring them to support the principle of “patriots ruling Hong Kong,” and staff have been told not to disclose information or express opinions contrary to the policies of China and Macau’s government.
- Non-compliance would lead to termination of employment as the government has the authority to grant and revoke licenses, which can create a climate of caution among media professionals.
- The regulatory framework could potentially lead to self-censorship to avoid displeasing the government or powerful interests
Case study:
Chinese broadcasters, for example, would run a brief segment about an informal June 4th event, without specifying that it was to commemorate the Tiananmen Massacre in Beijing in 1989. On the contrary, he said, Portuguese and English outlets would air a news segment several minutes long about the same event. To consume uncensored news, readers rely on items translated from the city’s Portuguese press into Chinese and shared on social media, the reporter said.
TDM reporters are to “[support] the fundamental principle that Hong Kong SAR is governed by patriots,” “support measures adopted by the Macau SAR, in accordance with the law” and withhold “information or opinion contrary to the policies of the Central Government of the [People’s Republic of China] and support measures adopted by the Macau SAR,” according to the new guidelines reviewed by HKFP.
Key Takeaways
Factchecking is important
Self censorship and political influence on social media/news --> future of critical reporting?
Concentration of media ownership
References
Audio recording: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EMr8dZ2Wal5zEsQ5JKXmepdTQMm9uxbB/view?usp=sharing