Contested news values and media performance during the Umbrella Movement

Abstract

Social crises are a huge challenge to the performance of the media. The norms and routines of news making with which journalists comply can become problematic in the context of intensive public sentiment and empathy. News values, including the sacred belief in objective reporting, are questioned in the light of controversies over editorial judgment within and outside the newsroom. I examine the contested news values that manifested in the Umbrella Movement of Hong Kong in 2014. In particular, I focus on the arguments and deliberations regarding news objectivity, which involved several parameters of the performance of the media during this social crisis.

Keywords:

• news values
• media performance
• social crises
• objective reporting
• the Umbrella Movement of Hong Kong

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chi Kit Chan

Chi Kit Chan is Assistant Professor in the Department of Journalism and Communication, Hang Seng Management College, Hong Kong, China. His research interests include journalism, media sociology, risk communication, and cultural identity.