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Assessing New Media’s Impact on Journalism Crisis Perceptions in Singapore and Hong Kong

Fri, May 25, 9:30 to 10:45, Hilton Prague, Floor: L, Amsterdam

Abstract

New media’s relationship to journalism is a complex one, often described as being able to both alleviate and worsen the democratic deficit of news media systems and influence fears of journalism crisis. Research on new media’s impact on journalism crisis perceptions, however, tends to be set in the Anglo-American context that venerates liberal democracy; little is known about societies susceptible to Western liberal influence but continue to experience some form of authoritarian control. This study focuses on two Asian “global cities” in transition, Singapore and Hong Kong. Through a critical discourse analysis of responses from 160 journalists, this study identifies the need for a three-dimensional investigation – at the material, discursive, and ideological levels – to examine new media’s impact on journalism crisis perceptions in such hybrid societies. Results reveal stark contrasts in perceptions between these two cities, prompting alternative ways to understand state mediation of the press in the digital age.

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