Social Media for Frontline Journalists: The Case of Occupy Central in Hong Kong 2014

• In Event: ICA Plenary Interactive Paper/Poster Session II
  In Panel: Theme Interactive Poster Session: Images, Immersions, Investigations: Plurality of Perspectives on Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement (2 Posters)

Abstract

Social media are popular tools for both reporters and citizens in search of first-hand information. A traditional news reporter covering an unfolding event through using the first hand reporting and also calling up people for sources. Yet in the case of Occupy Central, through in-depth interviews with frontline journalists during the Occupy Central movement in Hong Kong from September 28, 2014 to December 15, 2014, we examine how social media (Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram) affect the way news is gathered and disseminated in the midst of an unfolding event. The effect of Internet has been the other sources that reporters would use and they relied heavily on that to develop their news stories.

Keywords: News Boundary, News Gathering, Media Coverage, Occupy Central, Social Media

Author

• Wing Lam Chan, Hong Kong Baptist U