Reflection
To be honest, despite having relflected upon the many preperations to take before conducting an interview, the following interview was one of the least fruitful of them all. I thank Nam for taking his time, there were pieces that were useful to the essay writing and material that was inspiring.
What happened was that I have stepped in and asked for this interview during what must have been his “peak season”. The interview itself has been prosponed multiple times due to his tight scheduel and long working hours, and that when we finally managed the time to conduct this interview over the phone it was during Nam’s bus ride home after work.
Despite him being the most looked forward to interview on my list of interviewees, I have came to realise that no expectations should be had before interviewing anybody of any caliber. He could’ve simply been tired or from what I might have gotten being a distant friend of his : he has always been someone that is not that chatty to begin with. Also, Nam’s take on the future of journalism is very bleak, at one point he even mentioned that : he is not sure if he would still be able to keep his job the next day.
My disappointment is actually a big : what if? Maybe if I caught him on a better day this might have been a better interview? But all in all this could be a lesson learnt in not to settle with an interview after a busy day at work, or maybe, the gloominess that was observed is infact what is going on with the mainstream media today with all the clamping down the HKSAR government has been doing, and Nam is definately one that has been affected by these newly established laws the most.
A Thankyou To Nam
Despite being an interview I hold regrets upon, I would like to take note of a warning given to me by Nam when I first approached him.
When I first told Nam that I want to base my paper on the news and how media has changed during and after the 2019 protests, he straight up told me that no news media groups or even universities have the courage to discuss a topic as such now-a-days.
This made me think and did hesitate a little, but I believe that as long as my intentions and goal is to discover or set a path towards social balance, my search should always be kept more technical based and dissecting events. Let this be a reminder to myself in not walking the line and putting myself in dangerment of the laws in place.
I have Nam to thank for having bring these considerations up.
Former Editor at 01 News, RFA Local Journalist
CN = Chan Yun Nam ME = Andy
ME:
What are the differences in workflow before and during 2019?
CN:
It’s more dangerous in the sense of legal limitations, journalists could be targeted as individuals just for doing their job.
ME:
Are there any precautions the journalists have to take in reporting these happenings?
CN:
Not much, the workflow was pretty much the same. There were more outings for sure and late nights at the office.
ME:
HK01 is web based in nature, what’s the difference between that and formerly working for a Oriental Daily (newspaper)?
CN:
I don’t think there is an obvious difference aside from the fact that the content not having to be printed. When events are urgent, we would still have to quickly react and be quick on our feet.
ME:
HK01 as an online news outlet, do you guys pay attention to any of the direct feedback in front the public?
CN:
I don’t really pay attention or mind anything that is said about us as journalists, there might be a small amount of pressure on us in general be we have learnt to kind of ignore them and focus on our job.
ME:
The news now are fueled by a lot of bias and emotions, what are your thoughts?
CN:
I simply think of it as characteristics of individual news firms. In general, I don’t think that the professionalism of HK news reporting is not that bad at all compared to other Asian places.
ME:
Can you please define professionalism and provide some examples of Asian cities that don’t do as well?
CN:
The effort we put into seeking truths and facts is far greater than places like Malaysia and Taiwan.
ME:
What are some extra considerations you guys would make in order to sell your “paper” more effectively?
CN:
Well yes, but the main point is not in selling papers, the goal is in how we could write and publish in a more simplified manner making it easier for readers to digest and how to make articles go viral, that is the job of a journalist.
ME:
How is this achieved?
CN:
For example if we are creating content on Facebook, what to write and what photos to use in attracting attention.
ME:
How would you rate the quality of Hong Kong readers?
CN:
They are not too bad. My motto is to “not treat readers as idiots” and I am communicating through my own respectable medium. As I said before, every platform (forum or social network) has their unique traits and characteristics, and I don’t allow those biases and comments to strive me away from what I need to do and my point of view.
The things said on the internet in general are pointless, there are no responsibilities to bear. I tend to distance myself away from those.
ME:
Do you think there are things that could be done to improve such a trend?
CN:
These comments come from platforms that are owned by big corporations and there is nothing we can do to change that. There is a difference in general tone and content between mass media and smaller platforms : smaller ones do tend to dig in to higher value meaningful conversations while mass media comments are usually just very black and white. Again these do not and should not affect me as a professional.
The generation now have grown up and are accustomed to the internet, they have a good idea about taking everything they get with caution.
ME:
People now have the choice of getting their news from individual hosts or YouTubers, are there any concerns about that?
CN:
I think what I do is different from what YouTubers provide. We are the first providers and the hosts having read what we produce, read and comment on top of our work. All societies need journalists to produce news material, it is a post that will always exist.
ME:
Last question, with the establishment of the National Security Department, are you guys provided with clear rules of what to or not to publish?
CN:
Of course not.
ANDY WAS HERE
ANDY was here 🤓 