Newsletter No. 462

4 462 • 4.9.2015 香 港報業近來山雨欲來,歷史悠久的大報停刊,走大眾 化路線的雜誌也要精簡人手。一時間,網魅幢幢,在 新媒體和免費報夾擊之下,傳統印刷媒體似乎左支右絀,險 象環生。 中大新聞及傳播學院教授 蘇鑰機 最近發表了他的研究,結 論是雖然網媒興起造成市場碎片化,但經過實證數據分析, 新聞市場仍然是傳統印刷媒體的主場(2015年8月13日《明 報》)。《中大通訊》走訪蘇教授,就他研究結果的兩點做了 跟進報道。 「一台獨大」時代來臨 跟以往的「二龍爭珠」局面不同,每個媒體類別都出現了唯 一的「龍頭」機構。這並不意味着媒體市場萎縮,競爭與選 擇逐漸減少,而是市場的領導者地位益加明顯。據蘇教授解 釋,小小一個香港,竟然有十七份日報,比世界任何其他城 市都要多,所以香港的報業市場非常擠擁,高度分化,廣告 商要在這麼多新聞媒體(每個主要媒體又有自己的平台)作 出選擇,希望得到最大的覆蓋率是可以理解的。 現代社會資訊泛濫,一般人也沒可能花太多時間在每一種媒 體或每一個平台上,所以行業的平衡落在一個較為懸殊的點 上。個別紙媒體受時代或經營模式淘汰,對整體格局影響不 大,香港的報業市場仍然充滿活力,讀者仍然不乏選擇。 純網媒強項在評論 與一般人的觀感不同,新興網媒對傳統報業的威脅尚是有 限,蘇教授認為這是由於新聞業的重點仍然是新聞資訊, 而純網媒的強項在於評論而非新聞報道。傳統新聞機構在 人手規模、專業運作及信譽都享有優勢,在這個基礎上發展 自家的網上平台,盡用經濟效益,甚至積極探討新穎的報 道(如影音互動)形式,已經做出了一定成績。蘇教授認為 這些機構只要避免網上網下內容完全重複,並針對目標受眾 有策略地提供資訊服務,那麼業績及市場佔有率都必有所 增加。 基於以上種種理由,大部分網媒暫未可以在發掘新聞和跟進 調查方面跟傳統媒體爭一日長短。但純網媒的起家,最先是 一群博客把自己的文章上載,議時論政,把香港報刊的一大 特色—副刊專欄文章—發揮得更淋漓盡致。在資訊科技 與傳媒生態高速變化的今天,在線媒體可以跳出框框,幾乎 實時地與更多受眾互動,頗適合香港地小人多,文化混蕪, 流動裝置普及的現實。議題多元是評論的沃土,也是純網媒 發展的必要條件。 網上新聞在歐美各國少說也有十多年歷史,《紐約書評》的 作者 Michael Massing 回顧了自2005年 The Huffington Post 成立以來十年間美國業界的發展,也得出和蘇教授一 樣的結論:「從影響方面看,傳統新聞機構仍保有絕對的優 勢。」(2015年6月25日) A storm is brewing for Hong Kong’s print media. Long- standing newspapers have closed shop, mainstream magazines are retrenching. The spectre of digitization looms large as new media and free newspapers pose challenges to conventional print media. In a recently published article, Prof. Clement Y.K. So of the School of Journalism and Communication concludes that much as the rise of digital media has led to market fragmentation, statistics show that traditional print media are still the major players in the market (13 August 2015, Ming Pao ). The CUHK Newsletter talked to Professor So on two findings in his research. The Coming of Monopoly As opposed to the ‘Cain and Abel’ scenario of the past, a single leader now dominates every media category. This does not imply a shrinking of the media market or a dwindling of choices and competition. Rather it points to the leader having a more obvious leadership position. Professor So explains that Hong Kong’s highly-differentiated press market is crammed with 17 dailies, more than any other city in the world. It is understandable that advertisers select among the many news media outlets (and every outlet has its own platforms) in the hope of getting maximum reach. In this age of information oversupply, no one spends a lot of time on one type of media or platform alone. The industry’s equilibrium has come to rest on a near case of monopoly. The demise of individual print media due to outmoded operational models or other reasons has little impact on the overall picture. Hong Kong’s newspaper market is still vibrant, offering readers no shortage of options. Commentary the Forte of Digital Media Contrary to popular belief, digital media pose very little threat to traditional news media. Professor So thinks this is because news reporting is still core to the industry, whereas the strength of purely digital media lies in commentary. Traditional news organizations enjoy an edge in terms of manpower, professionalism and credibility. Some of them have managed to develop, with some success, their own digital platforms, maximizing on cost-effectiveness, and even explored new ways of reporting (such as videos and other interactive modes). He believes that as long as they avoid duplicating content on their print and digital platforms, and ensure their information services are strategically aligned with the tastes of their target audiences, their performance and market share will grow. Due to these reasons, most digital media are no match for traditional media in news reporting and investigative journalism. Ironically, the online media were born when bloggers uploaded their own current affairs commentaries. This has in fact taken the prominent feature of Hong Kong dailies—the supplement columns—to a new level. With rapidly developing information technology and an ever- changing media ecology, digital media’s ability to interact with a large audience in almost-real-time is quite ideal for a small and densely-populated city where culture is eclectic and mobile devices are ubiquitous. Commentary thrives on the mushrooming of social issues or even controversies—an essential condition for the thriving of digital media. Digital news has been around for over a decade in the US and Europe. Michael Massing reviews the situation in the US in the decade since the birth of The Huffington Post in 2005, and his observation coincides with Professor So’s: ‘When it comes to impact, traditional news organizations retain an overwhelming edge.’ (25 June, 2015, New York Review of Books ) 強弩更強:風眼中的傳統印刷媒體 Traditional Print Media: the spider or the fly? 收費報紙 所佔比例 網上媒體 所佔比例 蘋果日報 32.2% Facebook 14.7% 東方日報 18.3% Yahoo 10.6% 明報 7.3% 熱血時報 1.3% 星島日報 2.7% Google 1.1% 太陽報 2.3% 高登討論區 1.1% 信報 2.2% YouTube 0.8% 經濟日報 1.4% 立場新聞 0.6% 南華早報 1.0% 香港討論區 0.6% 文匯報 0.7% 獨立媒體 0.4% 成報 0.2% 852郵報 0.3% 新報 0.2% 輔仁網 0.3% 大公報 0.1% 謎米 0.2% 免費報紙 巴士的報 0.1% 頭條日報 6.9% 破折號 0.1% am730 2.1% Uwants 0.1% 晴報 1.6% 都市日報 1.3% 其他媒體 虎報 0.1% 包括電視台、電台及個人渠道 日期:2015年7月14至21日電話訪問 問題:「有關社會政治的資訊,你最經常從哪個電視台、電台、哪份報 紙雜誌、哪個網上媒體、社交媒體,抑或親戚朋友處得知呢?」 回應人數:1,006名十五歲或以上人士 Photo by ISO staff 洞明集 In Plain View

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