Abstract
The Internet is a powerful tool and sends texts and photos out to the world at the press of a button. In Hong Kong, over a thousand nude photos of famous artists were uploaded to the Internet in the beginning of 2008. The photos displayed on the Web ruined reputations of several female artistes. The incident rocked the Greater Chinese Community and became a media spectacle in the age of Web 2.0. It even made the news page of major newspapers around the world, including the New York Times.
This bizarre event first started when a male artiste's damaged notebook computer was sent to a computer shop for repair. The many nude photos and videos inside the hard drive were secretly copied without the artiste's knowledge. Some of these nude photos began to surface in different websites and reported in the news in late January. For more than two weeks in a row, this incident monopolized the front pages of major newspapers in Hong Kong as more and more nude photos were released. Several people who uploaded these photos were arrested by the police.
This paper examines the strategies of the traditional media in covering this Web-based sexual scandal, with particular emphasis on the newspapers' rituals in covering a major social outrage, and the ethical dilemma between privacy and freedom of expression, news media's social responsibility and market-driven imperative.
The paper employs content analysis and interview as methods to study this incident. Different types of newspapers in Hong Kong, including the mass circulation papers, middle class papers, elite/financial papers, pro-China party papers and free papers will be studied. Some reporters and editors will also be interviewed to gauge their views and reporting strategies in this media saga.
The analysis will mainly focus on several themes:
(1) Hyping: how do the newspapers "hype" the incident. Many newspapers crossed the ethical line and filled the news pages with indecent photos and vulgar descriptions. They argued that the coverage did not invade privacy as it was an act of "exposing the truth". To them, it was a matter of free speech. However, the coverage was criticized as rubbing salt on the victims' wound and had negative moral implications for the society.
(2) Framing: the newspapers tried to frame the incident in different stages. Started out as a sex scandal, it then became a case of police mishandling the investigation and followed by the issue of online freedom of expression. At a later stage it turned into a public outcry against poor media ethical practice. Market-driven journalism simply overrode social responsibility.
(3) "Netizens" as news source: since it was primarily an event happened in cyberspace, and the artistes concerned were unwilling to talk about it, the newspapers had to involve the generally unreliable netizens and get their views and quotes in their news coverage. This strategy and the interaction between traditional media and online information source deserve analysis. The print newspaper as a vital amplifying link in the spiralling of public concern can showcase its continued importance despite the advance of the online media.
In summary, this paper will explicate the hyping strategies, framing techniques and news source emphasis in the coverage of this online nude photos scandal. There will be discussion on the ethical issues involved and interaction between the traditional and online media in the web 2.0 environment.
This bizarre event first started when a male artiste's damaged notebook computer was sent to a computer shop for repair. The many nude photos and videos inside the hard drive were secretly copied without the artiste's knowledge. Some of these nude photos began to surface in different websites and reported in the news in late January. For more than two weeks in a row, this incident monopolized the front pages of major newspapers in Hong Kong as more and more nude photos were released. Several people who uploaded these photos were arrested by the police.
This paper examines the strategies of the traditional media in covering this Web-based sexual scandal, with particular emphasis on the newspapers' rituals in covering a major social outrage, and the ethical dilemma between privacy and freedom of expression, news media's social responsibility and market-driven imperative.
The paper employs content analysis and interview as methods to study this incident. Different types of newspapers in Hong Kong, including the mass circulation papers, middle class papers, elite/financial papers, pro-China party papers and free papers will be studied. Some reporters and editors will also be interviewed to gauge their views and reporting strategies in this media saga.
The analysis will mainly focus on several themes:
(1) Hyping: how do the newspapers "hype" the incident. Many newspapers crossed the ethical line and filled the news pages with indecent photos and vulgar descriptions. They argued that the coverage did not invade privacy as it was an act of "exposing the truth". To them, it was a matter of free speech. However, the coverage was criticized as rubbing salt on the victims' wound and had negative moral implications for the society.
(2) Framing: the newspapers tried to frame the incident in different stages. Started out as a sex scandal, it then became a case of police mishandling the investigation and followed by the issue of online freedom of expression. At a later stage it turned into a public outcry against poor media ethical practice. Market-driven journalism simply overrode social responsibility.
(3) "Netizens" as news source: since it was primarily an event happened in cyberspace, and the artistes concerned were unwilling to talk about it, the newspapers had to involve the generally unreliable netizens and get their views and quotes in their news coverage. This strategy and the interaction between traditional media and online information source deserve analysis. The print newspaper as a vital amplifying link in the spiralling of public concern can showcase its continued importance despite the advance of the online media.
In summary, this paper will explicate the hyping strategies, framing techniques and news source emphasis in the coverage of this online nude photos scandal. There will be discussion on the ethical issues involved and interaction between the traditional and online media in the web 2.0 environment.
| Original language | English |
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| Publication status | Published - Jul 2008 |
| Event | International Association for Media and Communication Research Conference, IAMCR 2008: Media and Global Divides - Stockholm, Sweden Duration: 20 Jul 2008 → 25 Jul 2008 https://iamcr.org/congress/stockholm-2008 (Link to conference website) |
Conference
| Conference | International Association for Media and Communication Research Conference, IAMCR 2008 |
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| Country/Territory | Sweden |
| City | Stockholm |
| Period | 20/07/08 → 25/07/08 |
| Internet address |
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