The “Evil Law Diary”: How to Destroy a News Department
BeWater(19 Jun) Clear skies, nighttime in Mongkok, a lot of people queuing outside a small shop as though nothing has happened.
I rushed back home to watch the last episode of Headliner. Anthony Wong Yiu-ming sang his new song, “Summer of Freedom". Anthony said he has many different ideas he wants to express in his creation. He does not want to focus on politics only, but he feels helpless and frustrated about the current situation. I also want to write something about travelling, hiking and not only politics. I feel I have no choice but to continue writing about politics while Hong Kong is on the decline.
The Emperor’s Mother (a character in Headliner mocking Carrie Lam) said “we hope to meet again”, which was a lie. It would have been difficult to say “we will definitely come back" as it is highly uncertain.
The world of media is wailing today.
The last episode of the season of Headliner was aired today. Its future is uncertain. Facing headwinds from the forthcoming National Security Law, the show is in a dire situation and there is no specified date to meet again.Even if it does come back one day, it will for sure be under a harmonious but intolerable veneer. Perhaps, the personnel at Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) will be completely different by then.
Today was the 25th anniversary of the Apple Daily Newspaper. A special edition was issued. Editors understood that their boss, Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, is now a prime target of the power elites/gangsters. They celebrated the 25th anniversary because they cannot see a 30th anniversary celebration at this point.Someone proposed "The End of Apple Daily" as the title of the special edition. In the end, it was entitled "Not the End of Apple Daily". There is no reason to surrender. They will treat every day like it is the final one and persist.
Today, there was news about a change of management at Now TV News. The rumour is that Chen Tie-biao,a retiree and former executive at TVB will be the new boss of the Now TV news department and he will bring in a team from CCTVB.
I want to talk about this point.
What does an untrustworthy government which likes to lie and deceive its citizens hate the most? A credible news media for sure. Asurvey shows the creditability ratings of Now TV and RTHK are among the top two. Naturally, they are the prime targets for oppression because of their remarkable accomplishment. (The latest rumour is there will also be a change in the senior management of i-Cable News.)
So, how do you destroy a news department? The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is good at this - by replacing management, manipulating an organization’s structure through personnel changes, setting new targets, and controlling daily operations (applicable to any organization). It is more complicated to do so at RTHK since a majority of the senior management are civil servants. There is a different procedure for transfers and promotion. However, the deputy Director of Broadcasting (programmes) at RTHK has already resigned. Also, it will not be renewing the contract for Leung Ka Wing, Director of Broadcasting, next year. The organization’s personnel will change dramatically.
Creditability is difficult to build but it is easy to destroy. The topic of my doctoral thesis was how to destroy a television network. Summarized below are points on how a senior executive can manipulate operating procedures. Let's start by discussing how the daily operation of a reporting team can be dictated:
- Personally decide on daily reporting schedule; keep close contact with the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government (LOCPG); be prepared to add last minute items to the schedule.
- Have more interviews with senior government officials; more reporting on official government press release; have more interviews with patriotic protesters and report less of those with opposing views.
- Preference for “obedient” and junior reporters who will execute orders faithfully and are easily influenced
- For out-of-favour journalists, assign jobs that require long-distance travel or menial tasks in a bid to demoralize them so that they will give up in despair.
- Forget that the reporter may have worked hard for the assignment, if the work is not satisfactory, leave it aside until the news is outdated and then broadcast the report 2 or 3 times only in a 24 hour-cycle so that its impact is negligible
- Select reporters based in China carefully, be on the safe side. Reporters cannot be too proactive or it could embarrass the big boss.
Generally speaking, their attitude is to be wary of reporters who are highly competent and can think critically. They do not want overly-experienced reporters because it can be a challenge to manage them. This should not come as a surprise since it is happening in all industries.
Turning news departments into sweatshops:
- Putting profits first (the objective of the organization is to make a profit), launch new programming in order to gain more big sponsors. However, staffing will not be increased. Therefore, reporters cannot focus on serious news reporting because they are over-worked.
- Focus on new projects which can make more money, such as the belt-and-road initiative, the high-speed railway network, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the China dream, etc. Praise China, follow the mainstream, do not criticize and do not politicize. In the end, programmes will change completely just for the sake of profits.
- Whenever a major assignment comes up, use the lack of resources as an excuse to make things difficult and scrutinize sensitive topics .
Ability to control through the promotion and demotion of personnel:
- Unlike an organization where a majority of employees are civil servants, it is easier to restructure or lay-off employees in a commercial organization.
- The big boss has the ultimate authority to promote or demote anyone.
The aforementioned strategies can be called “adverse management", which takes an organization on a path that goes in the opposite direction of building credibility. In conclusion, it is natural selection; survival of those who are obedient; an elimination of the capable ones so that the inferior will survive.
Source: The Stand News