11 June 2008

Yesterday at 8 a.m., World Wildlife Fund (WWF) presented a petition signed by nearly 60,000 people asking the Hong Kong government to take immediate action to PROTECT our over-fished, over-polluted harbor and seas ... 60,000 people want the government to take steps to SAVE OUR SEAS!

Does this get reported in the evening news report? Not a word! Not a whimper!
(Read about it here: http://www.icubed.us/node/1060)

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING!
Instead, ATV, one of two free terrestrial stations in Hong Kong spent its entire half-hour late newscast reporting on the laughable attack on CE Donald Tsang's political appointments and their salaries! The name of each official along with her/her exact salary was flashed on TV screens across Hong Kong for all to see.

News editors seem to consider issues of global concern and lasting impact such as the survival and health of our seas as a non-issue; instead they consider the fuss over forcing the government to reveal explicitly the exact salaries of the newly appointed officials WHOM,it MUST BE NOTED, are only allowed to earn salaries within fixed salary ranges as Hong Kong public officials, to be newsworthy! Yes, a number of politically motivated arguments have been taking up the news for nearly a month with regard to the appointments, but does this story justify the time and attention it has been given?

I'm left wondering whether this inability to have good judgment on what is actually newsworthy in the world today is a result of commercial reasons or whether these News decision makers are actually THAT incompetent.

Is THIS what they mean by "democracy" in Hong Kong, that legislative councilors are allowed to harass the chief executive about non-issues when there is so much that needs attention to assure Hong Kong of an international reputation as cities like Shanghai gain international prestige? Hong Kong is increasingly becoming nothing more than a minor province of China, with its never ending bickering and unimpressive grasp of world issues. Gone is the dynamism of a city with international glamour and relevance.

TVB, the other terrestrial channel in Hong Kong, at least reported on a failed protest against gas prices by irate truck drivers who parked their big trucks in the middle of the financial district and blocked traffic for an hour or so.

Opinions are like junk mail; everyone has them. Once upon a time respected newscasters acted as junk mail filters, filtering out the noise, hysteria and marketing-messages or political-shenanigans posing-as-news so that the truly need-to-know newsworthy stories that merit our collective attention got our attention. THIS IS THE JOB OF THE PRESS CORPS!

It is the JOB of a journalist to report on the Truth so people KNOW the Truth of what is happening in their world. Environmental degradation, the dying oceans and fish extinction, pollution caused by irresponsible human activity, these are issues that threaten human survival. If a burglar was threatening to steal fish from every household in Hong Kong, you'd BET this would be a newsworthy story! The reality of the threat to sea life is that all but farmed fish could be lost from our menus forever.

It's a sad reflection on us that NEWS DECISION MAKERS don't value the health of our planet and the future and survival of our ecosystems enough to give these important stories air time!

A thoughtful piece about the efficacy of environmental activism by BASI-20:
http://www.icubed.us/node/1070

Margaret Chen
Editor in Chief
iCUBED.us

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