Uncovering alternative ‘journalism crisis’ narratives in Singapore and Hong Kong: When state influences interact with Western liberal ideals in a changing media landscape

Abstract

The topic of journalism crisis has become increasingly pertinent as criticisms mount against news media systems that have prioritized private over public interests and/or failed to meet the challenges brought on by the Internet. Much research on journalism crisis, however, is set in the Anglo-American context and couched within a liberal-democratic ideological framework; little is known about how journalism crisis is experienced in societies that may be heavily exposed to Western liberal ideals but whose media systems continue to experience some form of authoritarian influence or control. Evaluating all journalism realities through the Western lens may create erroneous perceptions that alternative systems are lacking or deficient. This study uses a framework of crisis narratives to shed light on the web of structural-causal factors that might be influencing fears of journalism crisis in such hybrid societies. Establishing first the crisis narratives most commonly discussed in dominant journalism crisis literature, this study then notes the selective adoption of liberal ideologies by countries outside the Western world, as imperial influences interact with local histories and cultures. Of interest are two Asian ‘global cities’ in transition, Singapore and Hong Kong. Through surveys and in-depth interviews, this study uncovers stark differences in the journalism crisis perceptions of news-workers in Singapore and Hong Kong and argues the existence of a ‘crisis of legitimacy’ narrative, pertaining to the system of governance, that must be accounted for when studying journalism’s decline outside of the Western context.