Formal rules or training are rare in Hong Kong newsrooms, with respondents stating that their newsrooms relied mainly on the individual professionalism of journalists. Professional practices are imprinted in the working process, and new staff usually learn by observation and experience. A few media organisations do provide occasional in-house journalistic training for their staff, but the more usual practice for self-motivated newsroom workers is to voluntarily join courses offered outside their companies.
The respondents emphasised that the discussion of news value is part of their work routines. Reporters or editors may initiate story ideas, and three to five individuals sometimes check the articles or videos before publication. More checks and edits are run on print versions than online news stories. Although the already-cited article 27 of the Basic Law states that “Hong Kong residents shall have freedom of speech, of the press and of publication; freedom of association, of assembly, of procession and of demonstration; and the right and freedom to form and join trade unions, and to strike,” some respondents suggested that senior reporters tended to intervene in their editorial decisions if they touched on politically sensitive issues.
