A large variety of news formats are available in Hong Kong, including news video highlight packages, long-form news, and feature stories, news forums, and news-based satire programmes. However, the variety in television news formats has recently come under threat with the decline in press freedom. RTHK decided to briefly suspend its long-running satirical show Headliner, which came under attack for insulting the police. The Communication Authority issued RTHK with a warning, and the government asked for a full review of RTHK’s programming, prompting fear among newsroom workers over increasing political pressure (Pomfret & Torode, 2020).
The post-1997 Hong Kong media market is highly competitive. Private media outlets face challenges from the 24-hour news cycle of international and local news media accessed via cable or satellite, Internet broadcasting, and various other news media. The media have become highly market-oriented and present news in sensationalist forms, such as infotainment, news with sexual and violent content, and celebrity news (Ngok, 2007). One such example is the animated news produced by Apple Daily. Launched in 2010, animated news reconstructs stories through a mode of mixing news footage with melodramatic animation. While certain practitioners argue that the animation format fills missing scenes in covering a news event, media critics worry that such a practice may compromise the objectivity and accuracy of news stories (Lo & Cheng, 2020). To appeal to their audience, many new media formats have also now emerged in what is a small and competitive market. In addition to animated news, this includes virtual-reality news and live-streamed news broadcasting. Media outlets also cover a wide range of topics, including politics, finance, culture, tourism, current issues, and weather. Phone-in talk shows also serve as a form of political infotainment (Lee, 2002).
