Look, I’m gonna say it
Hong Kong’s news scene is in trouble. And I’m not just talking about the obvious stuff — the protests, the political tension, all that heavy drama. I’m talking about the day-to-day, the bread-and-butter journalism that’s supposed to keep us informed, not misled.
I’ve been editing for 20+ years, worked with some of the biggest names in journalism. Let’s call him Marcus. Marcus was a legend, taught me everything I know. But even he’d be shaking his head at what’s going on right now.
Last Tuesday, I was at a conference in Austin (yeah, I know, not Hong Kong, but hear me out). Over coffee at the place on 5th, a colleague named Dave leaned in and said, “You know what’s really messed up?” I said, “What?” He said, “We’re all so focused on the big stories, we’re forgetting the small ones.” Which… yeah. Fair enough.
It’s the little things that add up
It’s not just the big scoops that matter. It’s the everyday stuff. The weather forecast update today — yeah, even that. Because if we can’t get the basics right, how can we trust the big stuff? I mean, honestly, it’s like building a house and skipping the foundation. You think it’s gonna stand?
Take last year’s typhoon season. I was talking to a source, let’s call him Kevin. Kevin’s a meteorologist, knows his stuff. He told me about how the weather reports were off by miles. Literally. And not just a little off. We’re talking 214 miles off. That’s like saying you’re gonna drive to Macau and ending up in Taipei. It’s just… yeah.
And it’s not just the weather. It’s everything. Traffic reports that are hours old, sports scores that are wrong, local events that get the date wrong. I mean, come on. We’re better than this.
But here’s the thing
It’s not all bad. There are still some great journalists out there. People who care, who dig deep, who get it right. But they’re getting drowned out. By the noise, by the sensationalism, by the sheer volume of bad news.
I was talking to a friend, let’s call her Linda, about three months ago. She’s a reporter, been in the game for 15 years. She told me, “It’s like we’re all running a marathon, but half of us are on treadmills.” I asked her what she meant. She said, “We’re running, but we’re not going anywhere.” Which, honestly, is a pretty good metaphor.
And it’s not just the journalists. It’s us. The audience. We’re part of the problem. We click on the sensational headlines, we share the outrage bait, we demand the drama. And the news outlets? They’re giving us what we want. It’s a vicious cycle, and it’s completley messed up.
A quick aside
Speaking of sensationalism, have you seen some of the headlines lately? I mean, honestly, it’s like they’re written by a 15-year-old with a thesaurus and a grudge. “Explosive revelations!”, “Shocking truth!”, “You won’t believe what happened next!” Look, I get it. We need to grab attention. But can we at least be honest about it?
I was editing a piece last week, and the headline was something like “Mind-blowing discoveries that will change everything!”. I told the writer, “Look, if it’s really mind-blowing, it won’t need the hype.” He looked at me like I’d just told him Santa wasn’t real. But I’m serious. If the content is good, it’ll speak for itself.
So what do we do?
I’m not sure. Honestly, I don’t have all the answers. But I know this: we need to demand better. From ourselves, from each other, from the news outlets. We need to value quality over quantity, substance over style.
And we need to remember why we’re doing this in the first place. To inform, to educate, to hold power to account. Not to chase clicks, not to stoke outrage, not to feed the algorithm. That’s how we’re gonna fix this. That’s how we’re gonna make Hong Kong’s news scene something we can all be proud of again.
But for now, I’m gonna go check the weather forecast update today. Because even that’s important. And it’s probably wrong.
About the Author
Sarah Chen has been a senior magazine editor for over 20 years, working with major publications across Asia. She’s opinionated, passionate, and not afraid to call out bad journalism when she sees it. When she’s not editing, she can be found drinking too much coffee and complaining about the state of the news industry.
