The Listening Post

New politics, new journalism in Hong Kong

A tug of war between legacy and upstart media in Hong Kong. Plus, the untold stories of the Amazon.

On The Listening Post this week: How are new media outlets challenging Hong Kong’s establishment media? Plus, the untold stories of the Amazon.

Hong Kong: Upstart outlets vs legacy media 

Hong Kong’s election last week saw a record turnout of voters. We look at how a new generation of journalists are challenging an establishment media increasingly influenced by Beijing and creating new public forums for young politicians to make their mark.

Talking us through the story: Kris Cheng, editorial director, Hong Kong Free Press; Yuen-Ying Chan, director and professor, HKU Journalism and Media Studies Centre; Robert Chow, HKG Pao; Wai-wa Yau, managing editor, Post 852.

On our radar:

  • Police raid the offices of one of the Maldives’ leading news websites after the broadcast of an Al Jazeera documentary accusing the president of corruption.
  • The people of Gabon are living in a news and information vacuum following a disputed presidential election.
  • A Ukrainian television channel is attacked and blockaded by protesters who accuse it of serving pro-Russian interests.
  • Fox News is accused of hacking the phone records of a reporter at media watchdog, Media Matters.

Untold stories: Covering the Brazilian Amazon 

We travel to the Brazilian Amazon to take a closer look at the stories the country’s mainstream media ignore and talk to the local journalists about the challenges they face. The Listening Post’s Paolo Ganino reports from Manaus.