Professionalism, Politics and Market Force: Survey Studies of Hong Kong Journalists 1996–2006

A comparison of three surveys of Hong Kong journalists from 1996 to 2006 finds that media professionalism remains intact in spite of significant socio-political changes. However, the media's performance has been in doubt as reflected in credibility decline and rising self-censorship. Factors accounting for this apparent disjunction between professionalism and performance include the proliferation of journalism education, the entrenchment of press freedom in Hong Kong's political culture, the journalists’ need for a self-defense and survival strategy, and the media market as a balancing force of political pressure. It is the interplay of all these factors that matters.