Journalists Share How COVID-19 is Affecting Media Coverage in Hong Kong

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has disrupted a wide range of industries around the world. And the communications and media sectors are no exception. Over the past month, many public relations and marketing events have been postponed or cancelled due to health concerns. Working from home has also become the new norm for some communications professionals and journalists as part of remote work arrangements by their companies.

PR Newswire has been keeping a close watch on how the media in Hong Kong has been operating amid the Coronavirus situation. We catch up with five journalists from South China Morning Post, The Standard, Hong Kong Economic Times, Metro Pop and DigFin. These media outlets cover a diverse spectrum of topics, from finance, lifestyle to general news. As the virus spreads, we find out how they are looking out for news and how their work operations have changed.

Luisa Tam, Senior Editor and Columnist, South China Morning Post 

News Focus

PR and marketing professionals should respond swiftly with fresh media angles whenever the government introduces a new measure to curb the spread of the virus. These angles can touch on how businesses are adapting their operations to the developing situation. Take the temporary ban on liquor sales in bars and shops as an example, affected establishments can change their business directions by offering milkshakes instead of cocktails. Businesses can also provide health tips such as how to boost one’s immune system during this period. News that is helpful and relevant to readers has a higher chance of being reported. Interesting content that is entirely unrelated to the virus can also be covered by the media.

How have my working conditions changed?

I am currently working from home, but I still attend daily editorial meetings to plan and discuss the news coverage.

Fraser Li, Reporter, Hong Kong Economic Times. He mainly covers corporate IT and start-up news. 

News Focus

Readers are paying more attention to industries that have been affected by the pandemic. While news related to 5G and the iPhone may attract some readers, journalists are now mainly focused on developments in industries such as mask manufacturing, healthcare and medical during this period.

How have my working conditions changed?

In the past, public relations agencies would disseminate press releases to the media and journalists can decide if the news is relevant for their outlets. Due to the severe Coronavirus situation, journalists are limiting their movements and are conducting fewer face-to-face interviews.

This is a good opportunity for journalists to cultivate closer relationships with PR professionals. During this period, journalists can source for news from industries that they have not covered frequently. For example, they can get insights from research analysts who can provide views and statistics on how the logistics, supply chain and tourism industries have been affected by the pandemic.

Michael Shum, Reporter, The Standard. He writes about property and transport news.

News Focus

As the pandemic becomes more severe, I will pay more attention to press releases that contain pneumonia-related keywords. PR practitioners can entice media to pick up their press releases by including Coronavirus-related talking points in them.

How have my working conditions changed?

Before the Coronavirus outbreak, it was cumbersome to check work emails outside the office. However, this has become much easier nowadays with the help of Virtual Private Network (VPN). These days, I hardly go out for face-to-face interviews or attend press conferences due to health concerns. My main mode of communications with PR agencies has changed from email to WhatsApp.

Jacqueline Chan , Co-founder and Chief Officer, Metro Pop 

News Focus

The pandemic is closely intertwined with our lifestyles, so topics related to the Coronavirus and working from home are relevant to lifestyle titles such as Metro Pop. With the cancellation and delay of promotional activities, public relations agencies should continue to send press releases to the media, while keeping in touch through phone calls.

Press releases should be timely and incorporate hotly discussed talking points so that the media can weave mentions of the products and event into their articles easily. Although major events such as Le French May have been cancelled due to the Coronavirus situation, the media can find creative ways of writing about related topics such as flowers that are in-season during Spring.

Having fewer media events has made it more crucial to engage our audiences through quality content. Take the topic of homemade face masks as an example, the media has been featuring uniquely designed masks by home-grown brands and DIY templates for readers to make cloth masks at home.

How have my working conditions changed?

As there are fewer media interview opportunities, journalists need to put in more effort and creativity in order to fill the huge content gap left by the absence of events and personality interviews.

Jame DiBiasio, Co-Founder & Editor, DigFin 

News Focus

DigFin’s editorial approach has always been content-orientated. Our editorial focus is on how the Coronavirus pandemic has impacted the financial technology industry. Regardless of the virus, we always welcome insightful press releases on the industry.

How have my working conditions changed?

For a media outlet that covers the financial technology sector, the Coronavirus pandemic has little impact on DigFin’s editorial direction. Our mode of communicating with PR agencies has always been through emails and phone calls and this will not change.

Interested to get more insights on how newsroom operations and news-gathering practices have been affected by the Coronavirus pandemic?     Find out more from Luisa Tam, Senior Editor of South China Morning Post in a PR Newswire Webinar on 31 March (Tuesday), 11.30am HKT     

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This article is written by Kate Wong, Audience Development Manager at PR Newswire and Maggie Wong, an Audience Development Intern, who is studying at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, majoring in Journalism.