紙媒不會死

日期︰2017年02月15日

香港報業公會主席甘煥騰

社交網絡及網媒的興起，加上一些報刋先後倒閉，令「紙媒寒冬」、「紙媒已死」在近一兩年不時成為不少人口中/筆下最常見的傳媒命運宣言。

要談紙媒是不是真的已經躺進深切治療部，隨時斷氣之前，我倒認為要弄清楚大家口中的紙媒，是泛指傳統傳媒還是只限於報章和雜誌等印刷傳媒。有這個疑問，是因為根據調查，雖然近三四年購買收費報章的人數逐步下跌，可是通過電子報章吸收新聞資訊的人數卻大幅增加。可以說，近年港人的讀報習慣有所改變，他們未必再如以往般拿着一份報紙來掌握時事資訊，而是改為在網上瀏覽新聞資訊。然而，他們瀏覽的網站，主要還是收費報章的電子版。由此可見，若論新聞時事的可信度，大家仍然會較信賴傳統傳媒。

中大傳播與民意調查中心於去年八月，隨機抽樣訪問907名18歲或以上的市民，為整體傳媒公信力及29間傳媒評分。電子傳媒及收費報紙的評分一般高於免費報紙及網上傳媒；其中網上傳媒的公信力評分均偏低，平均分更是各種傳媒中最低。

香港中文大學新聞與傳播學院教授、社會科學院副院長蘇鑰機比較了市民對傳媒公信力的評分，以及Alexa發布的傳媒網上流量排名作比較，發現收費報紙和電子傳媒的公信力和網站流量排名有正向關係，即公信力愈高流量也愈高。但免費報紙和網媒的情况不一樣，公信力和流量並無關係。讀者只是即時消費免費報紙的簡約消息，對網媒的免費快速資訊的可信度可能沒有很高要求。

記得較早前發生一宗突發事件，社交網絡迅即廣傳，當有人質疑事件的真偽時，有留言回應說：報紙已經報了，應是真的。看到這個留言，我不知該哭還是笑。不少活躍於社交網絡的年輕一代，對傳統傳媒或他們口中的主流傳媒往往嗤之以鼻，但在心底裏卻又較為信賴它們。也許正如蘇鑰機教授所言，大眾對網媒的免費快速資訊的可信度可能沒有很高要求。

另外，去年底一場紛擾不堪的美國總統選舉，有說民主黨候選人希拉里敗選的原因之一是受到網上假新聞所累，皆因在大選期間不少在社交網絡廣傳有關希拉里或民主黨的報道或消息，其實都是未經證實甚至是純粹虛構的假新聞。為此，今明兩年將舉行兩場重要選舉的捷克已經成立特別部門，專門打擊假新聞。看來大眾已經意識到假新聞泛濫帶來的禍害，而重新檢視傳媒的可信度及傳統傳媒的社會角色。

無可否認，近年傳統傳媒面對讀者閱讀習慣改變及經濟放緩的打擊，營運方面面對不少挑戰，人手亦形緊絀，未必能夠做到最理想的出版內容。然而，傳統傳媒處理新聞及資訊仍有一套固有的嚴謹要求，不會道聽途說，不加求證就報道。因此，不管大眾如何看淡傳統傳媒的發展前景，若論公信力及可信度，社交網絡及一些非由新聞工作者主導的網媒仍不可能取代傳統傳媒的位置。可以說，傳統傳媒/紙媒還有不少要改善的地方，但在可見的將來，紙媒不會突然壽終正寢！

Print media shall not die

The rise of social networks and online media, together with the recurrent closures of some newspapers and magazines have made "harsh winter for print media", "print media is dead" the most common manifestoes concerning the destiny of media over the past two years.

Before discussing whether print media has really entered the ICU or already at the edge of dying, I do think there is a need to clarify if the "print media" that everyone talks about refers to the traditional media or it is limited to print media like newspapers and magazines. I have this doubt because the number of people who bought paid newspaper over the past three to four years has gradually declined while the number of people who received news from electronic newspapers has increased significantly, according to a survey. It can be said that there is a change in Hongkongers’ habit of reading news in recent years. They might not have to hold the newspaper to grasp information like how they used to be in the past, but to browse the news on the Internet. However, the websites they visited are mainly the electronic version of the paid newspapers still. This shows that we still tend to trust traditional media more regarding the credibility of news and current affairs.

In August this year, the Centre for Communication and Public Opinion Survey of The Chinese University of Hong Kong conducted a survey with a random sample of 907 citizens aged 18 or above to rate for the credibility of media as a whole and 29 media organizations. Electronic media and paid newspapers received higher ratings than the free newspapers and online media in general, in which online media's ratings on credibility is low while its average score is the lowest among different media channels.

Clement Y. K. So, Professor of the School of Journalism and Communication of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Associate Dean of the Faculty of Social Science compared the public's ratings on the credibility of media with the traffic statistics of online media from Alexa and found there is a positive correlation between the credibility of paid newspapers and electronic media and the traffic rankings of their websites, implying that the higher the credibility, the higher the traffic. Yet the comparison between free newspapers and online media is not the same, in which credibility and traffic have no correlation. Readers only consume simple news instantly from free newspapers and they tend not to have high expectations on the creditability of free and instant information provided by online media.

I remember an incident happened earlier which had been spread rapidly over the social networks. When someone questioned about the authenticity of the incident, there was a message commenting that: this has been reported by the newspaper. It should be true. Seeing this comment, I am not sure if I should cry or laugh. Many of the young generation who seem to be active in social networks often scoff at traditional media or the mainstream media, but they had more trust on them from the bottom of their hearts. As Prof. So said, perhaps the general public might not have very high expectations on the credibility of free and instant information provided by online media.

In addition, looking back to the disturbing US presidential election at the end of last year, some believed that one of the reasons for the defeat of Hillary Clinton, candidate from the Democratic Party was the fake news online since a number of reports or news on Hillary Clinton or the Democratic Party shared all over the social networks during the election were in fact unconfirmed or even false news which were purely fictional. To this end, the Czech Republic which is going to have two key elections in the next two years has already set up a special department to crack down on fake news. It seems that the public has been aware of the scourge of the overflow of false news and reexamined the credibility of media and the social role of traditional media.

It cannot be denied that in recent years, traditional media has been facing setbacks from the change in reading habits among readers and the economic slowdown, alongside numerous challenges in operation and tight manpower, limiting its capability to get the best content published. However, the way traditional media handles news and information still follows strictly its inherent code and standard which never spreads rumors or reports without any fact checking. Therefore, no matter how negatively the general public sees the prospects for the development of traditional media, when it comes to credibility and reliability, it is still impossible for social networks or media led by non-journalists to replace the position of traditional media. It can be said that there is still room for improvement for traditional media or print media yet in the foreseeable future, print media will not come to an end all of a sudden!

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