距離的新聞涵意： 香港報紙不同地域報導之比較

Abstract

地域距離作為新聞事件的一種「自然」屬性在新聞生產和新聞內容上離不開從業者系統的人為操縱。本文主要探究不同報紙在處理遠近不同的事件時如何對內容建構、篩選、取捨。我們以香港報紙為研究對象，在概念上詳細闡釋三組變項之間的關係，分別為：1. 三個報紙類型（大眾報、精英報、親建制報）；2. 四個新聞發生地點（本地、國內、亞洲、國際）；3. 三個內容特質（權力依附、觀點衝突、責任歸咎）。我們對香港十四份收費日報進行了一項大型內容分析，以檢驗三個主要研究假設。數據分析結果對假設的支持程度不一，但一致顯示報紙在處理本地及異地新聞均表現出系統差異。新聞地點的變化直接影響報導中權力話語的比重、多元觀點的引用頻率以及責任歸咎的指向。儘管不同報紙的具體實踐略有差異，報紙在意識形態方面的分野似乎並不妨礙他們在距離的定義上採用同樣的做法。

Geographical distance as a “natural” attribute of news has always been systematically and artificially manipulated by media workers. This study investigated how various community newspapers select, interpret, and package events originating in places of varying distances. Contextualized in Hong Kong, the paper emphasize the relationships among three sets of variables: 1) Three types of newspapers (mass appeal, elite, and pro-establishment); 2) four news locales (local, China, Asian, and international); and 3) three content characteristics (power reliance, conflicting viewpoints, and problem attribution). To test our hypotheses, this study was conducted using a large-scale content analysis of all 14 daily newspapers in Hong Kong. Findings were mixed, but showing consistently that local news was systematically differentiated from non-local news. The differences are mainly regardingthe frequency of political authorities cited, presence of diversified opinions, and the likelihood of either individuals or institutions being blamed for social wrongs. Considerable variations were detected across different types of newspapers as well. In addition, we found that the growing influence of China’s dominant ideology on the political life of Hong Kong has taken its toll on the territory’s media practice.