Mass Media - 香港更好大行動

Problem:

While our mass media claims to be the guardian of freedom of speech, defender of public goods, watchdog on our government, in reality, our mass media is just another form of business. More and more of our media resort to lies, half-truths, and sensationalism to increase sales. Many people have been victimized and few can fight back.

Reasons:

Efficiency and to increase sales:

Mass media can be a very profitable big business. It sells its influence through advertisement and colors our world view through the control of the content of its programs. Balanced reporting is essentially a distortion of truth. Few things are half right and half wrong. Objective reporting is long, tedious and uninteresting. Subjective, selective reporting is much quicker and more appealing to the public.

Solutions:

Establish a deterrent to publishers and editors that sensationalism and distortion of truth are no longer profitable.

Actions:

Set up a “Media Watchdog Fund”

Set up a fund to help the media victims to take legal action against the irresponsible media. All money won will be put back to the fund to defend other victims.

Open up our airwaves

Freedom of receiving and transmitting information is enshrined in international bill of rights. Local media are heavily controlled by our government, making even the mere possession of transmission equipment a criminal offence.
By opening up our airwaves we can break up the monopoly held by existing mass media so that minority voices can be heard. It can help supervise and balance the reporting and opinions of the mass media.