Paper Number: 130 April 2017 Looking Through Headliner – Can RTHK Become “Hong Kong’s BBC”? Hei Ting WONG University of Pittsburgh Wong Hei Ting is a Scholar-in-Residence at the David C. Lam Institute for East-West Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University and a Ph.D. student in Ethnomusicology at the University of Pittsburgh. She received her bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and Applied Mathematics from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the University of Oregon respectively, as well as an M.A. in Ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh. Her research interests include: Chinese popular music in relation to identity construction, media and new media development, and political influences in post-colonial Hong Kong; Mandarin popular and rock music in Taiwan; and music-related educational issues. David C. Lam Institute for East-West Studies (LEWI) Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) LEWI Working Paper Series is an endeavour of David C. 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Further Information about the working paper series can be obtained from the Series Secretary: David C. Lam Institute for East-West Studies (LEWI) Hong Kong Baptist University Kowloon Tong Hong Kong Tel: (852) 3411-7273; Fax: (852) 3411-5128 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~lewi/institute.html LEWI Working Paper Series Looking Through Headliner – Can RTHK Become “Hong Kong’s BBC”? Hei Ting WONG* University of Pittsburgh Abstract This project examines sessions of “current music video” – the combination of music, spoken words, and current issue images – of Headliner, one of Radio Television Hong Kong’s (RTHK) representative yet controversial political commentary programmes. Through studying the use of music for satirical expression which reflects Headliner's politics, this project aims to understand RTHK’s challenges in seeking to attain the status of a “public service broadcaster” (PSB). Beginning as an amateur radio station in 1928, RTHK has been a part of the colonial government since 1929. It has witnessed the social and political changes of Hong Kong, and these changes have affected its status and editorial independence, including the appointments of non-RTHK staff to be the Head of RTHK. In order to avoid political pressure on limiting its production autonomy, RTHK has been attempting to follow the “BBC model” and has sought privatisation since the 1950s; however, and to this day, it is still not an independent media institution. As a result, government officials have scrutinised some RTHK programmes, including Headliner. This project seeks to shed light on the possibility of RTHK’s transition to a “real PSB” in the current, post-Umbrella movement era. Keywords: Headliner, Radio Television Hong Kong, Cantopop, public service broadcasting *Wong Hei Ting is a Scholar-in-Residence at the David C. Lam Institute for East-West Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University and a Ph.D. student in Ethnomusicology at the University of Pittsburgh. She received her bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and Applied Mathematics from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the University of Oregon respectively, as well as an M.A. in Ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh. Her research interests include: Chinese popular music in relation to identity construction, media and new media development, and political influences in post-colonial Hong Kong; Mandarin popular and rock music in Taiwan; and music-related educational issues. 1 LEWI Working Paper Series Introduction The public service broadcasting (PSB) status of Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) has been challenged mainly by the China government since the 1980s. RTHK began as an amateur radio broadcaster in 1928 and then became part of the colonial government in 1929. Since the 1970s, RTHK has been producing both radio and television programmes but did not have its own television channel (Aitken & Ingham, 2015, pp.119-122). In April 2016, it was granted three digital-broadcasting channels and two analogue-signal channels for its own programmes (RTHK, 2016). RTHK has witnessed the social and political changes of Hong Kong over the years, and these changes have affected its status and editorial independence. Local colonial government officials intermittently suggested RTHK should operate according to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) model and seek corporatisation, so that it could become more independent from the government and avoid undue political pressure; however, RTHK is still not an independent media institution today.1 A consequence of this surfeit of independence has been that government officials had the opportunity to scrutinise many RTHK programmes, and especially Headliner, after the handover of sovereignty in 1997. The debate around RTHK matches the general media landscape of Hong Kong: while the media were granted a comparatively high degree of freedom of the press, editorial autonomy among Hong Kong outlets has been threatened following closer liaison, especially involving commercial interests, with the Chinese government (Aitken, 2015, pp.96, 100-101). Television is a traditional medium of cultural identity formation in Hong Kong in the eyes of local government officials (Ma, 1999, pp.29-32, 97-99; Lee, 2000, pp.367-368, 371-378). Thus, in recent years, senior officials at RTHK have interfered with the production of Headliner, a 27-year-old political commentary programme, in order to shape such formation. Due to its politically sensitive nature, the local government has also threatened to cut it (“Headliner new season from October,” 2010; “Ng Chi Sum worries the cut of Headliner”, 2011; “RTHK’s staff think they are right,” 2013). In addition to its political content, the use of Cantonese popular music (Cantopop) to illustrate current/social issues in the programme is unique. Some scholars who study Hong Kong popular culture argue that the local population tends not to associate Cantopop with politics (Wong, 1997, p.184; Wong, 2003, p.174). However, and in contrast, Tse states that Cantopop lyrics embody cultural ideology (2012, p.275). The programme is a pioneer in connecting Cantopop with politics and in suggesting to 2 LEWI Working Paper Series the locals that Cantopop can be political. Through studying the use of Cantopop in the current music video (current MV) of Headliner, this project aims to understand the political stance of Headliner and position of RTHK. It also explores the possibility or need for RTHK to become a “real PSB” in Hong Kong. Background of Headliner Headliner, a personal-view political commentary programme, was first broadcast in April 1989. It was a coincidence that the programme started during the Tiananmen Massacre. According to Forever Sze Wing Yuen,2 the father of Headliner and the former Assistant Director (Television & Corporate Businesses) of RTHK, due to the local government’s sudden grant of 2.5-hour per week of air time for RTHK television programmes on the two free television channels, the network needed to plan new programmes; one of these was Headliner (personal communication, March 9, 2016). Sze also recalled that other major incidents happened in Hong Kong and in the world, such as the Gulf War in 1990-1991 and the arrival of Chris Patten in 1992, which provided topics for discussion in the society and sustained the production of the programme (Ibid.). A year later, the current MV element was added to Headliner. The objective of the programme is to direct public attention to the current/social issues that happened in the past week.