Tabloid journalism has its roots in “yellow journalism,” which was propagated in the late 19th century mostly by the late great William Randolph Hearst. Hearst realized that he could sell a lot more newspapers if he made the news stand out from the pages. To do this, he and other yellow journalism converts used a variety of techniques, including sensational headlines, retouched photographs, and even completely manufactured stories. Tabloid journalism, by the way, was named in the 1890’s after a comic book character that appeared first in New York World and then Hearst’s New York Journal.
The first use of the term “tabloid journalism” was recorded in 1901 (Online Etymology Dictionary, www.etymonline.com), only 17 years after the trademark Tabloid was registered. Tabloid journalism was seen to have the same compressed, easy-to-digest properties as the medications of the same name.
Traditional tabloids in the UK, like the Sun and the Mirror can be easily distinguished from their more sober counterparts. They are smaller and the cover usually features outsized headlines and a sensational photograph. As Hearst discovered more than a century ago, papers resorting to gossipy news and scandalous photographs is a reliable way of attracting a large readership.
Apple Daily is a classic illustration of the tabloid. Founded in Hong Kong by renegade media tycoon Jimmy Lai, most of the Apple Daily’s printed page is given over to pictures in favor of text. Headlines are given to sensationalism and exaggeration. Both text and content often elicit angry calls for censure.
Lai made a name for himself in Hong Kong, but Apple Daily is not the only example of tabloid journalism in the Special Administrative Region.
Hong Kong society is still rooted in Chinese tradition, but has been heavily influenced by British culture. In a climate of laissez-faire capitalism, tabloid journalism has crept into the mainstream. The following are some key attributes of Hong Kong newspapers:
1. A high proportion of advertisements. In some cases, the entire front page may be given over to an ad, e.g., Sing Pao and Ming Pao. The pages of many others – like Oriental Daily, Apple Daily, and The Standard – are comprised of more than 50 percent ads;
2. Relatively small news items tend to be “super-sized”, often with sensationalism prevailing;
3. “If it bleeds, it leads.” Stories about car crashes, beatings, mass murders and the like predominate. Faces of those whose identities other publications may protect appear unobscured and grisly shots filled with blood are printed in all their gory glory, without effects (like a mosaic) that might lessen the shock value. Examples: Sun, Oriental Daily, Apple Daily and Sing Pao;
4. Crime stories are excessively detailed. Examples: Sun, Oriental Daily, and Apple Daily;
5. Many feature nude or semi-nude photographs aimed at titillating. Examples: Sun, Oriental Daily, and Apple Daily;
6. Many accept ads from the sex industry featuring the adopted names and photographs of sex workers and indicating prices and contact information. Examples: Sun, Oriental Daily, and Apple Daily;
Many of these newspapers have accepted the paparazzi culture of paying for pictures of private antics of celebrities, including clandestinely taken nude photographs and photographs of celebrities in otherwise compromising situations.
Writers Give Way to Businessmen
Does TV news need to be sensationalistic in order to get good ratings? Journalism researcher John McManus discussed this issue in his article “A Market-Based Model of News Production” in Communication Theory (1995). He noted the emergence of a commercial news production model that is market-driven. He said that in the past reporters were expected to adhere to journalistic standards, but this has already been replaced by the concept of serving the marketplace.
During the martial law period in Taiwan, electronic media were half public and half privately run. There were few print publications and what they printed was subject to strict government control, but the publishers still maintained a certain sense of dignity and newspapers prided themselves on not stooping to gutter journalism.
At the turn of the 21st century, the changes came rapidly. Next magazine was established in May 2001, the founder of the well-established China Times, Yu Chi-chung passed away in April of the next year, and Apple Daily was launched in May 2003. The rise of publications that that thrive on scandal coupled with the death of a beacon for traditional journalism marked a watershed for journalism in Taiwan with writer-driven media giving way to media driven more clearly by market forces and led by businessmen.
As Next magazine prepared for publication in Taiwan, competitors innovated to meet the challenge of the successful Hong Kong tabloid magazine. The three main newspapers in the China Times family worked with sister magazine China Times Weekly to stimulate interest in the sensational story of the week. Newspaper readers would get a taste of the magazine story ahead of time with the expectation being that they would go out and purchase the magazine. TVBS, a local television station, was also in on the strategy, including in its entertainment news round-up a feature on the China Times Weekly story of the week.
Apple Daily, owned by the same publisher as Next, was perhaps more audacious in generating buzz for its launch than its sister weekly. Once again, competitors jostled for position as they waited for the apple to fall. The China Times and United Daily News both temporarily dropped prices. When Apple finally was launched, it followed the tried-and-true “quantity” formula for mass-circulation tabloids (though it appeared in a broadsheet format). Like Hong Kong cousins, Apple would cover a story from every angle – the more sensationalistic, the better.
Competition is probably even fiercer in Taiwan’s television industry. As SNG (Satellite News Gathering) technology proliferated, giving TV stations the opportunity to do more and more live on-the-spot reporting, the phenomenon of swarming TV crews at sites central to scandalous stories developed. Stories that were covered exhaustively in every embarrassing detail include 2001’s story of a May-September relationship, in which the woman was the older party, 2002’s sex video scandal involving a popular female television reporter and the affair between a legislator and his assistant, 2003’s scandal involving a female TV anchor who had accepted an expensive necklace from a Japanese businessman and yet another May-September relationship in which the woman was more mature. 2004 saw a male news anchor having an affair and in 2005, we watched seemingly endless coverage of the aftermath of the suicide of a minor Taiwanese comedian who had fallen in unrequited love with a Chinese opera singer. Taiwan’s news channels have shown a quenchless thirst to find the next real-life femme fatale to help audiences forget their own troubles.
A shift in how news becomes news was occurring. As tabloid journalism proliferated in text publications, all-news TV channels began picking up the tabloid stories, intensifying the concentration of coverage. Naturally, the right to privacy of the subjects is generally ignored in this reporting. The cycle continues with the topic being taken up during talk and call-in shows, featuring analysis every intimate detail. Very quickly, a story about a celebrity’s (probably minor) transgression of accepted norms becomes the talk of the town.
In the past, magazine articles were derived from stories first brought to light by newspapers and television. The objective was to provide in-depth reporting. Magazines had more space in which to explore a story than could be afforded by newspapers or television. Newspapers generally cater to a wider and often less selective readership than magazines. But with an increase in scandal reporting, newspapers, magazines, and television are all in lockstep, competing to bring out the latest juicy detail. This turn of events is a radical shift from the way reporting was conducted during the martial law era.
Indeed, the way media get the story out has changed almost beyond recognition. A form of integrated cross-media reporting has emerged with the prime objective of maintaining a solid bottom line, apparently completely ignoring social responsibility. The transition has been completed from a self-policing media with the mandate of the fourth estate to ensure the people are informed about things that matter, to a media that is seen by many as part of the problem.
The Current Situation
The negative influences currently seen in the media include sex, violence, blood, the supernatural, gossip, and photography/videography in inappropriate places. Given the current state of news reporting, it will be a Sisyphean task to raise standards.
Looking a little more closely at Next, it features a diverse array of beats, including current events, finance, and science as well as celebrity and leisure reporting in the areas of entertainment, cuisine, travel, lifestyle, and culture. Magazines have been reporting on all these areas for some time, as do newspapers and television.
In terms of market segmentation, Next cannot survive without the paparazzi element. Reports that rely on catching celebrities on film in compromising situations are what sets Next apart from most of its competitors.
Apple Daily is in a similar position. It has successfully created a localized version of the Hong Kong Apple Daily. For example, there are numerous sensationalistic headlines that shock and titillate. The stories themselves provide graphic descriptions and the controversial pictures that accompany them are as bloody as they come and still include nude shots of celebrities, though authorities have sternly tried to steer the daily away from the latter.
At the same time, it should be noted that Next and Apple Daily also play a fourth estate role. For example, Next was vigorous in following a story about the former cashier of Taiwan’s National Security Bureau suspected of embezzling nearly NT$200 million. It was so successful at getting information out that prosecutors tried to put a muzzle on it, seizing thousands of copies of the magazine in a series of raids. Apple Daily has provided an outlet for Taiwan residents who have grievances that they have not been able to address to their satisfaction in courts. There is no dark corner the newspaper will hesitate to illuminate in pursuit of the facts. In the end, however, though the result of some of these reports can be in the public good, the core objective of both Next and Apple Daily is to be shocking and controversial for the sake of raising the bottom line. And they have been effective in changing Taiwanese news appetites.
Newspapers are more universal than magazines. They are always displayed where children can pick them up, unfettered by shrink-wrapping. Television news is even more universal. Television penetration is very high and has become the most popular source of household entertainment in Taiwan. Young viewers are usually unable to discern the quality of what is being broadcast into their living rooms. What they watch will without a doubt influence their values as they mature.
Actions speak louder than words
In the past, if a controversial story was being considered, editors weighed the merit of publishing a story against negative factors of exposure and made a decision more often than not characterized by self-discipline.
More recently, self-discipline has given way to the emergence of a number of self-appointed organizations that seek to keep the media in line. The National Press Council has been around for some time. Newer organizations include the Journalism Struggle Front, The Campaign for Media Democracy, and Taiwan Media Watch. These activists hope to work against the tide of tabloid journalism by publishing books, organizing seminars and staging marches. Their successes have been limited, in part constrained by protestations on the part of the media about pressure being brought to bear on them.
The current situation can be seen to be a result of the rapid expansion of liberties that erupted after martial law was lifted in 1987. With greater tolerance for diverse opinions, certain beneficial social norms were sacrificed. The old social order is defunct – with nothing to replace it. Taiwan experienced its first transition of governments after the Democratic Progressive Party gained power in the 2000 presidential election, and there are many who have still not adapted to this new situation. The media industry is a thread in the social fabric and is no exception to the phenomenon of social upheaval.
Several factors have propelled major changes in Taiwan’s media environment, including (1) accelerated societal change; (2) enhancements to media technology; (3) the trend toward privatization; (4) increasing competition in the media industry; (5) lack of self-discipline among the media; (6) a disconnect between theory and practice in journalism; (7) amendments to relevant laws and regulations have not kept apace with change; and (8) government policy has not addressed mounting problems.
How can the tide of tabloid journalism be turned? When I was the director general of Taiwan’s Government Information Office, I advocated a policy of strict control over media content and relaxation of media operations regulations. Based on the principle that a person needs to satisfy basic needs before he or she can contemplate ethics, I proposed that the government remove many restrictions on media to give them a better chance at survival. With improved prospects, media companies would be more likely to comply with government requests to exercise a greater degree of self-discipline to benefit the viewing public. Unfortunately, when I left office, my plan was unfinished and my successors did not pursue it.
Frankly speaking, in this intensely competitive environment, media companies tend to choose the course that improves the bottom line over one that leads to a journalistic Holy Grail. But is it really necessary to have sensationalistic coverage to win over audiences? Is there really no market for clean, high-quality media fare? Will the current short-term profit orientation of media owners be successful in the long term? These questions are worth pondering. ETTV YOYO children’s channel has recently been successfully exported abroad. Furthermore, audiences both in Taiwan and abroad have enthusiastically embraced other programs of ours that emphasize quality production devoid of sensationalism.
I believe that we must continue efforts to reduce sensationalistic coverage in the media for the sake of our children and grandchildren. Government agencies play in important role in this endeavor. I recommend, however, that penalties for non-compliant media should give way in favor of incentives. Education efforts should also be enhanced both for media workers and the general public. The latter will play an important role on keeping tabs on media to remind them when they step out of line. The government and academics must also show concern, and should hold up models of journalistic behavior for media to emulate. When media stray too far from the norm, government authorities should engage in rational dialogue with the offenders. The long-term objective is a win-win formula that would result in a consensus among media, the government, and the general public that will see the media shouldering appropriate social responsibility for maintaining high journalistic standards while at the same time assuring the survival of their businesses.
When a media operator decides to give exposure to a bloody, gossipy or titillating story, self-discipline should kick in long enough to consider the potential societal harm the story and similar ones could cause in the long run. The general public’s fascination with tabloid journalism may only be a temporary phenomenon. In the final analysis, there is a gap between news reporting and commerce. Even the most hardened cynic will admit that there are times when newspersons must act as gatekeepers, regardless of potential profits.
It’s highly unlikely that tabloid journalism will be erased from our experience. Nevertheless, I believe it is possible for news media to both survive – and to reclaim their role as society’s fourth estate.
(The article published at International Association for Media and Communication Research, IAMCR)
References
The Crucible - Yellow Journalism (1999), http://www.pbs.org/crucible/journalism.html, Great Projects Film Company
Etymology Online, (2001), http://www.etymonline.com, entry for “tabloid”