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Newsletter
December 2021

Message from Keith
 

Well, the year 2021 is almost in the rear-view mirror. But before we were able to say goodbye, or perhaps good riddance, we find ourselves dealing with the arrival of yet another new Covid-19 variant, called Omicron, that could set back our hope for a return to pre-pandemic normalcy in 2022.

Before we despair, let’s look back at all the positive developments of this last year.

First, here in Hong Kong, we have managed to keep the coronavirus at bay. That has come at great sacrifice to many, including people like myself who long to travel abroad to see family and friends but are deterred by the prospects of a 21-day quarantine upon return. 

Many people find three weeks of isolation arduous, arbitrary and lacking any scientific basis, an assessment I share. But when I see a thousand people a day dying of Covid-19 in the U.S., or the violent anti-lockdown protests in Europe, I suppose we can be thankful that life’s rhythms and routines here in Hong Kong have mostly seemed normal.  Hopefully soon the government will see the sense in reducing the quarantine for returning travellers to a more reasonable week or 10 days, perhaps with a follow-up period of self-isolation and testing.

We can also be thankful that our classes were able to resume face-to-face on campus. It struck me how disruptive the past two years have been when one second-year undergraduate reminded me that her first year had been entirely on Zoom, and she had never met her classmates face-to-face until this semester. It would still be great to see students’ faces and smiles once we can dispense with the masks.  But for now, let’s be grateful we are back to in-person learning.

The Faculty of Social Sciences was also able to hold its 205th Congregation in person on December 5, and it was great to see so many Bachelor of Journalism students and Master of Journalism students able to attend the event in person.  We had to do it without family and friends in the Grand Hall due to pandemic restrictions on capacity, but it was a great celebration that we did make available on video.

The pandemic started at the tail end of the Year of the Pig, accelerated around the world during the Rat Year, and seemed to become our interminable “new normal” throughout this Year of the Ox. I’m told that the upcoming Year of the Water Tiger promises positive change.  Let’s hope so — Lordy Lordy, we need that right now.

And before I say Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and see you next year, one final note; we are now accepting applications for our 2022-23 Master of Journalism programme.  Our best and most effective advertising is word-of-mouth, meaning — you.  So if you know any qualified candidates who are interested in studying journalism, or who want to hone their journalism chops, let them know they can find more information about how to apply here on our website.

Happy holidays, everyone!

Keith B. Richburg
Director, Journalism and Media Studies Centre

Highlights

The Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas and HKU Journalism have launched the JNI-HKU Opportunity Fellowships to give professional development opportunities to two journalists from Myanmar and Afghanistan. 

Applications for the fellowships are open until January 21, 2022. Learn more and apply via this link.

On December 2, we held an Information Session for prospective students of the Master of Journalism programme. Matt Walsh, programme director, gave an introductory presentation and a tour of our facilities. 

For those who couldn't attend in person, a virtual presentation was held on December 15.

We are raising funds for the Mick Deane scholarship, set up in honour of TV journalist Mick Deane, who was killed by a sniper's bullet in Egypt eight years ago. Each year, the scholarship is awarded to a HKU Journalism student who best exemplifies Mick’s spirit.

We are aiming to raise at least US$15,000 by the end of the year. Find out how you can support us via this link.

Faculty & Staff News

We have a job opening for Research Assistant I/II (2 posts) (Ref.: 509178) to commence on December 20, 2021, or as soon as possible thereafter for one year.

Applicants should possess a Bachelor’s degree, preferably in Law or a related discipline, and with other demonstrable experience in the area of Fair Trial Rights.

Learn more and apply via this link.

Honorary lecturer Eric Wishart has been appointed AFP Standards and Ethics Editor with the agency’s global news management.

In his new position, Eric will be responsible for ensuring that the agency’s ethics code and style rules are respected across its multiple languages and production formats (text, photo, video, graphics and fact-checking) and updated when necessary.

Senior Lecturer Ting Shi has been appointed new Head of Judges of the Society of Publishers in Asia Awards. The awards, administered by HKU Journalism since 2011, are now accepting entries for 2022. The deadline for submissions is 3 p.m. Hong Kong time on Thursday, 17 February 2022. 

More information via this link.

Lecturer Diana Jou directed and produced the opening video for Google's APAC Trusted Media Summit, a virtual conference that brought together journalists, academics and NGOs involved in fact-checking and fighting misinformation across the Asia-Pacific.

The video, released to the public in November, featured HKU Journalism's Dr. Masato Kaijimoto and was illustrated and animated by our alumna Joyce Siu.

We congratulate Ph.D Candidate Samantha Stanley for completing the oral defense of her thesis, "Journalistic Professionalism in Transition: The Blurred Boundary Between Journalism and Advertising at The New York Times.

Dr. Masato Kajimoto spoke with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa as part of “Fighting the Big Lie,” a lecture series on democracy and disinformation. A recording of the event is available on Youtube via this link.

HKU Journalism in the news
(10 December) CNN: Police in China send girl, 14, back to parents who allegedly tried to sell her into marriage for $40,000, by Cheryl Ho (BJ 2021)

 
(9 December) RFA: Hong Kong court finds Jimmy Lai guilty of 'incitement' over banned vigil, with Keith B. Richburg

 
(9 December) Reuters: Three Hong Kong democracy activists found guilty over June 4 assembly, by Jessie Pang (MJ 2019) and Edmond Ng (MJ 2022)
(7 December) Financial Times: Embassies in Seoul call for recognition of foreigners vaccinated overseas, by William Langley (MJ 2021)
(30 November) CNN: North Korean defector recaptured in China after more than 40 days on the run, by Cheryl Ho (BJ 2021)

 
(1 November) NPR: Scammers are stealing identities with fake job ads, with Cezary Podkul
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