Yuen-Ying Chan

Yuen-ying Chan (陳婉瑩) often Ying Chan is currently director and professor of Journalism and Media Studies Centre at Hong Kong university.

Setting new education trends in China

Ying Chan, an award-winning journalist and Hong Kong native, established the Journalism and Media Studies Center in July 1999. She set up the Master of Journalism programme, launched Hong Kong's first fellowships for working journalists, and forged extensive ties between HKU and the news industry. She is also the Dean of Cheung Kong School of Journalism and Communication at Shantou University, China.

Honors

Chan’s honors include a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University, a George Polk Award for excellence in journalism and a CPJ International Press Freedom Award by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

A 1997-1998 Freedom Forum Media Studies Center fellow in New York City, Chan has taught at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University and was a National Board member of the Asian American Journalists Association U.S.A. She has written for Hong Kong and US publications, including the Nation magazine, the Village Voice, The Media Studies Journal, the Nieman Report, Ming Pao, The Hong Kong Economic Journal and Yazhou Zhoukan (Asia Weekly). She has reported for 60 Minutes, NBC News with Tom Brokaw, Dateline, the PBS human rights program “Rights and Wrongs”.

Her 1995 prize-winning documentary, Snakeheads: People Smuggling and the Modern Slave Trade, was showcased at the Amsterdam and Tokyo film festivals and has aired widely in the United States.

Education

Chan has a bachelor's degree in the social sciences from the University of Hong Kong and a master's degree in the social sciences from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Beginnings

Professor Chan started her journalism career by writing and editing student newspapers called Undergrad,學苑.

Views about the future of media

In an interview given to Ljubisa Bojic professor Chan explains her views on future of media:

We are in trend more international media expanding their power and their reach. But on the other hand I think it is encouraging because more people now are doing journalism. Now anyone can become a journalist. They open up channels and alternatives for other voices. But it also means that we have to promote professional standards and even better training for what we call now citizen journalists. Everyone can become a journalist and that’s empowering! For that we have reasons to be very optimistic despite the multinationals. Now you have a chance to talk back.

Q: Will we have TV programs broadcast on internet?I think that’s entirely possible because now you can pose videos, news on the internet, accessible worldwide. Traditional and mainstream media pay more attention to alternative media. Smart international are seeking help from citizen journalists. If you are on location when news happens you can capture the story and you can feed it to internationals. And it has happened like in the London bombing or like in various breaking news events. You have the tools. But we have to prepare ourselves. We have to be better in our skills, in our delivery. We also have to be very mindful of ethical standards. I think the same standards like in traditional journalism apply to alternative media. It is about going for the truth, balance and telling an interesting story.