A former news chief at Asia Television admitted yesterday that he wrongly trusted a source and allowed the airing of an erroneous report on the death of former president Jiang Zemin.
Speaking in public for the first time since quitting as ATV's senior vice-president of news and public affairs, Leung Ka-wing disclosed the background of the incorrect report to an investigating panel but remained tight-lipped on the source's identity.
'Even if you put a gun to my head, I will still not reveal the name,' he told a Legislative Council information technology and broadcasting panel looking into the editorial independence of ATV's news department.
Lawmakers were concerned about the newsroom's editorial autonomy and questioned if journalists were pressured by the senior management, such as the broadcaster's major investor, Wong Ching, to air the incorrect news.
'There is a huge difference between mistrusting a source and infringement of editorial independence,' Ronny Tong Ka-wah said, referring to Leung's statement two weeks ago that he tried his best but failed to stop the Jiang story from being broadcast.
Cheung Man-kwong said: 'It's not that you were unable to stop, it's that you had no intention of stopping the news from being aired,' adding that Leung misled people into thinking he was forced by the senior management to air the news.