Media researchers say animated news reports are detrimental to youngsters
Animated news reports are increasingly popular, but media researchers warn they blur the line between fact and fiction, writes Vivian Chiu
Forget objective reporting. Young people are not reading newspapers any more. The line is blurring between fact and fiction in the digital age, as sensational journalism comes alive on the mobile video screen.
Launched in 2010, Apple Daily's virtual world of animated news has captured the public's imagination. It also interested two Baptist University media researchers, who are more concerned than entertained by the recent changes.
It clouds our judgment of the incident and may even compromise the judicial process
Janet Lo Wai-han, a PhD communications student, and Dr Benjamin Cheng Ka-lun, a creative communications senior lecturer, describe how producers reconstruct a breaking news story by mixing news footage with computer-generated imagery (CGI) in the video clip.
"By using computer graphics, all the missing scenes and action of the news event are re-enacted in the virtual world. The minute-long clip is packed with drama," Lo says.
The colourful daily clips are shown on YouTube and the newspaper's websites in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
With their graphical depictions of, and focus on, sex and crime, the clips have attracted millions of views and are distributed worldwide by Reuters and other news services. However, the Taiwanese government recently blocked the videos from local television news stations because it disapproves of their salacious content.