The preservation of news archives: the case of Asia Television (ATV) in Hong Kong
Asian Education and Development Studies
ISSN: 2046-3162
Article publication date: 2 January 2020
Issue publication date: 31 March 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the urgency to ensure the preservation of the news archives of the crisis-packed Hong Kong-based Asia Television (ATV), the first Chinese television station in the world. This paper also explores the life and times as well as the future of the historical collections of the ATV archives, which is a treasure trove that covers key events in Hong Kong’s history since 1957, a decade before its major rival Television Broadcasts Limited began to go on air.
Design/methodology/approach
Adopting the qualitative approach with in-depth face-to-face interviews, the now defunct ATV News’ longest-serving as well as its very last Chief Librarians discusses the bleeding of priceless history in the 62-year-old news archives which contain Hong Kong’s collective memories.
Findings
An important role of the old news footage is to capture the public’s memories and to take people back to the actual unfolding of landmark events. The interview answers open the way for readers to understand the ways television archives hold immense historical value for a city’s memory and what could be done and preserved before their disappearance.
Originality/value
This paper will be of interest to those historians, journalists, scholars and archivists, including news librarians, who are interested in learning how the ATV’s half-a-century-old archival news footage is a significant asset and cultural record to the former colony.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This paper is dedicated to the memory of Beccon Lau, who recently passed away in Hong Kong. The authors would also like to thank Vinelle Leung for her editorial assistance.
Citation
Li, S.K. and Lee, H.L.S. (2020), "The preservation of news archives: the case of Asia Television (ATV) in Hong Kong", Asian Education and Development Studies, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 243-253. https://doi.org/10.1108/AEDS-04-2016-0029
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited