Covering the grief of leaving: A study of news discourse on emigration in contemporary Hong Kong

Abstract

Migration can be one of the most stressful and emotional experiences in life. Cultural bereavement, personal distress and loss constitute migratory grief. Hong Kong is a metropolis with a rich history of population movement. Its inflows and outflows have contributed to the cultural and economic development of the city. The recent wave of emigration has become a top story in local news. The media plays an essential role, not only in reporting hard facts and figures, but also in capturing and articulating the accumulated sentiments shared within the city. Due to the advancement of technology, newspapers and other mass media publications can now be viewed online and searched easily from anywhere in the world. These news discourses convey the meaning of migratory grief and influence its readers. The contemporary notion of migratory grief in Hong Kong is intertwined with the loss of identity, guilt, and pessimism. A narrative analysis of the related news reveals that reporting individual stories of migratory grief can provide positive value to society. Recognizing the shared grief experiences by the collection of individual stories of emigrants, readers can build connections with people who have chosen to stay or are being left behind in the community. These stories, indeed, serve as a community farewell to alleviate migratory grief.