News anchors in Hong Kong face punishment after covering ‘Flower’ by Jisoo

Multiple news anchors in South Korea faced strict punishment after covering the song Flower by K-pop group Blackpink’s Jisoo. The clip of them dancing to the track went viral after senior anchors and newscasters expressed their displeasure with them.

The Flower Challenge went viral after Jisoo released her solo debut album Me, with the track going onto trend across several social media platforms.

However, the innocent challenge went wrong in this case as several female news anchors at Cable TV News danced to the song in celebration of their last day. One of the women, Yanna Yu, uploaded the cover to Instagram with the caption:

“Not a professional cover. We’re five flowers that only practised on this day. But the heels are really noisy.”

The clip ended up getting the attention of the Chairperson of the Committee on Review of Public Service Broadcasting as well as the former General Assistant Manager, Raymond Wong. He left a comment on the post, saying:

“A true disgrace to the craft of journalism!”

He also reportedly sent this email to the Director of the channel, writing:

“From gathering information to reporting news, the job is professional and serious. The professional image of Cable TV News was built up by hard work from everyone in the department and maintained by everyone’s persistence.

I hope everyone understands that the department is a single entity. There’s no individual vs. group. Your actions represent ‘Cable TV News.’ I hope everyone works together and be cautious with your words and actions.

The newsroom is the core of the news department and has symbolic value. Everyone should utilize its function and bring the quickest, newest, and most professional news reports to the viewers, and not treat it as a stage for fun and games.”

The video ended up getting removed and it was revealed that their contracts at their new jobs have been put on hold due to this situation.