In this digital age, live streaming on social media platforms, accompanied by real-time comments from netizens, not only shortens the distance between the news source and the audience but also changes the way reporters interact with their sources. This study employs Goffman’s dramaturgical theory and Foucault’s views on the panopticon and disciplinary power to examine the communicative context of the live broadcasts of the 2020 Central Epidemic Command Center press conferences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the in-depth interview method, the researcher found that the live broadcast communication creates a three-party power competition situation involving reporters, netizens, and news sources. In the front stage of the press conference, various props are used to highlight the outcomes of epidemic prevention. Reporters become the observed subjects, and those who raise sharp questions risk facing attacks by netizens. This dynamic caused the reporters to exert self-restrain, be “disciplined,” and adopt passive ways to avoid being embroiled in awkward situations. In the back stage, closed dialogues between reporters and officials are being leaked to social media platforms by external intrusive forces, thus exposing the reporters to the pressure of online harassment. Under dual pressures from both the front stage and the backstage, the reporters continue to navigate the dilemma by implementing various strategies to practice media accountability.