Hong Kong SAR

Media Environment | News Gathering | Practical Tips

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Media Environment

Hong Kong has two English-language dailies: the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com) and The Standard (www.thestandard.com.hk), which converted to a free daily in September 2007. Of the two, the SCMP, with a circulation of 104,000, has the upper hand in classified ads and is the paper expats turn to when looking for work or accommodation.

Fanny Fung, the paper’s first Hong Kong Chinese editor, stepped down in early 2007, and was replaced by C.K. Lau. The paper saw some major upheavals during the tenure of Mark Clifford as editor-in-chief, from March 2006 until his resignation the following year. Clifford left his post after only one year on the job and C.K. Lau’s position as editor was restructured to fill the role. Two of the paper’s senior editors left under mysterious circumstances at the beginning of 2007. Editors are under pressure not to offend China in political stories or in reporting business dealings between the mainland and Hong Kong investors and manufacturers. The online version of the paper has a pay wall, which allows access to news stories only for registered subscribers.

The Standard has undergone several reincarnations over the past decade, the most recent as a free tabloid daily paper. The newspaper is said by credible observers to be circulating 250,000 copies a day, making it Asia’s biggest free English-language publication. It appears to be making circulation inroads into the previously unassailable South China Morning Post.

Regional publications published or distributed in Hong Kong include the Asian Wall Street Journal, the International Herald Tribune, the China Daily and the Financial Times.

The economic downturn of the past couple of years contributed to the closure of two regional news magazines, Asiaweek (published by Time Inc) in December 2001, and the Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER, published by Dow Jones), which was withdrawn from newsstands in November 2004. The monthly FEER is now available online (www.feer.com) and by subscription. International magazines, including The Economist, Time and Newsweek, are widely available.

A new Asian weekly news magazine, Asia Weekly, (www.asia-weekly.com) was launched in early 2007 by Jasper Becker, a long-term China journalist and former editor-in-chief of the SCMP’s Beijing bureau. The Beijing-based magazine is published in Hong Kong to avoid restrictive registration rules on the mainland. It is available across much of Asia.

The biggest-circulation Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong are the Oriental Daily and Apple Daily, both of which are full-colour broadsheets with a propensity for publishing graphic photographs of traffic accidents.

Hong Kong operates four terrestrial television channels — two in English and two in Cantonese. The BBC, CNN, Bloomberg and an array of sports and entertainment channels are available on cable and satellite services. Broadband TV is available through PCCW, Hong Kong’s main telecommunications provider.

RTHK is the government-run and funded radio service, modelled on the BBC. It broadcasts in English and Cantonese. RTHK Radio Three and Radio Four broadcast in English and carry local and international news on the hour with longer broadcasts at 1300, 1800 and 2300. RTHK Radio Six re-broadcasts the BBC relay in the region.

The service is guaranteed editorial independence. In 2006 the city government carried out a major review which critics say was a thinly disguised attempt by mainland conservatives to restrict its editorial freedom. The Hong Kong Journalists’ Association has demanded that RTHK’s links to the government be severed and it called the review, which does not favour RTHK becoming the future public broadcaster, ‘reckless and irresponsible’. According to the association, the review ignores the fact that RTHK had been a respected de facto public broadcaster for years.

News Gathering

Foreign journalists in Hong Kong enjoy a larger degree of freedom than those working in China since the SAR does not impose a mandatory registration system.

According to Francis Moriarty, head of the press freedom committee of the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Club, the movement of Hong Kong-based overseas journalists is restricted due to a special visa arrangement that requires non-local journalists to apply for visas each time they enter China, at a per-visit cost of HK$900 (US$115). By contrast journalists with mainland-based accreditation are not subject to the visa requirement. The number of foreign journalists working in Hong Kong has levelled off in recent years, while the number based across the border in the mainland continues to grow.

In January 2007 a survey by the Hong Kong Journalists Association found that 58 percent of journalists think that press freedom has deteriorated since the handover to China, mainly as a result of self-censorship and of the government’s tighter grip on the flow of information. Almost a third of those interviewed admitted to self-censorship. Press tendencies to downplay negative news from the central government and to second-guess what would be considered sensitive issues are a growing problem.

In February 2008 Hong Kong-based journalist Ching Cheong was released from prison after serving almost two years on charges of spying for Taiwan. Ching, a correspondent for Singapore’s Straits Times newspaper, denied the espionage charges but was given a five-year sentence in August 2006.

Despite the survey findings, and the sentencing of Ching, Hong Kong largely retains the press freedoms inherited from its time under British rule and no newspaper or magazine has been banned or officially censored since the handover.

Work visas are required for those wishing to relocate to Hong Kong. Contact the nearest Chinese Embassy or Consulate or the Hong Kong Immigration Department direct. (Immigration Tower, 7 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong. Telephone: (852)-2824-6111;  (852)-2877-7711. E-mail: enquiry@immd.gcn.gov.hk Website: www.info.gov.hk/immd/index.htm) There is no special category for journalists. No restrictions are placed on visiting journalists.

Registering with the Overseas Public Relations division of the Hong Kong Government Information Service (GIS) is voluntary. Most government press releases are carried promptly on the government’s website (www.info.gov.hk) and will be faxed to correspondents upon request.

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong (2 Lower Albert Road, Central, Hong Kong, Tel: 2521-1511; Fax: 2868 4092; Website: www.fcchk.org) organises regular press conferences, newsmaker speeches and social events. Temporary membership is available for bona fide visiting journalists. Facilities include a workroom equipped with IBM and Apple computers and Internet access, a small gymnasium, restaurants and bars. It is an invaluable place to meet other journalists, lawyers, business executives and contacts.

Practical Tips

  • When going to an interview or meeting — or even a social occasion — you will be expected to swap business cards with almost everyone you meet. When accepting a card, you should receive it with both hands and study it for at least a few seconds. Similarly, when handing out a card, it is polite to hold it with both hands.

  • Hotels in Hong Kong are among the world’s most expensive. Rates are negotiable and always cheaper when booked through a travel agent. Numerous websites offer discounted rates for all types of accommodation. Note that prices increase considerably during both Chinese and Western holiday periods. If you are on an expat package you will have little trouble finding a spacious apartment — many of which include club facilities. However, if you are paying your own way and want to live at the centre of things, don’t be surprised to find yourself renting a flat so compact that it could fit into your bedroom at home. If you adopt the local lifestyle — which is to always eat out — you will get used to the size of the flat. Many journalists paying their own way live out of the city in the New Territories or on Lantau or Lamma islands to avoid high rents and to enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle.

 

Contributor: Teri Fitsell | Updated by Emma Moore
Latest update September 2008

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Last updated: 02 November 2011
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