The Mass Media

Hong Kong's mass media at the end of 2001 included 53 daily newspapers, a number of electronic newspapers, 709 periodicals, two free-to-air commercial television companies, five subscription television licensees, 12 non-domestic television programme licensees, one government radio-television station and two commercial radio stations.

The availability of the latest in telecommunications technology and keen interest in its affairs have attracted many international news agencies, newspapers with international readership and overseas broadcasting corporations to establish regional headquarters or representative offices in Hong Kong. The successful regional publications produced in Hong Kong underline its important position as a financial, industrial, trading and communications centre.

The Press

The Hong Kong press at the end of the year included 25 Chinese-language dailies, four English-language dailies and six English-language newspapers publishing either six or five days a week, five bilingual dailies and five in other languages. Of the Chinese-language dailies, 22 cover mainly local and overseas general news; four specialise in finance; and the rest cover entertainment news, especially television and cinema news. The larger papers include overseas Chinese communities in their distribution networks, and some have editions printed outside Hong Kong, in particular in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.

One English daily publishes a daily Braille edition, in conjunction with the Hong Kong Society for the Blind. One English daily, eight Chinese dailies and three bilingual dailies are published on the Internet. Three news agency bulletins — issued in Chinese, English and Japanese — are registered as newspapers.

Hong Kong is the base for a number of regional publications such as the Far Eastern Economic Review and business and trade magazines. The Financial Times, Asian Wall Street Journal, USA Today, International Herald Tribune and the Nihon Keizai Shimbun are also printed here. The regional magazine Asiaweek, which was launched in Hong Kong in 1975, ceased publication in December.

Several organisations represent and cater for people working in the news media in Hong Kong. The Newspaper Society of Hong Kong represents Chinese and English newspaper proprietors. It is empowered to act in matters that affect the interests of its members.

The Hong Kong Journalists Association is the only industry-wide union of journalists in the HKSAR and one of the most active. Formed in 1968, it has 600 members and promotes the right to freedom of expression, and focuses its attention on a range of press freedom and ethics concerns as well as on professional training. Among media organisations formed more recently are the Hong Kong News Executives' Association, the Hong Kong Federation of Journalists, and the Hong Kong Press Photographers Association. The long-established Foreign Correspondents' Club offers its members social facilities and a range of professional activities, including news conferences, briefings and films.

During the year, the Mass Communication Training Board of the Vocational Training Council continued to organise upgrading training for people working in the media, advertising and public relations sectors. An allocation of $290,000 from the council enabled the board to arrange various courses, talks and seminars for members of professional bodies such as the Hong Kong News Executives' Association, the Hong Kong Journalists Association, the Hong Kong Advertisers Association, the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Public Relations Professionals' Association. Popular activities included seminars on media coverage of the terrorists attacks in the United States on September 11 and on 'Going North: PR Trends and Opportunities on the Mainland', which was intended to help public relations professionals assess the business and working opportunities in the Mainland market.