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Hong Kong's mass media at the end of 2003 included 52 daily newspapers,
a number of electronic newspapers, 864 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 telecommunications
technology and keen interest in Hong Kong's affairs have attracted many
international news agencies, newspapers with international readership
and overseas broadcasting corporations to establish regional headquarters
or representative offices here. The successful regional publications produced
in Hong Kong underline its important position as a financial, industrial,
trading and communications centre.
The Hong Kong press registered at year-end included
28 Chinese-language dailies, 11 English-language dailies (one of them
in Braille and one an Internet edition), eight bilingual dailies and five
in other languages. Of the Chinese-language dailies, 20 cover mainly local
and overseas general news; five specialise in finance; and the rest cover
horse racing. 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 of the English dailies publishes a daily Braille
edition, in conjunction with the Hong Kong Society for the Blind, and
also an Internet edition. Three Chinese dailies and four bilingual dailies
are published on the Internet. 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 Nihon Keizai Shimbun
are printed here.
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 biggest industry-wide union of journalists
in the HKSAR and one of the most active. Formed in 1968, it has around
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 with professional bodies such as the
Hong Kong News Executives' Association, the Hong Kong Journalists Association,
the Newspaper Society of Hong Kong, 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 a management course for managerial or supervisory level staff
of media organisations, a knowledge enhancement programme for journalists
entitled 'China Today', and a 'Marketing, Advertising and PR Symposium'
for advertising executives and public relations professionals. |
