Media in Hong Kong are available to the public in the forms of: television and radio, newspapers, magazines and the internet.They serve the local community by providing necessary information and entertainment.Overview by the end of 2002 * Daily newspapers: 52 (25 Chinese-language dailies, 4 English-language dailies, 8 English-language newspapers publishing 5 or 6 days a week, 7 bilingual dailies and 5 newspapers in other languages) * Free-to-air commercial TV companies: 2 * Subscription TV licensees: 5 * Non-domestic television programme licensees: 12 * Government radio-television station: 1 * Commercial radio stations: 2 Television Further information: Free television services (Hong Kong) and Pay television services (Hong Kong) * Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) * Phoenix TV * Asia Television Ltd (ATV) * Cable TV * Now TV * Radio Television Hong Kong Radio * Radio Television Hong Kong * Commercial Radio * Metro Radio Hong Kong Newspapers Further information: Newspapers of Hong Kong Magazines * Cheng Ming Magazine (爭鳴) * City Magazine(HK) 《號外》 * East Touch * East Week * Far Eastern Economic Review * HIM * HK Magazine * The List Magazine * Next Magazine * The Mirror (鏡報) Internet media These are non-profit and unregulated internet radio stations operated by hobbyists and non-profit organisations. Most of these stations tend to be quite political and influential, although a variety of apolitical programs are gradually appearing. * People"s Radio Hong Kong weblink * [Hiradio.net * WM6471.net * Radio71 * Inmediahk.net] Public space media * RoadShow * Newsline Express Media organizations * Sing Tao News Corporation Limited * Next Media * Videotage Characteristic Legally regulated Mass media in Hong Kong are regulated by an independent legal system. It guarantees that practitioners can fully utilize their creativity and professional capacity to entertain the public and pose check on the government. International As a world financial centre, Hong Kong attracts mass media all over the world to set up their business here. Apart from local media, overseas publications can be found easily. Foreign broadcasting, like BBC, ABC news, etc are treated like regular broadcasts. Infotaintive Hong Kong media are run under commercial principles. Market force plays an important role. Ratings largely determine the income of the media organizations. "Infotainment" is often the mainstream product of mass media. Promptness As a product of a commercial city, the media has the characteristics of other commercial institutes- prompt, responsive, quick. For example, when there is a car accident, reporters would arrive at the hospital earlier than the ambulance. The responsiveness is also demonstrated by the keen need of scoop. In order to get a scoop, reporters may use all means to obtain news. Reports are often referenced with "sources said". Press freedom and responsibility Government intervention of the press in Hong Kong is minimal. People are free to criticize the government. Nonetheless, the mass media is generally independent of any political powers. Occasionally we would hear Chinese officials criticize the media, saying it should give more support to the government. The media have formed their own professional bodies, e.g. Hong Kong Journalists Association, Hong Kong News Executives" Association, etc., to guarantee non-political interference. Private ownership Apart from RTHK and a few newspapers and magazines with support from mainland China authorities, most of the media corporations are private-owned. Challenges faced by Media Trust Ethical studies have been conducted by four journalism groups (Hong Kong Journalists Association, Hong Kong News Executives" Association, Hong Kong Federation of Journalists, Hong Kong Press Photographers" Association ). They could not deny the fact that the mass media were suffering decreasing respect of Hong Kong citizens. Journalism was no longer seen as a respectable profession. The public had little trust in newspapers. The news industry attributed this phenomenon to the citizens" complaints about the decreasing ethics of journalists. Content The general concensus is that the news industry inject too much violence and pornography into news reporting. Victims were usually celebrities. Stories were exaggerated often violating ones privacy. A study was conducted by Hong Kong Journalists Association in early 2007 to find that 58.4% of journalists in Hong Kong consider that the degree of freedom of speech has decreased since the handover in 1997. Furthermore nearly 60% of the interviewed journalists also think that more self-censorship has been practiced now than 1997[1] Incidents "Mr Chan Kin Hong (陳健康) Incident" On 19 October 1998, a woman, together with her 2 children, jumped off a tall building in Sheung Shui and died. The local media quickly turned their attention to the woman"s husband, Mr. Chan Kin Hong. It was alleged that Mrs Chan committed suicide because her husband had taken another wife from mainland China. Chan then became the headlines of major newspapers and TV channels, being portrayed as both a disgraceful husband and a living example of trans-boundary marital problems between Hong Kong and mainland China. During the media"s wild chase of the story, the Apple Daily was so eager to outstrip its competitors that it posted a picture that ruined its reputation. In the picture Chan was holding 2 women, whom were said to be prostitutes, in his arms - all three were cuddling under a bedsheet inside a hotel room. On one hand public resentment against Chan reached its peak, but the readers could not help wondering, how did the Apple Daily manage to get this picture. Later on it was discovered that the Apple Daily had paid Chan HK$5,000 for the story. Alternate version of the story point to the Apple Daily never paying Chan directly in cash. And that their reporters paid for Chan"s meals and "entertainment" expenses during the process of reporting, including the fees for the prostitutes. Finally, the Apple Daily posted a whole-page notice of apology on its front page on 10 November 1998. The incident sparked off fierce criticism from other media, academics and the public. HK journalists were criticized for taking part in creating social tragedies. Spreading false news during SARS period On April Fools" Day in 2003, a 14-year-old student copied the design of the Ming Pao web site to his own, wherein he announced that Hong Kong had been declared an "infected port", and that Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa had stepped down. In addition, the Hang Seng Index had plunged. Hong Kong would be quarantined and cut off from supplies, which immediately sparked panic buying at supermarkets and prompted the government to issue an official denial in an emergency briefing and through SMS messages to mobile phone users. Newspapers overwhelmingly condemned the spread of misinformation in times of the SARS crisis. Ming Pao in particular demanded the punishment of the spread of false news in the public interest. This raised a discussion on the choice between freedom of speech and the public interest. The person who spread the rumor had subsequently been arrested. Continuing the Freedom of Press The legislation to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law, which concerns the prohibition of crimes against national security, has been one of the most controversial issues since the reunification of Hong Kong with mainland China. Among the laws proposed to implement Article 23, the media were most concerned about the offences of handling seditious publications and unlawful disclosure of official secrets. There are worries among the media sector, as well as the legal and human rights groups, that the amendments would endanger the freedom of the press in Hong Kong. A march of approximately 350,000 - 750,000 people took place to Exposed photos Some naked photos of a famous actress were distributed in East Magazine, and then Three Weekly in the span of a week. The photos were claimed to be taken in the early 90s when that actress was kidnapped. Though people from all social strata have shouted themselves hoarse to call on citizens to boycott the publications, many bought and read them even while condemning them for corrupting public morality. Those issues sold very well. Media ethics were raised as a hot topic; people investing in or working for "vile" publications were much criticized. As the public pressure grew, East Magazine finally wound up. Twins peep In August 2006, Gillian Chung of the local pop duo Twins filed a writ against Easyfinder Magazine for publishing "peep photos" of her changing backstage at a concert in Malaysia. This raised another media ethics and aggressive paparazzi concern. And again, the magazine sold well, printing two runs of the magazine, selling out twice. Regulations Freedom of the press and publication are enshrined in Art. 27 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong"s mini-constitution, and are also protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) under Art. 39 of the Basic Law. There is no law called "media law" in Hong Kong. Instead, the media are governed by statutory laws. In brief, there are 31 Ordinances that are directly related to mass media. Six of which are highlighted below. * Registration of Local Newspapers Ordinance (Cap. 268) provides for the registration of local newspapers and news agencies and the licensing of newspaper distributors. * Books Registration Ordinance (Cap. 142) (Cap. 106) provides for the registration and preservation of copies of books first printed, produced or published in Hong Kong. * Telecommunications Ordinance (Cap. 106) makes better provision for the licensing and control of telecommunications, telecommunications services and telecommunications apparatus and equipment. * Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance (Cap. 390) controls and classifies articles which consist of or contain material that is obscene or indecent. Obscene Articles Tribunals are established to determine whether an article is obscene or indecent. * Broadcasting Authority Ordinance (Cap. 391) provides for the establishment and functions of a Broadcasting Authority. * Broadcasting Ordinance (Cap. 562) licenses companies to provide broadcasting services and regulate the provision of broadcasting services by licensees. The rest of the Ordinances are of less importance since they do not aim at regulating mass media, but some of their provisions do affect the operation of media organizations and also the freedom of press. The passing of Bill of Rights Ordinance (BORO) in 1986 strengthened the protection of fundamental human rights like press freedom or freedom of speech. This has been reflected in the loosening of control over mass media. Laws that violate the principle of press freedom are gradually amended. For example, s.27 of Public Order Ordinance, which criminalize publishing of false news, was repealed in 1989. Nonetheless, there are still concerns among the media sector that some existing laws may still undermine the freedom of the press and publication, e.g. Official Secrets Ordinance (Cap. 521) and Public Order Ordinance (Cap. 245). Authorities enforcing policies * Statutory Bodies o Broadcasting Authority (BA) regulates broadcasters in Hong Kong by licensing and penalties according to the Broadcasting Regulation. o Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority (TELA) is responsible for monitoring television and radio broadcasting to secure proper standards. * Non-Governmental Bodies o Press Council was established in July 2000. The objective of the Council is to promote the professional and ethical standard of the newspaper industry, defend press freedom, and deal with public complaints against local newspapers. It is an independent organization. |
2009年3月17日星期二
Media in Hong Kong
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