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OVERVIEW BY THE END OF 2002
TELEVISION
RADIO NEWSPAPERS MAGAZINES
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.
PUBLIC SPACE MEDIA MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS 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 . 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 filled 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 photo that ruined its reputation. Chan was seen cuddling two women — both said to be prostitutes — in a hotel-room bed. Public resentment against Chan reached its peak, but readers could not help wondering how the Apple Daily managed to get this picture. It was discovered that the Apple Daily had paid Chan HK$5,000 for the story. Alternate versions of the story have Apple Daily never paying Chan directly in cash, but that the paper's 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 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 Supermarket s 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 nude 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 ended publication. 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 Law s. In brief, there are 31 Ordinances that are directly related to mass media. Six of which are highlighted below.
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
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