Urgent Business: Hong Kong, Freedom of Expression and 1997
express critical opposition either to Britain or China, or both. Periodicals of the militant left, the Trotskyist bi-monthly October Review for example, and April 5th Forum, the bulletin of the April 5th Action Group, a coalition of the militant left, are strong potential targets for future censorship." The latter group, particularly, is deeply critical of the CCP leadership. In addition, independent Hong Kong-based NGOs working on Asian development and labour issues, including China issues, are also potential targets of future censorship.
A variety of English-language magazines is also published in Hong Kong, both for local and international readership, such as the Far Eastern Economic Review, Asiaweek, and business monthlies such as Asian Business. A recent addition is the pro-China magazine, Window.
5.4
JOURNALISM IN HONG KONG
There are thought to be between 2,000 and 3,000 working journalists in Hong Kong, though no comprehensive figures are available. The profession is young and highly mobile, with the majority of local journalists having received some form of tertiary education.25 Journalism is a highly transient profession, particularly in the junior ranks where turnover is high. To many, journalism is a stepping stone in their early career paths, rather than a career in itself, though an increasing number of new entrants into the profession have received a formal education in journalism either in tertiary institutions in Hong Kong or abroad.
Several factors contribute to this state of affairs, not least being that junior and middle- ranking journalists are very poorly paid and have to work excessively long hours by the standards of their professional counterparts. Career paths are also not a feature of the industry at present, leaving many with little opportunity for advancement. Historically, employers have been content to rely on young, new entrants as a means of keeping salary overheads low, contributing to the cycle of transience and inexperience in the profession. However, as competition within the media gets fierce, and with growing public expectations of higher journalistic standards, some media organizations are beginning to improve conditions and salaries, and look to long-term retention of staff by offering better opportunities. A related cause of this transience is the profession's low status in Hong Kong; journalism is on the bottom rung of professions, and often seen as an undignified one at that.
Furthermore, like other professions, journalists have been emigrating, adding to the attrition. Although there are no clear indications of whether journalism has suffered any more than other professions, some journalists are said to have emigrated (while others are said to have
24 These publications are often available in the territory's few alternative bookshops - "first floor bookshops" as they are known, since they usually occupy space on the first floor which is cheaper than ground-floor retail space.
25
A survey of 522 journalists carried out in the summer of 1990 found that 85 per cent of respondents were under the age of 40, and that 78 per cent had received tertiary education. About two-thirds had worked at their present organizations for four years or less. The survey was conducted by Joseph Man Chan and Paul S N Lee of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Chin-chuan Lee of the University of Minnesota, USA.
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