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THE MEDIA
a continual flow of information both locally and overseas. Besides communicating the government's news, it also monitors local opinion as expressed in the media.
The department is organised in three main divisions-news, technical services and public relations-with certain services common to all three. The news division, probably the most familiar service to the Hong Kong public, produces a daily information bulletin in English and Chinese, supplemented by a teleprinter service which assists agencies and newspapers to meet urgent deadlines. A bi-lingual press enquiries service is also maintained 24 hours a day.
The news division becomes the nerve centre of all communications during typhoons, severe rainstorms, and all other emergencies. Once the 'emergency roster' is in force, the division is manned round the clock by a team of officers. Liaison officers are also deployed to the Royal Observatory, the Social Welfare Department, the New Territories Administration, the Public Works Department, Medical and Health Department, Marine Department, Housing Department, and to the Royal Hong Kong Police Force.
Although their activities are less well-known locally, the other two-divisions of Government Information Services are concerned with a variety of activities that extend far beyond Hong Kong. The largest division within the department, technical services, comprises six sections: publications and editorial, design and display, photographic, films and marketing, and campaigns. The campaigns section was created following the massive Clean Hong Kong Campaign in 1972. With experience gained from this campaign it was found that a separate section was required to handle the dozen or so government promotions each year. The Fight Violent Crime Campaign was one of this section's major tasks of 1973.
The marketing section is responsible for distribution of all publicity materials including books, pamphlets, fact sheets and posters, produced by the department. It also distributes in Hong Kong various publications received from the Central Office of Information in Britain, maintains an up-to-date photographic library, operates a mobile film unit and a film lending library.
The editorial section employs qualified journalists who write material for direct mailing or syndication to newspapers and periodicals throughout the world. Publica- tions produced during the year ranged from 'Hong Kong 1974' to booklets on the port, and medical and health services.
The design and display section produces posters, leaflets, books, booklets, exhibi- tions, displays, and window displays for the government. It also handles display advertisements, cinema and television graphics, symbols, and corporate image material. Major exhibition projects included the design of the Clean Hong Kong Fair, the Crime Prevention Exhibition and a cinema for the Action Committee Against Narcotics at the Chinese Manufacturers' Association Fair.
Short monthly newsreels, entitled 'Hong Kong Today', are commissioned by the film section of the technical services division. These are screened regularly in some 30 local cinemas and on local television channels.