THE MEDIA
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It is recognised that the standard of training for journalists in Hong Kong must be improved. Following recommendations by the Hong Kong Training Council, the Governor has appointed a training board to examine manpower training in journalism.
Television
Hong Kong has two enfranchised commercial broadcasting stations - Television Broad- casts Limited (TVB) and Rediffusion Television Limited (RTV). Both stations provide separate Chinese and English language services and, in total, broadcast a daily average of 60 hours of programming reaching an estimated three million viewers. Television has established itself as Hong Kong's principal leisure activity. Most people are ardent viewers and more than 90 per cent of all families possess at least one television set.
Both TVB and RTV maintain large, well-equipped studio and office complexes and use the latest production and transmission techniques. The UHF 625-line PAL system is standard and virtually all transmission is in colour.
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The stations are licensed under the Television Ordinance, the provisions of which are administered by the Television Authority. This office is vested in the Commissioner for Television and Entertainment Licensing who is responsible for the regulation of station licences and the enforcement of programme, advertising and technical standards.
The most popular programmes are the locally-produced Chinese drama and variety series, which often command audiences of more than two million viewers. The contem- porary 'social drama' serials, which are broadcast daily, enjoy high ratings. In this category, a topical serial concerning the life of a Vietnamese refugee in Hong Kong attracted large audiences. Equally popular were the lavishly-costumed kung fu epics in which acrobatic actors and actresses used complicated martial art techniques and Chinese weaponry. The marked preference for locally-produced programmes has resulted in the stations becoming large-scale programme production units to an extent generally not equalled by television stations of a similar size elsewhere.
On the English language services, viewers are offered a wide choice of the more popular British and American television series. Many of these programmes are dubbed into Cantonese for screening on the Chinese services.
In addition to its major function as a source of entertainment, television is also used as an educational medium. The government Education Television Service (ETV), which utilises the transmission facilities of the commercial stations for eight hours each school day, is watched by 620,000 primary and secondary schoolchildren. In 1979, the Education Department considerably expanded its provision of colour video cassette recorders to enable schools to record various programmes for later use.
The output of government-made programmes by Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) for transmission by the two commercial companies increased by 50 per cent during the year. A lightweight outside broadcast unit and more staff contributed to an output peaking at 74 hours each week. Much of the new programming was for children.
Social drama series in Cantonese produced by RTHK continued to achieve high ratings with Below the Lion Rock, in its eighth year; Sunny Sha Tin, the world of a new housing estate seen through children's eyes; Under the Same Roof, which deals with family problems caused by the change from traditional Chinese concepts; and Born Innocent, looking at the circumstances under which children get into trouble and the workings of the juvenile court. Another new series, On the Beat, was made in conjunction with the Royal Hong Kong Police Force. A ‘mini' series for the Independent Commission Against Corrup- tion dealt with public attitudes towards forms of corruption.