COMMUNICATIONS AND THE MEDIA
Radio 3 has in recent years adopted a broader, more international profile in response to the needs of the multi-national English speaking community in Hong Kong. The channel is committed to several projects which help promote the use and enjoyment of the English language. Hong Kong Report is a programme for young people made by local students. Radio 3 also co-organises an annual short story writing competition and this year launched its first radio drama writing competition. The station broadcasts local, regional and international news, locally made features, music and magazine programmes including its morning current affairs programme Hong Kong Today. Radio 3's charity campaign Operation Santa Claus continued to raise millions of dollars for children's charities in Hong Kong.
Radio 4, the bilingual channel for fine music and the arts, broadcasts a wide range of fine music and regular relays of concerts held at major cultural venues in the territory. The channel also promotes local musical talent and creative music through programmes such as Young Music Makers and Musicarama '92 respectively. In 1992, Radio 4 launched its RTHK Singers, a handpicked chamber choral group of very high standard, providing quality choral programmes on air and in concert halls.
Radio 5 provides cultural and minority interest programmes like Chinese opera, provincial music and features in Putonghua. The channel specialises in producing programmes for the elderly and for children. A special project, Care for the Elderly, which included visits to different types of hostels for the elderly was organised in the year.
Radio 6 relays the BBC World Service 24 hours a day. It broadcasts world news and a wide range of programmes from drama and music to science, sport and current affairs.
Radio 7 widened its service to become a news information and traffic channel with effect from May 6, 1991, and extended its broadcasting hours from 0600-2400 hours to 0600-0200 hours from August 1, 1991 onwards. It provides news summaries, financial information, updated traffic information, weather and emergency messages at 15-minute intervals on weekdays and Saturday mornings with middle-of-the-road music in between. Only half-hourly news summaries, traffic and weather reports are provided on Saturday afternoon and all through Sunday in order to meet audience demand at that time for more 'golden oldies'.
Commercial Radio
Commercial Radio operates two Chinese services on FM frequencies and one English service on an AM frequency on a 24-hour basis.
News and current affairs programmes like Breakfast Show, Morning This Minute and Hong Kong This Minute are the main features on CR1. The channel is also simulcast on the English service, CRE, during weekday afternoons.
CR2 continues to appeal to students and young people by promoting local pop music. The channel also demonstrated its commitment to community service by launching concerts with the Friends of the Earth and the Committee on Smoking and Health to arouse wider awareness of environmental protection and hazards of smoking to health.
CRE has broadened its programme format to meet the needs of the English-speaking audience. Its weekday morning programmes adopt a magazine style and feature music, games, ‘infotainment' segments like local and overseas stocks reports, 'dos' and 'don'ts' of the day and regular news updates.
305