366
COMMUNICATIONS AND THE MEDIA
Radio 1 is the main news and information channel of the Chinese programme service. It provides news, financial, traffic and weather reports. Major political and social events are covered extensively and the public mood of the moment is gauged through the channel's phone-in programmes Talkabout and Headliner. The three-hour public affairs magazine programme Newsrama is a major feature of the channel, bringing listeners up-to-the-minute reports on events around the territory. Simultaneous broadcasts with overseas radio stations, such as Radio Guangdong, Radio Manchester and the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation, have proved popular.
=
Radio 2 provides programmes in Chinese ranging from civic education to entertainment. It targets the younger generation. Programmes such as Open Line, Open View and Youth Hotline all provided avenues for youngsters to express their views on current issues and public affairs, as well as to receive professional counselling. The two major programmes Solar Project, which encourages young people to play a positive role in community affairs, and the annual Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award Presentation Concert, which promotes local musical talent and raises funds for charitable organisations, were also highly popular with the station's young listeners.
Radio 3 is committed to maintaining a high quality English-language service for Hong Kong's multi-national community. Its flagship is the morning news and current affairs programme Hong Kong Today. Also popular is the topical Drive Time magazine programme, during which a guest expert is invited to answer phone-in enquiries every weekday in the late afternoon. Open Line provides a community link on Saturday mornings. The channel provides award-winning local quiz shows, documentaries and dramas, specialist music shows and programmes aimed specifically at the Indian and Filipino communities. Radio 3 maintains a high profile in the community with regular outside broadcasts and two daily youth programmes, Teen Time and Live and Loud, which have close ties with schools and colleges. Its annual charity campaign Operation Santa Claus raises funds for, and helps create awareness of the work of, local charities.
Radio 4, the bilingual channel for fine music and the arts, broadcasts a wide range of fine music programmes and regular relays of concerts held at major cultural venues in the territory. The channel continues to broaden its audience profile through a less formal presentation style and interesting programming formats catering for specific target groups. The channel promotes local musical talent and creative music through live studio recitals, commissions and various projects such as Young Music Makers, Musicarama '94, and participation in the International Rostrum of Composers. It draws up the territory's own Monthly Fine Music CD Chart, which helps promote fine music appreciation. Its weekly magazine programmes Kaleidoscope and Artbeat help promote the arts.
Radio 5 broadcasts educational, cultural and minority interest programmes such as Cantonese opera, provincial music and features in Putonghua. The Care for the Elderly programme has become an annual project and involves visits to various hostels for the elderly by popular personalities.
Radio 6 relays the BBC World Service round-the-clock. It broadcasts a wide range of programmes from news and current affairs, sports and documentaries to dramas, fine music and programmes for young people.
Radio 7 broadcasts news summaries and traffic reports at 30-minute intervals. Financial data are updated every 15 minutes during weekdays. During typhoons, heavy rainstorms and