ENG-1984 — Page 308

COMMUNICATIONS AND THE MEDIA

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The news media plays a vital part in the territory's precautionary measures against sudden climatic threats. When typhoons approach or rainstorms spell danger the news media reacts to alert, inform and advise the population.

Against this background it is not surprising that remarkable advances and innovations have taken place in the information field in recent years. The government has matched this progress by producing and participating in an increasing number of public affairs programmes on television and radio, and by expanding its information services.

The Press

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Hong Kong's flourishing free press consists of 66 newspapers and 473 periodicals, which have a high readership. The newspapers include 44 Chinese-language dailies and two English dailies, two English papers that publish six days a week and three that publish five days a week. There is one bilingual paper. In addition, a number of news agency bulletins - Chinese, English and Japanese are also registered as newspapers. During the year, an English tabloid, the Star, and its sister paper, the Chinese Star, ceased publication. The former had first appeared in 1965 and the latter in 1969. Late in the year, two Chinese dailies, the Kung Sheung Daily News and its sister paper the Kung Sheung Evening News, also ceased publication. The Daily News had first appeared in 1925 and the Evening News in 1930.

Of the Chinese-language dailies, 37 cover mainly general news, both local and overseas, while others solely cover entertainment, especially television and cinema news. The larger papers also include Chinese communities overseas in their distribution networks, and some even have editions printed outside Hong Kong, in particular in Britain and the United States. Included in the English press are international papers with locally printed editions - the Asian Wall Street Journal and the International Herald Tribune.

Hong Kong is the Southeast Asia base for many newspapers, magazines, news agencies and the electronic media. Among the international news agencies with offices in Hong Kong are Associated Press, Reuters, United Press International and Agence France Presse. Newsweek and Time magazines have editions printed in Hong Kong which is also the base for the regional magazines Asiaweek and the Far Eastern Economic Review.

Several organisations represent and cater for people working in the news media in Hong Kong. The Newspaper Society of Hong Kong represents Chinese and English newspapers. It is empowered to act in matters affecting the interests of its members. The Hong Kong Journalists Association seeks to raise professional standards by recommending better training, pay and conditions in journalism, and advises its members in the event of disputes with employers. The Foreign Correspondents' Club offers its members social facilities and a range of professional activities, including news conferences, briefings and films. The Hong Kong Press Club provides an opportunity for journalists to meet socially.

Major steps have been taken to expand and improve training in journalism, with the Journalism Training Board of the Vocational Training Council playing an important role. The board received an allocation of $136,000 from the council in 1984 towards running in-service training courses for journalists. Six courses were held and one, involving a workshop and seminars conducted by two overseas experts, attracted 181 participants. The board also published the results of a major survey of manpower in the mass media.

Sound Broadcasting

There are 10 radio channels in Hong Kong. Five are operated by Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), three by the Hong Kong Commercial Broadcasting Company, more