ENG-1992 — Page 347

COMMUNICATIONS AND THE MEDIA

The Press

Hong Kong's flourishing free press consists of 67 newspapers and 608 periodicals, which have a high readership. They include 39 Chinese-language dailies and two English- language dailies. One of the English dailies publishes a daily braille edition, in con- junction with the Hong Kong Society for the Blind. A number of news agency bulletins - Chinese, English and Japanese – are also registered as newspapers.

Of the Chinese-language dailies, 26 cover mainly general news, both local and overseas, while others cover solely entertainment, especially television and cinema news, and two concentrate on finance. The larger papers include Chinese communities overseas in their distribution networks, and some have editions printed outside Hong Kong, in particular in the United States, Canada, Britain and Australia.

Hong Kong is the South-East Asian base for many newspapers, magazines, news agencies and electronic media. Among the international news agencies with offices in Hong Kong are Associated Press, Reuters, United Press International, Agence France-Presse, Kyodo News Service of Japan, Agencia EFE of Spain and LUSA of Portugal. 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, as well as the Asian Wall Street Journal and the International Herald Tribune.

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 newspaper proprietors. It is empowered to act in matters affecting the interests of its members. The Hong Kong Journalists Association, founded in 1968, is the only territory-wide trade union for local journalists. It seeks to recommend better training, pay and conditions in journalism, and advises its members in the event of disputes with employers. As an active member of the International Federation of Journalists, it plays a significant role in the international press freedom movement, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. 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.

A sum of $300,000 was allocated by the Vocational Training Council to the Journalism Training Board and Advertising, Public Relations and Publishing Training Board to conduct no less than a dozen up-grading courses for the mass media. The most popular courses were: Newspro-English Oral Skills for Journalists (by the British Council), Putonghua for Journalists (by the City Polytechnic of Hong Kong) and Advertising Management Course (by 4A's.)

Hong Kong's Image Overseas Overview

One of the main objectives of the government's information policy is to project a proper image of Hong Kong to overseas communities.

As international interest in the major issues confronting Hong Kong has increased, so the government, in co-operation with other members of 'Hong Kong Inc.' has expanded the programme of joint promotional activities mounted overseas.

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