Sing Pao Daily News
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Sing Pao Daily News (Traditional Chinese: 成報) is one of the oldest Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong and was first published on May 1, 1939 by the Sing Pao Newspaper Company Limited (成報報刊有限公司). It was initially published once every three days, and later once a day. According to Sing Pao, it circulates about 100,000 copies every day, with over 220,000 readers (as of 2003). People from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Mainland China can also buy and read it. In addition, people from all over the world can read Sing Pao anytime on the Internet simply by visiting its official site.
Contents |
[edit] The Newspaper
Sing Pao consists of various News Sections:
- Local — This section contains Hong Kong headlines, an editorial column, local news and related softnews, as well as a complaint board.
- International (including PRC and Taiwan) — This section consists of international news, news from China, amusing international softnews, and profiles of international leaders.
- Economics — In this section, one can find Economic headlines, news on Chinese Business, finance information, investment tips, and information on the property market.
- Entertainment — In this section, there is wide coverage of local and international entertainment news.
- Sports — This section focuses on football news, including football-gambling, NBA, and other news.
- Horse-racing
- Supplementary Sections, such as Holiday, Foods and Drinks, Cars, Mobile phones, Computers and Software, Fashion and Beauty, Health, and Education.
Sing Pao especially targets teenagers and it has many school subscriptions. It has an editorial section for students, where young readers can summit their essays by post, fax or email. Therefore, readers have a chance to share and learn from the essays of others. In addition, readers can get all sorts of useful information on education in Hong Kong, ranging from kindergarten to tertiary institutions at the Teacher and Student Corner. There are some articles about further studies overseas as well.
To give readers a clearer picture of what is happening in this constantly changing world as well as Hong Kong, Sing Pao also provides Weekly International News Highlights and a Corner about the Hong Kong Legislative Council. In this section, readers not only get a quick overview of current affairs happening around the world but also an opportunity to express their views.
[edit] Improvement in technology
In order to meet the advancement of the modern technology and the demands of IT people, Sing Pao introduced the PDA Channel. By utilizing this channel, people using PDAs can download the most up-to-date news (including politics, current affairs, international affairs, entertainment, and even horse-racing information) from the official Sing Pao website. It is convenient to readers who often browse news online, and it can further enlarge the circle of possible users.
[edit] Financial problems
Sing Pao experienced a change of ownership in 2000 due to a decline in sales. In 2000, the StarEastNet Limited (東魅網) and China Strategic Holdings Limited (中策集團) bought Sing Pao and announced that the reporting style would remain the same, but the main focus would shift to entertainment news and advertisements in order to satisfy public interest. Furthermore, Chief Executive Officer Ng-Ching has been targeting the Chinese market to properly expand its service as an advertisement agent. But the date to initiate the circulation of Sing Pao is unknown at this time.
However, in 2002, there was another change of ownership. Sun Media (陽光文化媒體集團) bought Sing Pao Media Group (including Sing Pao) for 1 billion (??). The company promised that they would re-structure the organization of Sing Pao and targeted the reduction of its loss in recent years until a balanced budget was reached.
The newspaper was under financial troubles again in early 2006, during which it was unable to pay the salaries of various employees on time. Eventually, in May 2004, 23 of its reporters -- led by Kwok Yin-Ling (?) (郭燕玲), the assistant chief editor -- took sick leave together as a measure/protest against the management. However, no agreement could be reached and the reporters resigned in the end [1]. Some top-level executives (and board members?) have resigned after this incident. As of June 2006, at least 60 employees have left Sing Pao, the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority is suing Sing Pao because of all the MPF Sing Pao hasn't paid, and the Labour Department is suing Sing Pao because of the unpaid wages.
The Labour Departnebt won and on 3 January 2007, Sing Pao was fined HK$4200. The media and the head of the Labour Department criticized the punishment as being too light. In face of the criticisms, the magistrate reopened the case on his own initiative the next day, as authorized by law (Chapter 227, Section 104(5)). With the Magistrates' Courts, there is no functus officio; the magistrate can reopen his own case within 14 days. This lead to other people criticizing the magistrate's decision to reopen, saying it gives the impression of popular and executive interference in the judiciary. [ Audrey Eu, Ming Pao, 9Jan2007]
[edit] Reliability and Criticism
According to the "Reliability of Hong Kong newspapers", research performed by the School of Journalism and Communication of the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2001 (results stated below), out of 10, Sing Pao received 6.48 from the public and 5.89 from journalists. Compared to the highest mark, 7.54 of Ming Pao, and the lowest mark, 4.45 of Sun Daily, the reliability of Sing Pao was above average.
Reliability research results of Hong Kong newspapers:
Newspapers Reliability
Average mark (public) Average mark (journalists)
Ming Pao 7.54 7.27
SCMP 7.24 7.47
Sing Tao Daily 7.13 6.78
Sing Pao 6.48 5.89
Wen Wei Po 5.93 5.92
Oriental Daily 5.76 5.14
Ta Kung Pao 5.64 5.44
Apple Daily 5.15 5.08
Sun Daily 5.13 4.45
Although Sing Pao has a motto of reporting the truth fairly and objectively, it has faced criticism too. On 4 February 2003, a reader complained to the Hong Kong Journalists Association (香港記者協會) that Sing Pao published the full name, address, and picture of a victim in their paper, which violated their personal privacy.
