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This is a list of newspapers in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is home to many of Asia's biggest English and Chinese language newspapers. The territory has one of the world's largest press industries and is a major centre for print journalism.
Contents |
The Chinese language newspapers, Oriental Daily News, Apple Daily and Sun Daily have the highest shares in the Hong Kong newspaper market, while the Hong Kong Economic Times is the best-selling financial newspaper. The Hongkong Standard, a free tabloid with a mass market strategy, is the most widely-circulated English newspaper by a significant margin. Its rival, the South China Morning Post, has the most paid subscribers among English-language papers in Hong Kong and nearly 10 times the total revenue from subscribers and advertisers of the Hongkong Standard based upon a high-end focus strategy. According to independent surveys conducted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, South China Morning Post and Ming Pao are the most trusted newspapers in Hong Kong (see below).
The fact that Apple Daily and The Sun are among those with the highest circulation can be explained by their approach. Both use an informal style, concentrating on celebrity gossip and paparazzi photography, and written to some degree in colloquial Cantonese phrases. This style of writing, as in other markets, is popular with a large section of the public. The content is often exaggerated or outright fabricated in order to claim "exclusives". Although the subjects of these alleged falsehoods have tried to express their dissatifaction through actions such as refusing interviews or even suing the reporters, they have not succeeded in stopping the papers' activities.
The number of newspapers in the market has been stable for a long time. There are occasional attempts at establishing new types of newspaper and theme-oriented papers, but most of these new papers cannot compete with the more mainstream papers. However, the entry into the market of free newspapers Metropolis Daily, Headline Daily, am730, and The Epoch Times has spurred competition. In September 2007, The Standard changed its business model from a traditional daily into a free-sheet, distributed in commercial districts like Central and Admiralty.[1]
Most papers sell at the cover price of HKD$6, except the South China Morning Post ($7, while the Sunday edition costs $8). The economic recession brought about by SARS in 2003 led to some resellers pricing at $1 below the recommended price. According to the HK Newspaper Hawkers Association, the situation has lasted through to 2008, and some 10% of sellers maintain the cut price despite the change in the prevailing economic climate. The Association urges a return to resale price maintenance.[2]
Ta Kung Pao, Hong Kong Commercial Daily, Sing Pao, and Wen Wei Po are all considered pro-Beijing and pro-government; Oriental Daily, The Sun and Sing Tao are considered as slightly pro-Beijing and pro-government; and Apple Daily often takes an anti-Beijing and pro-democracy stance. Oriental Daily, Apple Daily and The Sun are known for their sensational style, often gory pictures (e.g., of road accidents or murder scenes), and frequent borderline obscene coverage (including "prostitution guides"). Ming Pao and Sing Tao are considered as "serious" papers and are favoured by students and intellectuals. Hong Kong Economic Journal and Hong Kong Economic Times are business-oriented.
South China Morning Post and The Standard are both regarded as "serious" newspapers, and generally considered as neutral towards the government, though with the Post more "establishment-leaning" and the Standard a little more liberal in its editorial stance. The Standard now presents itself as a business paper, but also carries general news. From September 10, 2007, it switched to free, advertising-supported distribution.
The regional English-language newspaper, The Wall Street Journal Asia, is also published in Hong Kong; the Asian editions of the International Herald Tribune and Financial Times are also available in the city.
In a 2010 survey, the Center for Communication Research[1] at the School of Journalism and Communication of the Chinese University of Hong Kong asked Hong Kong residents to score the credibility of media sources on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being very high credibility). A random sample of 1206 Cantonese-speaking adults was reached by telephone with a 65% response rate, and the scores were weighted by age and sex to reflect Hong Kong's population. The South China Morning Post was the most credible (score: 6.85), while Ming Pao was the most credible Chinese-language paper (score: 6.77). The Sun was the least credible (score: 4.99), and Apple Daily was slightly better (score: 5.27). Oriental Daily News was the median (score: 5.75).[3]
| Newspaper | Credibility (10=very high credibility) |
|---|---|
| South China Morning Post |
6.85
|
| Ming Pao |
6.77
|
| Sing Tao Daily |
6.53
|
| Oriental Daily News |
5.75
|
| Apple Daily |
5.27
|
| The Sun |
4.99
|
| Rank | Newspaper | Score (public)[3] | Score (journalists) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South China Morning Post | 6.85 | 7.67 |
| 2 | Ming Pao | 6.77 | 7.47 |
| 3 | HK Economic Times | 6.71 | 6.88 |
| 4 | HK Economic Journal | 6.57 | 7.03 |
| 5 | Sing Tao Daily | 6.53 | 6.99 |
| 6 | Standard | 6.5 | 7.07 |
| 7 | Headline Daily | 5.9 | |
| 8 | Sing Pao Daily News | 5.88 | 6.09 |
| 9 | Oriental Daily News | 5.75 | 5.84 |
| 10 | AM 730 | 5.73 | |
| 11 | Metropolis Daily | 5.67 | |
| 12 | HK Commercial Daily | 5.56 | |
| 13 | HK Daily News | 5.38 | |
| 14 | Wen Wei Po | 5.37 | |
| 15 | Apple Daily | 5.27 | 4.88 |
| 16 | Ta Kung Pao | 5.14 | 5.44 |
| 17 | The Sun | 4.99 | 4.75 |
More are listed in the catalogue of the British Library's Newspaper Library
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