A never-ending media story

Hong Kong has to be one of the most complex, interesting, dynamic and fractious media markets in the world.

Where else would you see the boss of a major media outlet (and his family) prematurely declared dead in a competing newspaper? Or where senior members of media companies are accused of harbouring links to the CIA, or where being so politically aligned will prevent the city’s biggest advertisers from placing ads in your publication?

Welcome to Hong Kong, where business and political interests go hand in hand with daily and weekly publishing.

In recent years the media has itself become the story, with the likes of HKTV, Next Media, Ming Pao and House News all part of a growing list of publishers under heavy scrutiny.

But Hong Kong’s relatively small population of more than 7.2 million are, in most cases, spoilt when it comes to media choices.

The diversity of newspapers, magazines, websites, subscription TV and radio caters to all types of cultural and political persuasions and while it’s true our TV screens are largely controlled by two dominant players, even that is set to change in coming years.

But let’s not get too carried away here – surviving, let alone thriving in today’s media market, is a challenge.

Media companies right across the print, broadcast and digital spectrum have been on a mission to rethink the way they do business, find new ways to monetise their audience and explore ways to make the content they produce work harder than ever before.

In the past few years alone, we have seen the birth of new business models, new styles of brand-funded journalism, a range of live event extensions and different ways to engage readers and marketers.

It’s an exciting time to be in media and Hong Kong, with its deep political divides guaranteeing to keep it interesting for years to come.