HK sees more independent media with latest launch of The Collective HK

Hong Kong's media industry is seeing more independent journalists and new media with the latest launch of online media platform The Collective HK, after a number of media organisations shut down over the past few years of political turmoil in the city.  

The Collective HK is founded by former RTHK producer Bao Choy and veteran journalist Ken Lui in 2023. The platform is missioned to deliver in-depth reports and news analysis each week, as well as following up on issues concerning public interests. 

“This is an era when press freedom is collapsing, and it is also an era when journalists are looking for a way out,” the official statement read.

The statement also said that journalists had been arrested and tried, and some media organisations had closed down in the past few years. Hong Kong's press freedom ranking had dropped from 80 in 2020 to 148 in 2022. Meanwhile, independent journalists and new media are emerging one after another, continuing the mission of the media and “writing the first draft of history”.

“We have noticed that in a new era where information becomes more fragmented, and voices in society become more monotonous, general readers are less willing to read the news. However, we believe that news is closely linked to the people’s life and well-being and public interest, and the profession of journalism needs to be passed on,” the statement read.

Don't miss: RTHK vows to tell good stories of HK and China via multimedia platforms

Choy, formerly a producer at RTHK, was arrested in November 2020 and charged with two counts of making false statements to obtain vehicle records for a documentary for RTHK. She lost an appeal against her conviction over assessing public data for the documentary in November 2022.

Don't miss: FactWire shuts due to 'great change' in HK media environment

Back in June last year, investigative news organisation FactWire has shut its office, following the shutdown of local pro-democracy media companies under the National Security Law. In a statement on its website, FactWire said it ceased operations on 10 June, all staff will be dismissed in accordance with pre-established procedures and all monthly subscriptions will also be suspended on the same day.

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