Hong Kong Journalists Association

Infobox Union
name = Hong Kong Journalists Association
native_name= 香港記者協會


founded = 1968
country = Hong Kong
office = Hong Kong
affiliation= Non-government organization
colours = Red
chairperson = Serenade WOO Lai-wan
vice_chairperson = LO King-wah
people = Journalists
website = [http://www.hkja.org.hk/index.htm www.hkja.org.hk]

The Hong Kong Journalists Association (Chinese: 香港記者協會) was established in 1968 for practising journalists in Hong Kong "to enhance press freedom and the integrity of news coverage" ( [http://www.hkja.org.hk/who/index.htm Who we are --- HKJA] ). The association acts as a trade union for journalists by seeking to improve working conditions for them and further works to aid journalists by striving to remove barriers journalists face when gathering news. HKJA also serves as a channel for individuals to file complaints when unethical reporting in local media is observed.

Background

Every year, HKJA produces a report on the press freedom status in Hong Kong. It is widely circulated to foreign consulates and non-governmental organisations and is often quoted in foreign media reports about Hong Kong. The 2006 report describes the challenges facing the media in Hong Kong, including the government's attempts to influence the editorial direction of the public broadcaster Radio Television Hong Kong .

Prior to 2006, the report was annually produced in partnership with ARTICLE 19, a London-based rights group.

HKJA is an affiliated member of the International Federation of Journalists, the world's largest journalists' organisation.

HKJA is also a member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange, a global network of non-governmental organisations that monitors censorship worldwide and defends journalists, writers, Internet users and others who are persecuted for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

Hong Kong's press consists of 23 Chinese dailies, 13 English dailies (one in Braille and one an Internet edition), 8 bilingual dailies and 5 Japanese publications. Of the 23 Chinese dailies, 17 mainly cover local and overseas news, while 4 specialise in finance. 3 Chinese dailies and 4 bilingual dailies are published on the Internet.

Funding

In order to maintain its neutrality, HKJA is funded by membership fees and other fund-raising activities, such as annual dinners, seminars (for non-members), training courses ( [http://www.hkja.org.hk/Seminars/training_courses.htm On Job Training Courses for Junior Journalists] ) etc.

Membership classifications

One may choose to join HKJA as a Full Member, Associate Member, Public Relations Member or Student Member. For further details, you may refer to the official website. [http://www.hkja.org.hk/who/index.htm/ Who are we-- HKJA]

Board

Executive Committee:

The Chairperson for 2006 to 2007 is Serenade WOO Lai-wan (Chinese: 胡麗雲), formerly chief reporter on the court beat at Hong Kong Economic Times. The Vice-chairperson is LO King-wah (Chinese: 盧敬華), the reporter of Hong Kong Cable Television, CATV.

The other Executive Committee Members are:
* Raymond CHENG (Chinese: 鄭維民) (freelancer)
* CHEUNG Ping-ling (Chinese: 張炳玲) (freelancer)
* Kenny COYLE (Media & Marketing LTD)
* Don GASPER (Chinese: 唐納德) ()
* HO Fu-yee (Chinese: 何富彝) (Sing Pao Daily News)
* Una SO Man-sze (Chinese: 蘇曼詩) (Hong Kong Economic Times)
* TANG Kong-fai (Chinese: 鄧鋼輝) (freelancer)
* Freda WAN (Chinese: 溫紫榆) (Strategic Access)
* Wayne YIM Kim-ho (Chinese: 嚴劍豪) (Asia Television Limited (ATV))
* Mandela YIP (Chinese: 葉靜雯) (freelancer)

Ethics Committee:

Every year, the Executive Committee appoints three members to the Ethics Committee after the Annual General Meeting. The committee's responsibility is to investigate alleged breaches of HKJA's Code of Ethics and to make recommendations to the Executive Committee. The Convenor for 2006-2007 is Mr. LO King Wah.

Subcommittees :

There are five subcommittees which members can join. They are:
# Press Freedom
# Membership, Training and Welfare
# China Concern
# International Relations
# Publication

For more information about these subcommittees, feel free to browse through [http://www.hkja.org.hk/who/com_subcom/c_s_index.htm HKJA's subcommittee site]

Activities

The Association organizes various activities to inform their members of the latest news/developments in the field. These include seminars, workshops and overseas tours.

Certificate Courses:

HKJA has organized training courses for junior journalists that will take place in November 2006. These courses cover topics such as how to conduct effective interviews in political, court or hospital settings. Guest lecturers are invited to the courses, most of which are well-known in the journalism field. A certificate will be given to candidates who complete the courses.

HKJA news

Latest judgment made by the Ethics Committee

The judgment was made on October 16, 2006. The complaint was about several journalists from a Hong Kong magazine "Easy Finder (Chinese: 壹本便利)" who took photos of a local female artist,Gillian Chung (Chinese: 鍾欣恫), in a dressing room using a hidden camera.

There were three main parts of the judgment:
# HKJA received more than 20 complaints about the 761th issue of "Easy Finder" magazine, which was published on August 23, 2006. In the issue, the magazine published photos of Gillian Chung in a dressing room located in Malaysia.
# According to the fifth article of the HKJA Code of Ethics, "A journalist shall obtain information, photographs and illustrations only by straightforward means. The use of other means can be justified only by over-riding considerations of the public interest. The journalist is entitled to exercise a personal conscientious objection to the use of such means."
# HKJA concluded that publishing a photo of an artist who was undressing could not be justified as being in the public interest. Using a hidden camera in order to get the photos was a violation of individual privacy as well as HKJA Code of Ethics.

For the Chinese version, please visit: http://www.hkja.org.hk/ethics/judgement/j_index.htm

Latest news

[http://www.hkja.org.hk/press_free/statement/20061102_mary.pdf Mary Lau Statement and Ching Cheong Family's Statement] 2nd Nov, 2006

Mary Lau, the wife of detained journalist Ching Cheong, issued her latest statement on her husband's case on November 2, 2006. She called for his immediate release [http://www.hkja.org.hk/press_free/statement/20061102_hkja.pdf Ching Cheong Press Conference Statement]

HKJA held a press conference and also called for Ching Cheong's release.

Press freedom issues in Hong Kong

Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK)

Questions over Hong Kong's press freedom were raised when the government announced plans to set up a committee to review public broadcasting in January 2005. The greatest concern that arose from the establishment of the committee seemed to be the controversy over the editorial independence/freedom of Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK). The broadcaster is known for airing views and opinions that challenge the government's policies. Consequently, there were fears over whether RTHK's editorial freedom would remain. On the one hand, the government wanted to use RTHK as an outlet to disseminate its views. On the other, Hong Kong people want to be able to voice their concerns freely. The Hong Kong Journalists Association responded to the issue by saying that RTHK should maintain its freedom and remain independent from the government (for more on HKJA's response, see the HKJA Annual Report (2006)).

So the question becomes, will RTHK change and act as the government's megaphone, or will it live out its values and mission and continue to value editorial independence and serve the public?

:For more information, feel free to take a look at the following sites::* [http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=41116 AsiaMedia] :* [http://www.rthk.org.hk/press/eng/ RTHK's Response]

Article 23

Introduced as a law to protect national security, Article 23 of the Basic Law created much concern and debate over Hong Kong's right to freedom of speech. On the one hand, the government wanted to pass the bill to help the country and protect it from any threats, while on the other, individuals wanted to be able to express themselves freely. In a response to the issue, HKJA opposed the bill as it felt that Article 23 posed a threat to freedom of expression and was also unnecessary (for more on HKJA's views on this issue, you can take a look at their [http://www.hkja.org.hk/ben_act/download/2003Whole%20Report-Eng.doc 2003 Annual Report] ). Due to the dissatisfaction of the people, on July 1, 2003 approximately 500,000 people protested against Article 23. On September 5 later that year, the government announced that it had decided to withdraw the bill.

:For more information, feel free to take a look at the following sites::* [http://www.basiclaw23.gov.hk/english/ HK Government Website on Article 23] :* [http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501030714/story.html Article from Time Asia]

More details concerning the Press Freedom statements issued by HKJA can be read from the following link:
* [http://www.hkja.org.hk/press_free/index.htm HKJA Official Site Press Freedom Statement and Annual Reports.]

Hong Kong Press Ratings

On October 26, 2006, Ming Pao reported the findings of a survey in which Hong Kong people were asked to rate the local press.( [http://hk.news.yahoo.com/061026/12/1vbiv.html/ 蘇鑰機、陳韜文﹕近10年香港傳媒公信力的恆與變] )It showed that the press received a relatively steady approval rating from the general public.

However, another survey conducted by the University of Hong Kong, ( [http://news.sina.com.hk/cgi-bin/news/show_news.int.cgi?id=219969&date=2006-10-17&ct=instant/ 傳媒公信力跌至三年最低 - 新浪網 - 新聞 ] ) showed that public support for the press in Hong Kong has been decreasing and has reached its lowest point in three years.

ee also

*International Federation of Journalists
*International Freedom of Expression Exchange
*Media in Hong Kong

External links

* [http://www.hkja.org.hk/ Hong Kong Journalists Association]

About ethics

* [http://www.ajr.org/ American Journalism Review]
* [http://www.cjr.org/ Columbia Journalism Review]
* [http://www.eff.org/ Electronic Frontier Foundation]
* [http://www.epic.org/ Electronic Privacy Information Centre]
* [http://www.mediawatch.com/ Mediawatch]
* [http://www.mediawatch.com/ Privacy Rights Clearinghouse]

Local journalists organisations

* [http://www.fcchk.org/ Foreign Correspondent's Club of Hong Kong] (Chinese: 外國記者會)
* [http://www.hkppa.net/ Hong Kong Press Photographers Association] (Chinese: 香港攝影記者協會)
* [http://www.nshk.org.hk/ Newspaper Society of Hong Kong] (Chinese: 香港報業公會)
* [http://www.presscouncil.org.hk/defaultf.htm/ Hong Kong Press Council] (Chinese: 香港報業評議會)

Major local newspapers

* [http://www.mingpao.com/ Ming Pao ] (Chinese: 明報)
* [http://www.singtao.com/ Sing Tao ] (Chinese: 星島日報)
* [http://www.atnext.com/ Apple Daily ] (Chinese: 蘋果日報)
* [http://www.orientaldaily.com.hk/ Oriental Daily News ] (Chinese: 東方日報)
* [http://www.the-sun.com.hk/ The Sun] (Chinese: 太陽報)
* [http://www.singpao.com/ Sing Pao] (Chinese: 成報)
* [http://www.wenweipo.com/ Wan Wei Po ] (Chinese: 文匯報)
* [http://www.takungpao.com/ Ta Kung Pao] (Chinese: 大公報)
* [http://www.hkdailynews.net/ Hong Kong Daily News ] (Chinese: 新報)
* [http://www.hket.com/hketonline/app/ Hong Kong Economic Times ] (Chinese: 香港經濟日報)
* [http://www.hkcd.com.hk/ Hong Kong Commercial Daily ] (Chinese: 香港商報)
* [http://www.atchinese.com/ Asia Times Online ] (Chinese: 亞洲時報在線)
* [http://www.metrohk.com.hk/ Metro Hong Kong ] (Chinese: 都市日報)
* [http://www.hkheadline.com/ Headline Daily ] (Chinese: 頭條日報)
* [http://www.am730.com.hk/ AM730 ]
* [http://www.imail.com/ i-mail ]
* [http://www.scmp.com/ South China Morning Post] (Chinese: 南華早報)
* [http://www.thestandard.com.hk/ The Standard] (Chinese: 英文虎報)

Major local magazines

* [http://next.atnext.com/template/next/front.cfm/ Next Magazine ] (Chinese: 壹週刊)
* [http://easyfinder.atnext.com/template/ef/front.cfm/ Easy Finder ] (Chinese: 壹本便利)
* [http://etw.atnext.com/template/etw/front.cfm/ Eat & Travel Weekly ] (Chinese: 飲食男女)
* [http://sudden.atnext.com/template/sw/front.cfm/ Sudden Weekly ] (Chinese: 忽然1周)
* [http://www.orientalsunday.com.hk/new/ Oriental Sunday ] (Chinese: 東方新地)
* [http://www.newmonday.com.hk/ New Monday Magazine ] (Chinese: 新Monday)
* [http://www.xpweekly.com/ Express Weekly ] (Chinese: 快周刊)
* [http://www.3weekly.com/ Three Weekly ] (Chinese: 3周刊)
* [http://jade.tvb.com/weekly/488/index.html/ TVB Weekly ] (Chinese: TVB周刊)

Foreign newspapers

* [http://news.ft.com/ Financial Times ] (Chinese: 英國金融時報)
* [http://www.iht.com/ International Herald Tribune ] (Chinese: 國際先驅論壇報)
* [http://www.latimes.com/ Los Angeles Times ] (Chinese: 洛杉磯時報)
* [http://www.nytimes.com/ New York Times ] (Chinese: 紐約時報)
* [http://www.usatoday.com/ USA Today ] (Chinese: 今日美國報)
* [http://www.wsj.com/ Wall Street Journal ] (Chinese: 華爾街日報)
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Washington Post ] (Chinese: 華盛頓郵報)

Other links

* [http://www.wpfc.org/ World Press Freedom Committee]
* [http://www.rsf.org/ Reporters Without Borders]
* [http://www.ifex.org/ International Freedom of Expression Exchange]