Hong Kong Free Press

Hong Kong Free Press
Non-profit
Industry Online newspaper
Founded 29 June 2015
Headquarters Cyberport, Hong Kong
Website hongkongfp.com

Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) is a free, non-profit online newspaper based in Hong Kong. It was founded by independent journalists in response to concerns over declining press freedom in the territory, to provide an alternative to the dominant English language news source, the South China Morning Post, and to provide quicker English coverage of local news.[1][2]

Beginning in late 2015, access to the site from Mainland China was blocked by the Chinese authorities.[3]

Background

Organisations such as Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Hong Kong Journalists Association and PEN America have all decried the state of press freedom in the city, which is often affected by self-censorship as publications avoid criticising Beijing in order to maintain advertising revenues.[1][4] The South China Morning Post, long considered the city's English-language newspaper of record, has been accused of political self-censorship since the paper was purchased in 1993 by Robert Kuok's Kerry Group, which has extensive investments in Mainland China.[5] Numerous senior staff have been purged from the Post since the 1990s, allegedly for political reasons.[6] In 2014, four more prominent columnists were sacked by the Post, writers who were "sometimes critical of Beijing and Hong Kong", with some analysts suspecting involvement by the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government.[7][5]

Newspapers and journalists have also increasingly been subject to physical attacks, including the firebombing of the home of publisher Jimmy Lai, an earlier offal attack on Lai, the firebombing of the Next Media headquarters, the chopping attack on former Ming Pao chief editor Kevin Lau, and assaults on various reporters by pro-government, anti-Umbrella Movement protesters in 2014.[8][9][10][11] In October 2014, a group of pro-Beijing protesters physically blocked distribution of Apple Daily for nearly a week by obstructing the driveway of the printing facility.[12][13]

Inception

Crowdfunding for the venture took place on Fringebacker and aimed to raise HK$150,000 during a one-month period to support two journalists. The $150,000 was raised in only two days and so the goal was raised to $500,000.[14] The fundraising campaign concluded in June 2015 with more than $600,000 raised. HKFP took on more journalists and contributors and established headquarters in the offices of D100 in Cyberport. The full website was formally launched on 29 June 2015.

In the long term, HKFP plans to achieve financial sustainability through "continued crowdfunding efforts, advertising and sponsorship events" and by operating with minimal overhead costs.[14] Tom Grundy, a freelance journalist who co-founded the website, stated that the site would "start with simple local news, and investigative pieces about Hong Kong" and that "we have no political agenda. We simply aim to be credible".[14]

In the first year after its inception, HKFP published 4400 journalistic pieces attracting over 3.5 million unique visitors.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 "Hong Kong Free Press launches crowdfunding campaign". Time Out Hong Kong. 10 May 2015.
  2. ↑ Baiocchi, Francisco (30 June 2015). "Activist turned editor who tried to arrest Tony Blair launches crowdfunded Hong Kong news website". Press Gazette.
  3. ↑ "Hong Kong Free Press falls foul of Great Firewall, blocked in China". Hong Kong Free Press. 6 November 2015.
  4. ↑ Chen, Frank (12 January 2015). "How press freedom in HK is being destroyed". Hong Kong Economic Journal.
  5. 1 2 Moriarty, Francis (27 May 2015). "Hong Kong paper loses four top voices: A pro-China 'putsch'?". Christian Science Monitor.
  6. ↑ Gould, Vanessa; Lee, Nelson; Lee, Bryan (28 February 2001). "SAR defends rights record". The Standard.
  7. ↑ "Leading Columnists Purged at Hong Kong's Paper of Record". Asia Sentinel. 20 May 2015.
  8. ↑ Mok, Danny; Lo, Clifford; Cheung, Tony (12 January 2015). "Firebombs hurled at home of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai were 'attack on press freedom'". South China Morning Post.
  9. ↑ "Offal attack on Lai as trio pelt tycoon with pig guts". The Standard. 13 November 2014.
  10. ↑ Lo, Wei; Chan, Samuel; Kao, Ernest; Lai, Ying-kit (27 February 2014). "Kevin Lau, ex-Ming Pao editor injured in savage chopper attack, stable after surgery". South China Morning Post.
  11. ↑ Jim, Claire (25 October 2014). "Anti-Occupy mob roughs up Hong Kong journalists". Reuters.
  12. ↑ Yeung, SC (14 October 2014). "What the Apple Daily siege means for press freedom". Hong Kong Economic Journal.
  13. ↑ Lee, Eddie; So, Peter (14 October 2014). "Anti-Occupy protesters defy court order, block Apple Daily delivery". South China Morning Post.
  14. 1 2 3 Sala, Ilaria Maria (20 May 2015). "Hong Kong to get new crowdfunded independent newspaper". The Guardian.
  15. ↑ "A year of Hong Kong Free Press: On our first anniversary, a look back at our best coverage". HKFP. 29 June 2016.

External links

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