List of newspapers in Hong Kong


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.

Overview

Popularity

The Chinese language newspapers Headline Daily, 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 Standard, a free tabloid with a mass market strategy, is the most widely circulated English newspaper by a significant margin. Its rival, South China Morning Post, has the most paid subscribers among English-language papers in Hong Kong.

Paparazzi

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. Apple Daily has brash news style, sensationalist news reportage and is known for its anti-government political positions. The Chinese language publications are written to some degree with colloquial Cantonese phrases.

Number and price

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.
Most papers sell at the cover price of HK$6, except South China Morning Post. 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.

Chinese-language newspapers

Newspapers in Hong Kong are known to follow a particular political stance, with most being either pro-Beijing or pro-democracy. Some newspapers are completely neutral, or are oriented towards finance or religion. A few papers, such as Oriental Daily, Apple Daily, and The Sun are known for their sensational style, such as publishing gory pictures, and engaging in borderline obscene coverage on a regular basis.
Note a) It has been suspected that the following news outlets are indirectly owned or controlled by the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government.

Online only

From 10 September 2007, The Standard switched to free, advertising-supported distribution. The South China Morning Post announced on 11 December 2015 that the Alibaba Group would acquire the South China Morning Post from Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok, who had owned it since 1993. As of 5 April 2016, the South China Morning Post's online content became free to read.
Hong Kong is also the base of regional editions of foreign English-language newspapers. The Wall Street Journal Asia is published in Hong Kong. The Asian editions of the International New York Times and Financial Times are also published in the city.

Other language newspapers

More are listed in the catalogue of the British Library's Newspaper Library.