Oriental Daily News
Encyclopedia
Oriental Daily News is a Chinese language
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

 newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

 in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. It was established in 1969. It is one of the two newspapers published by the Oriental Press Group Limited (東方報業集團有限公司 Jyutping
Jyutping
Jyutping is a romanization system for Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong in 1993. Its formal name is The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Cantonese Romanization Scheme...

: dung1 fong1 bou3 jip6 zaap6 tyun4 jau5 haan6 gung1 si1), found by Ma's Family.

History

While Oriental Daily targets at a more mature reader group, Sun Daily (太陽報 Jyutping
Jyutping
Jyutping is a romanization system for Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong in 1993. Its formal name is The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Cantonese Romanization Scheme...

: taai3 joeng4 bou3) is more youthful and adventurous.

Oriental Daily is referred by many as a tabloid
Tabloid journalism
Tabloid journalism tends to emphasize topics such as sensational crime stories, astrology, gossip columns about the personal lives of celebrities and sports stars, and junk food news...

 because of its focus on soft news, i.e. news that edges towards entertainment in its form and content. It also adopts a sensational and critical style when reporting hard news.

The paper has been number one in circulation since 1976, with a record readership of over 3,100,000. Apple Daily
Apple Daily
Apple Daily is a Hong-Kong-based tabloid-style newspaper founded in 1995 by Jimmy Lai Chee Ying and is published by its company, Next Media. A sister publication carrying the same name is published in Taiwan, Republic of China under a joint venture between Next Media and other Taiwanese companies...

is its main competitor. While claimed figures are around the 3 million (approx 5.72 readers per copy) mark, Nielsen data from 2008 had the ODN at 1,762,000 (530,000 circulation), Apple Daily at 1,633,000 (347,000 circulation, The Sun at 537,000 readers (180,000 circulation)all including online readers too.

Other selected readership figures as follows from full year 2008 and percentages of audience 12+ reached (including internet readers).
  • Apple Daily
    Apple Daily
    Apple Daily is a Hong-Kong-based tabloid-style newspaper founded in 1995 by Jimmy Lai Chee Ying and is published by its company, Next Media. A sister publication carrying the same name is published in Taiwan, Republic of China under a joint venture between Next Media and other Taiwanese companies...

    (蘋果日報) 1,633,000 31%
  • Oriental Daily News (東方日報) 1,762,000 33%
  • The Sun
    The Sun (Hong Kong)
    The Sun is one of the newspapers in Hong Kong, first published in March 1999. It belongs to the Oriental Press Group Limited .There is also an electronic version of The Sun on the Internet...

    (太陽報) 537,000 10%
  • Ming Pao
    Ming Pao
    Ming Pao is a Chinese language newspaper published by Ming Pao Group in Hong Kong. In the 1990s, Ming Pao established four overseas branches in North America, each provides independent reporting on local news and collect local advertisements. Currently, only the two Canadian editions remain: Ming...

    (明報) 447,000 8%
  • South China Morning Post
    South China Morning Post
    The South China Morning Post , together with its Sunday edition, the Sunday Morning Post, is an English-language Hong Kong newspaper, published by the SCMP Group with a circulation of 104,000....

    (南華早報) 296,000 6%
  • Sing Tao Daily
    Sing Tao Daily
    The Sing Tao Daily is Hong Kong's second largest Chinese language newspaper. It is owned by Sing Tao News Corporation Limited, of which Charles Ho Tsu Kwok is the chairman. Its English language sister paper is The Standard...

    (星島日報) 339,000 6%
  • Hong Kong Economic Times
    Hong Kong Economic Times
    Hong Kong Economic Times , the leading financial daily in Hong Kong, was founded by Mr. Fung Siu Por, Lawrence , Mr. Perry Mak , Mr. Arthur Shek and other founders with HK$20 million of foundation fund in 1988...

    (經濟日報) 220,000 4%
  • Sing Pao (成報) 61,000 1%
  • Hong Kong Daily News (新報) 74,000 1%
  • Hong Kong Economic Journal
    Hong Kong Economic Journal
    The Hong Kong Economic Journal is a Chinese language daily newspaper published in Hong Kong by the Shun Po Co., Ltd. Available in both Hong Kong and Macau, the newspaper mainly focuses on economic news and other related issues...

    (信報) 74,000 1%
  • Headline Daily
    Headline Daily
    Headline Daily was launched on July 12, 2005 by Sing Tao Newspaper Group Limited and became the second free Chinese newspaper published officially in Hong Kong . The paper is only distributed on weekdays and is aimed at the working class. The estimated average daily circulation of the paper is...

    (頭條日報) 1,093,000 20%
  • Metro
    Metropolis Daily
    Metropolis Daily is the Hong Kong edition of Metro , which publishes free newspapers around the world with 25 editions in 16 countries in 14 languages...

    (都巿日報) 616,000 12%
  • am730
    Am730
    am730, operated by AM730 Media Limited, is the third free Chinese newspaper in Hong Kong, the prior two being Headline Daily and Metropolis Daily. Shih Wing-ching, chairman of the Centaline Holdings property agency, is the founder of the newspaper. Shih introduced the new paper due to the...

    623,000 12%

Content

The paper does not differ greatly from other Chinese papers in terms of content. The newspaper provides daily coverage of various kinds of news, including local, international, financial, real estate, entertainment,and sports news. Information on horse-racing, soccer gambling, fashion trends and travel are also provided.

The Oriental Daily is credited for a couple of breakthroughs. In 1977, it was the first local paper to launch a complaint page. These complaints could be against both public agencies (including governmental departments) and private companies. Readers can phone, fax or even complain through the internet using realtime conference system. If the reporters find the complaints interesting, they investigate and report them, acting as a sort of ombudsman
Ombudsman
An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...

 for their readers. This has contributed to local newspaper's role as an influential channel for citizens to express their ideas and articulate their antipathy.

The complaint page also reports on the response from the target of the complaints. It thus tries to stay neutral and fair, aiming only to arouse public awareness on the issues.

Facing keen competition, Oriental Daily tries hard to keep up with the city's pace. For instance, new columns like 'new arrivals' postbox' were set up to accommodate the needs of mainland readers. A new soccer gambling page was also launched, with information on current odds
Fixed-odds gambling
Fixed-odds betting is a form of wagering against odds offered by a bookmaker, an individual, or on a bet exchange.-Calculating fixed odds:It is customary with fixed-odds gambling to know the odds at the time of the placement of the wager , although this category also includes wagers whose price is...

.

Its editorial
Editorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...

 is one of a kind. It has two editorial everyday. The first one is called the 'Main Editorial' (正論), which is styled like a typical newspaper editorial. The second one is called 'Kung Fu Tea' (功夫茶), which is written in the vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...

 form of Cantonese, is a daily critic of the misfits of the bureaucracy
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...

 and reflecting the concerns of the grassroot population of Hong Kong.

Internet service

Oriental Daily, like many newspapers, has its own website. It provides readers free access to full version, up-to-date news. However, it only covers news of the day but not past issues.

Readers can, too, send e-mails instead of posting letters to editors. An electronic message board is out there to record their discussions.

Orisun.com is the flagship website of the Oriental Press Group Limited. It was started in February 2002, and includes e-paper versions of Oriental Daily and Sun Daily. The whole printed version is uploaded onto the web allowing people from all over the world to read. This helps promote online newspaper viewing. However, one point to note is that readers have to register and pay to subscribe to the e-papers. This is 'personal information as commodity', as readers need to provide personal information.

Competition and new developments

Apple Daily, established in 1995, is the paper's main competitor. They declared a price war against each other in December 1995. Apple Daily reduced its price to HKD$4 dollars. To retain its market share, Oriental Daily responded by reducing the price of newspaper to $2 dollars. During and after this war, six newspapers closed down due to persistent losses, driving out competitors such as Hong Kong Daily News, Sing Pao Daily News and Tin Tin News. The competition has led to changes in the paper's presentation, with more use of colorful photos and illustrations.

Competition also improved service quality, such as the introduction of customer service centres. Readers can report their complaints by visiting these centres in Tsim Sha Tsui
Tsim Sha Tsui
Tsim Sha Tsui , often abbreviated as TST, is an urbanized area in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is administratively part of the Yau Tsim Mong District. Tsim Sha Tsui East is a piece of land reclaimed from the Hung Hom Bay now east of Tsim Sha Tsui...

 and Wan Chai
Wan Chai District
The Wan Chai District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong, located in the north of Hong Kong island. It had a population of 167,146 in 2001. The district has the second most educated residents with the highest income, the second lowest population and the third oldest residents, and is also the...

. Inside the centre, complaints can be lodged face-to-face to reporters via a digital video conversation system.

Recently, Oriental Press Group Limited would like to extend its business to America and Canada. Cities like New York and Toronto which have high population of Chinese will be its first target.

Contribution to society

Since 1980, Oriental Daily has contributed to society through the Oriental Daily Foundation. The foundation has helped thousands through financial assistance and scholarships. The paper's great number of donors promises a stable source of funding for the foundation. During the SARS outbreak
Progress of the SARS outbreak
-November 2002:On November 16, 2002, an outbreak of what is believed to be severe acute respiratory syndrome , began in the Guangdong province of China, which borders on Hong Kong. The first case of infection was speculated to be a farmer in Foshan County...

, the fund helped several newly-orphaned children, providing the finances to meet basic needs and continue their education.

In 2002, the fund raised over eleven million dollars. The cumulative amount collected since 1980 has exceeded $350 million dollars.

See also

  • Media in Hong Kong
  • List of newspapers in Hong Kong
  • Newspaper Society of Hong Kong
    Newspaper Society of Hong Kong
    The Newspaper Society of Hong Kong , set up on May 10, 1954, is the largest newspaper industrial society in Hong Kong, found by Hong Kong's four largest newspapers at the time - Kung Sheung Yat Po , Wah Kiu Yat Po , Sing Tao Jih Pao and South China Morning Post The Newspaper Society of Hong Kong...

  • Hong Kong Audit Bureau of Circulations
    Hong Kong Audit Bureau of Circulations
    The Hong Kong Audit Bureau of Circulations , or HKABC in short, was established in April 1995.It is a non-profit organization which aims at promoting the cause of circulation auditing in Hong Kong...


External links

Oriental Daily News Orisun.com Yahoo! Finance review of Oriental Press Group
Source: Pinyin translated with CozyChinese.COM
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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