Oriental Daily
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Oriental Daily News (東方日報) is a Chinese language newspaper in Hong Kong.
Oriental Daily 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), found by Ma's Family.
The founder of the newspaper was accused of committing heroin trades and series of corruptions in 70s by Hong Kong government. He fled to Taiwan and never returned to Hong Kong.
While Oriental Daily targets at a more mature reader group, Sun Daily (太陽報) is more youthful and adventurous.
Oriental Daily is referred by many as a tabloid 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 is its main competitor.
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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 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.
The paper was also the first to launch an adult content page. This aroused a tide of controversy at the time.
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.
Its editorial 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 form of Cantonese, is a daily critic of the misfits of the bureaucracy and reflecting the concerns of the grassroot population of Hong Kong.
Credibility
Oriental Daily may be the most circulated newspaper in Hong Kong, but circulation figures are not reflective of credibility level. According to surveys on the credibility of newspapers, Oriental Daily was placed seventh amongst 15 in 1997, falling to 11th by 2001.
According to another survey on Hong Kong newspapers' reliability, Oriental Daily ranked sixth amongst nine, with an average mark of 5.76.
| Rank | Newspaper | Average mark (public) | Average mark (journalists) |
| 1 | Ming Pao | 7.54 | 7.27 |
| 2 | South China Morning Post | 7.24 | 7.47 |
| 3 | Sing Tao Daily | 7.13 | 6.78 |
| 4 | Sing Pao Daily News | 6.48 | 5.89 |
| 5 | Wen Wei Po | 5.93 | 5.92 |
| 6 | Oriental Daily | 5.76 | 5.14 |
| 7 | Ta Kung Pao | 5.64 | 5.44 |
| 8 | Apple Daily | 5.15 | 5.08 |
| 9 | Sun Daily | 5.13 | 4.45 |
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 $ 4. To retain its market share, Oriental Daily responded by reducing the price of newspaper to $ 2. 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 and Wan Chai. 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, 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
External links in Chinese
- http://orientaldaily.com.hk/index.html (Oriental Daily News)
- http://orisun.com/ (Orisun.com)
- http://hk.biz.yahoo.com/company/review/0/0018.hk.html (Yahoo! Finance review of Oriental Press Group)
External links in English
- http://sqzm14.ust.hk/hkgay/news/disgraceful.html (Complaint against Oriental Daily)