Am730
Encyclopedia
Gratis
Gratis is the process of providing goods or services without compensation. It is often referred to in English as "free of charge" or "complimentary"...
Chinese
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...
, the prior two being 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...
and Metropolis Daily
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...
. Shih Wing-ching, chairman of the Centaline Holdings
Centaline Holdings
Centaline Property Agency Limited is one of the largest property agencies in Hong Kong. It was established in 1978 by Shih Wing-ching. Centaline Holdings is also the major shareholder of another property agency in Hong Kong, Ricacorp Properties Limited....
property agency, is the founder of the newspaper. Shih introduced the new paper due to the unprecedented success of Metropolis Daily, the pioneer in this market. Metropolis Daily was founded in 2002, and was so successful that it broke even in only fourteen months. Realising the profitability of the market, Shih established am730 in late July 2005
Shih believes free newspapers have become a worldwide trend that will gain more and more market share. He agrees that free newspapers will in the near future
Future
The future is the indefinite time period after the present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the nature of the reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently exists and will exist is temporary and will come...
become the way people are informed about daily events around the world, as a free newspaper avoids the conflict of interest
Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other....
which exists between the for-pay newspapers and their readers. As the primary income
Income
Income is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings...
of a free newspaper is the advertisements and the income of those who advertise comes from the readers, this suggests that a newspaper's mostly valuable asset
Asset
In financial accounting, assets are economic resources. Anything tangible or intangible that is capable of being owned or controlled to produce value and that is held to have positive economic value is considered an asset...
should be its readers; thus, readers should not be charged for the news.
Overview
am730 launched its first publicationPublication
To publish is to make content available to the public. While specific use of the term may vary among countries, it is usually applied to text, images, or other audio-visual content on any medium, including paper or electronic publishing forms such as websites, e-books, Compact Discs and MP3s...
on July 30, 2005. Initially, am730 was scheduled to be launched in September, but it was re-scheduled to July 30 for two primary reasons. First, it intends to keep up with one of its competitors, Headline Daily, which was launched on July 12, 2005. Second is the convenient coincidence that the date of July 30 (730) corresponds with the name of the newspaper. Two hundred thousand copies of am730 were issued at its first publication and its current circulation
Newspaper circulation
A newspaper's circulation is the number of copies it distributes on an average day. Circulation is one of the principal factors used to set advertising rates. Circulation is not always the same as copies sold, often called paid circulation, since some newspapers are distributed without cost to the...
volume is around three hundred thousand copies daily.
The name of the newspaper is intended to suggest a fresh approach towards the methodology of naming newspapers. It does not incorporate the term "daily" because this word reflects the conventional way of naming a news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
journal. The name literally states the newspaper's aim to distribute the publication during rush hour, which is approximately 7:30am.
According to Shih, the newspaper is tailored to young people. 7:30am is about when the sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
rises; it signals vitality, just like the young people who are at the start of a long journey through life. It is a new vision aimed to change the old quality of Hong Kong newspapers. In its first week, am730 sold one hundred thousand copies. Eventually, it aims to increase circulation to three hundred thousand copies, which is similar to the other two free newspapers (Metropolis Daily: 300,000; Headline Daily: 400,000)
Language and style
am730 tends to adopt internet slangInternet slang
Internet slang is a type of slang that Internet users have popularized, and in many cases, have coined. Such terms often originate with the purpose of saving keystrokes. Many people use the same abbreviations in texting and instant messaging, and social networking websites...
and other expressions which are widely used on the Internet and popular among youth. The newspaper official says it is advisable to use internet slang and does not think that colloquial expressions in newspaper articles will affect young people's language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
proficiency. What is more crucial is using popular language to convey messages. am730 intends to offer a fresh sensation in news to its readers; it aims to widen the horizon of its readers, both internationally and culturally, and to promote an optimistic outlook on life and hopes for the future.
While being consistent with market regulations, am730 is a real newspaper which offers more attention to journalistic
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
principles. Unlike numerous other newspapers, am730 is against the idea of indecent news as the selling point. It wants to provide a newspaper with accurate, simple news reports targeted to youth
Youth
Youth is the time of life between childhood and adulthood . Definitions of the specific age range that constitutes youth vary. An individual's actual maturity may not correspond to their chronological age, as immature individuals could exist at all ages.-Usage:Around the world, the terms "youth",...
who have just begun their career
Career
Career is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person's "course or progress through life ". It is usually considered to pertain to remunerative work ....
s. The fresh, youthful style of am730 is designed to encourage more young people to read newspapers. Shih hopes that through this free newspaper, young people in Hong Kong will cultivate a greater interest in the news and in the future of Hong Kong.
Headline Daily, a newspaper which belongs to Sing Tao, is the primary competition for am730. Shih admits that Headline Daily has more resources than the privately investigated am730 because of its attachment to 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...
, but that dependence on Sing Tao would harm the independence of its organization.
Contents
In many ways, am730 is similar to a traditional newspaper. Like most newspapers, the contents of the paper include local, ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, international, financial
FINANCIAL
FINANCIAL is the weekly English-language newspaper with offices in Tbilisi, Georgia and Kiev, Ukraine. Published by Intelligence Group LLC, FINANCIAL is focused on opinion leaders and top business decision-makers; It's about world’s largest companies, investing, careers, and small business. It is...
, entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
and sports news. Additionally, Shih Wing Ching writes a column called "C Viewpoint" in which he gives his daily commentary on local or international news. "730 Angle" is also a commentary column, but for people from all walks of life. Differing opinions are welcome for critical discussions. Moreover, "Snapshot Hong Kong" is a column which cold-contacts youngsters on the street to ask their opinions. Hence, there is no doubt that the major target of am730 is the young working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
and it defines itself as a youth
Youth
Youth is the time of life between childhood and adulthood . Definitions of the specific age range that constitutes youth vary. An individual's actual maturity may not correspond to their chronological age, as immature individuals could exist at all ages.-Usage:Around the world, the terms "youth",...
publication in the newspaper market. The reason for this, in Shih's own words, is because young people are full of hope: "Local papers follow the western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
view in that they will only report bad things, as if there is no hope in this world, yet hope is what young people mostly need." The design and layout of the paper are colourful and appealing.
The detailed layout of the newspaper is as follows:
- Front page
The lead story of the day occupies almost the entire page of the paper, filled in with colourful illustrations. The other stories vary from local top stories to China and international news.
Similar to a traditional newspaper, on the left corner is a column which briefly highlights the news of secondary importance that is available inside the paper. The highlights vary, including local, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, international, entertainment and sport news. At the bottom of the column is a display of the Mark Six
Mark Six
Mark Six is a lottery betting organized by the Hong Kong Jockey Club.-The game:Mark Six is a lottery style game where players guess what numbers will be drawn out of a lottery machine. The lottery machine is a transparent plastic cylinder which contains colored balls numbered 1 to 49. The cylinder...
results.
- Local
Typically, around three to four pages are allocated to the local news section. More important news such as politics and policies are reported in greater length than city news such as accidents and events. To maximise space usage, even the banner at the top of the page is used to cover brief news accounts. Shih's personal column, "C Viewpoint," can also be found in this section.
There is also a column for weather forecasts for local, China and international locations. The banner of this section is sky-blue in colour.
- China
News from China and related to China's interests takes up about one to two pages of the paper. The banner colour of this section is khaki.
- International
The international section covers major news around the world. The banner colour of this section is dark blue.
- Features
When this section appears, it is placed in the middle of the paper and covers two pages, but it is not always printed. At times, the middle pages are occupied by a full-page advertisement. Feature stories, when available, offer in-depth reports and analysis.
- Finance
This is a short, concise one-page section on financial and business news, both locally and on the international arena. The banner colour of this section is dark green.
- Sports
The Sports section covers both the local and the international sports scene. On average it provides a scoreboard summary of final scores and, on occasion, a brief schedule of live sports coverage on television. The banner colour of this section is light green.
- I.T.
The I.T.
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
section is dedicated to news of technological
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
advancement and electronic products, including mobile phones, computers, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and much more. Not to be missed is news of the Internet and recommended websites. The banner colour of this section is light green.
- Notes
The Notes section usually offers articles of interesting, sometimes absurd events happening around the world. The banner colour of this section is purple.
- OL (Office Lady) and Health
This section is dedicated to young working women, similar to those offered in popular women's magazines. Besides tips and advice on women's health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
and beauty
Beauty
Beauty is a characteristic of a person, animal, place, object, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure, meaning, or satisfaction. Beauty is studied as part of aesthetics, sociology, social psychology, and culture...
, there is also a section dedicated to relationship advice for women readers with personal problems. The banner colour of this section is pink.
- Entertainment
This section offers entertainment news regarding celebrities, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and movies. There are usually two pages dedicated to this section. One page focuses on local Hong Kong celebrities, while the other covers international celebrities. There are occasional extras in this section such as movie reviews and basic introductions of a foreign language
Foreign language
A foreign language is a language indigenous to another country. It is also a language not spoken in the native country of the person referred to, i.e. an English speaker living in Japan can say that Japanese is a foreign language to him or her...
. The banner colour of this section is mustard yellow.
- Readers
"730 Angle" offers letters and readers' opinions on various issues. There is also a small section on events and book reviews. On the right hand corner is a "snapshot" section dedicated to teen fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
and trends, including the mobile phones they use.
- Leisure
This section that relates tips and overviews of leisure
Leisure
Leisure, or free time, is time spent away from business, work, and domestic chores. It is also the periods of time before or after necessary activities such as eating, sleeping and, where it is compulsory, education....
activities. Generally this section contains comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
, western horoscopes, tarot predictions of the future, and cooking tips and recipes.
- TelevisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
This section provides a selected schedule of programmes offered on both local and cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
. At the bottom section, there is a review of some recommended programs. Last but not least are the credits of the 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:...
team as well as a list of contacts for the newspaper.
- Back page
The back page of the paper is typically occupied by a full-page advertisement.
Generally, the news accounts presented are brief and limited, due at least in part to space limitations. As am730 is a free newspaper, the operating cost largely depends on the advertisement revenue. A full-page advertisement appears on every other page, mainly placed between the local news section and the finance section. Smaller advertisements are scattered throughout the newspaper. Nevertheless, the newspaper remains an effective and rapid way to inform commuters about current issues in Hong Kong and the rest of the world.
Editorial team
Currently, the editorial team consists of 50 people. The key players of the team are :- PresidentPresidentA president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
: Alan Lo - Vice President: Danny Fung and Ricky Lo
- Sales and Marketing Director: Ray Lee
- Associate Managing Editor: Dominic Leung
- Marketing Manager: Agnes Chen
- Chief Reporter: Kenneth Dai
- General Chief Reporter: Ray Tsang
- PhotographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
Director: Edmond Wong - ArtsARtsaRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
Director: Spring Kwok
Shih once said that am730 would only be a success depending on the efforts of the staff. If the revenue and expenditures could be balanced within the first year, Shih promised he would pay his staff seven more months of salary.
Distribution points
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
(or CBD).
Due to limited human resources
Human resources
Human resources is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, although it is also applied in labor economics to, for example, business sectors or even whole nations...
and the specific target group of am730, early distribution points were not as efficient. Its main focus is now in the commercial districts of Hong Kong such as Central
Central and Western District
The Central and Western District located on northern part of Hong Kong Island is one of the 18 administrative districts of Hong Kong. It had a population of 261,884 in 2001...
, Wan Chai
Wan Chai
Wan Chai is a metropolitan area situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to the south. The area north of Gloucester Road is often called...
and 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...
.
Operation Cost
The initial launch of the newspaper cost up to HK$100 million. It was Shih's private investment. At the first stage, working capitalWorking capital
Working capital is a financial metric which represents operating liquidity available to a business, organization or other entity, including governmental entity. Along with fixed assets such as plant and equipment, working capital is considered a part of operating capital. Net working capital is...
was just HK$50 million; another HK$50 million will be invested if the operation proves successful. Shih Wing-ching expects that revenue and expenditures will be balanced after a year of publication.
As a free newspaper, the major operational revenue is gained from commercial
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
advertisements. After the first month of publication, the revenue gained from commercial advertisements was HK$100 million while am730 still needed to bear HK$100 million to HK$200 million in losses everyday. The advertising rates in am730 are estimated to be HK$24,000 - HK$30,000, 30% to 40% lower than Metropolis Dailys rates of HK$32,000 to HK$40,000. This is a strategic action to attract more advertisements.
Online papers
am730 is also easily accessible online for the IT-savvy public. Besides viewing the most recent issue, readers can also view archived issues of am730 online. The e-paperElectronic paper
Electronic paper, e-paper and electronic ink are a range of display technology which are designed to mimic the appearance of ordinary ink on paper. Unlike conventional backlit flat panel displays, electronic paper displays reflect light like ordinary paper...
is formatted in such a way that it resembles the actual printed paper.
Club 730
Club 730 invites its readers to become involved with activities organized by the newspaper. Membership in this club gives the readers special benefits and privileges. It also cultivates brand loyalty among the readers. The application form for Club 730 can be downloaded from the am730 official website; membership cards will be delivered around two weeks after submitting the form. Members enjoy benefits like shopping discounts and will be invited to join exclusive activities organized by am730.Other special offers
am730 frequently offers free coupons. Readers can enjoy special offers by cutting the coupons published in the paper. One example was the Delifrance tea set offer on October 10, 2005.Impact of am730
According to Shih, free newspapers represent the future trend of print news because they avoid conflict between readers and newspapers. The fact that am730 is convenient and free of charge has attracted a large group of readers away from the conventional newspapers. Besides the advantages of large circulation and a large group of readers, free newspapers attract many advertisers. According to a survey, Metropolis Daily advertisements ranked 6th in Hong Kong newspapers. It has thus become a big challenge for traditional newspapers to keep up with free newspapers. Starting October 19, 2005, The SunThe Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
, one of the newspapers under the Oriental Press Group Limited, cut the retail price for each paper to HK$3. It is believed to be responding to the emerging competition brought up by free newspapers. Other newspaper press groups declared they would not follow this action, but would closely monitor the situation.
With the emergence of Headline Daily and am730 into Hong Kong's print media industry in July 2005, the competition among the numerous newspapers (free and traditional) is becoming increasingly stiff and unhealthy. In fact, the existence of free circulated tabloids in general can be seen as a form of "self killing" in the industry, in which free tabloids are "killing off" the traditional broadsheet
Broadsheet
Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
s in terms of readership and advertising revenue. Besides this, the saturated market of three free tabloids in Hong Kong can also result in non-profitability for weaker competitors.
Another effect of the entry of am730 and other free tabloids into the market will be on the advertising revenue for traditional broadsheets. Being highly dependent on advertising revenue, traditional broadsheets now face intense competition from free tabloids that are also dependent on advertising revenue as a primary source for their survival. A major advantage of am730 is its easy accessibility to its readers. This means that despite higher advertising charges, companies might be willing to advertise in these papers to guarantee a higher exposure level for their products.
There are 3 main Chinese free newspapers (the other two are Metropolis Daily and Headline Daily) and millions of copies are issued every day (two hundred thousand copies of am730, three hundred thousand copies of Metropolis Daily and four hundred thousand copies of Headline Daily). In a survey conducted by the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong in July 2005, by interviewing 1006 residents, 60% to 65% reported they had taken free newspapers, but 48.7% (nearly half) would throw the newspaper into rubbish bins instead of a recycle box. This practice is not only creating waste, but is also causing damage to the natural environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
; for every metric ton of paper used, 17 trees are brought down and 1,500 litres of fuel oil
Fuel oil
Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...
are consumed.
Readership
A survey on Hong Kong free tabloid readership by Synovate, a leading research company, was conducted between 1 August 2005 and 21 August 2005. Metro Daily, Headline Daily and am730 have 16%, 18% and 8% of the total market share, respectively. From these figures, one can see that am730, with a low circulation of around 260,000 in comparison with the other two tabloids, is performing reasonably well for a starter.Demographics
- Target readers
am730 aims at expanding the readership of the young working class. With its primary target of readers in the younger demographic range, am730 has achieved its target; 65% of its readers are below 45 years of age, according to the survey. This could be seen as an achievement for the free tabloids whose professed aim is to raise awareness of current issues for the politically apathetic younger generation.
- Occupation
am730 is able to get a majority of its readers from the full-time working class, accounting for 81% of its readership according to the survey. This proves that the distribution of papers at railway stations does help in gaining accessibility to working class readers who commonly use public transportation.
Also, am730 has a low readership from people in managerial positions, according to the survey. This is also true for other free tabloids. Generally, the percentage of professionals reading free tabloids only made up 7% of the total readership. In making their stories short and brief, am730 and other tabloids are definitely seen as lacking depth among higher-educated individuals.
Newspaper vendors are upset because of falling sales in traditional newspapers, which directly harms their income. Hence, the vendors are seeking a deal with publishers of free newspapers to distribute the papers for a fee, and threaten to mount a noisy campaign if their requests are denied.