Headline Daily
Encyclopedia
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 (Metropolis Daily
(TC: 都市日報 Pinyin
: Dū Shì Rì Bào) being the first). The paper is only distributed on weekdays and is aimed at the working class. The estimated average daily circulation of the paper is around 500,000. The paper provides local and international news as well as articles on business
news
, entertainment
, lifestyle and sports.
The pace of life in Hong Kong is so fast and people are so busy that Headline Daily was established to meet the people's needs by providing them with first-hand information on the hottest daily topics in a manner as concise and lively as possible, while attempting to portray a "positive" and "lively" image to readers.
In terms of market competition, the Headline Daily was also launched in a bid to gain a greater market share
of the territory's advertising market for Sing Tao News Corporation and to explore a new source of income for the corporation.
. It is distributed in more than 600 different places, among which there are now three fixed distribution media: McDonald's restaurants
, KCR stations
(except Tsim Sha Tsui East, Tai Wai, Racecourse and Sheung Shui Stations), and nearly 500 residential estates. Moreover, the papers are distributed at more than 100 fixed or non-fixed spots, including commercial buildings, bus/mini-bus stops and shopping malls all around Hong Kong. Readers may simply get a free issue from the eye-catching red shelfs at most locations or from the staff at certain locations.
In August 2005, a market research survey was conducted by Synovate, comparing the readership of 3 free newspapers in Hong Kong. The result shows that in the first three weeks of August, Metropolis Daily, Headline Daily and am730 respectively achieved 16%, 18% and 8% of the market shares. Headline Daily gains the leading readership of 893,000, compared with Metropolis Daily's 820,000 and am730's 401,000.
.
The paper aims to present the most important news of the day in a concise way so as to provide readers with up-to-date, yet comprehensive, news and information on different areas in a short read. It usually has around 24 to 30 pages and has a layout similar to the following formats:
In a comment by Sing Tao chief executive Lo Wing-hung, he claimed that the average number of pages could be increased to 40 pages if its readership increases significantly over time. However, so far, more than three months after the first publication, the newspaper only consists of around 24 pages on the average.
Moreover, to extend the market to overseas, a softcopy version Headline Daily is made accessible on line.
, which requires verification and objectivity rather than exaggerating the facts by making them headlines.
off their shelves in order to counter the threat posed by it.
On another front, the vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Newspaper Hawker Association, Lam, gave an example of the impact. Ten years ago, an ice-cutting competition which was initiated by Apple Daily
had resulted in the elimination of several old-fashioned newspapers. Drawing a parallel with that phenomenon, Lam speculated that if the current situation of free distribution of newspapers continued, newspapers run by small corporations might eventually be eliminated. This might in turn result in the undesirable situation of reducing choice for newspaper readers.
Three months after the launch of Headline Daily, The Sun Daily was the first newspaper that initiated a price-cutting campaign as a response. On October 19, 2005, The Oriental Daily Group followed suit by cutting down the price of The Sun Daily to 50% from $6 to $3.
After the launch of the two new free papers, Sing Tao Daily
's advertising revenue dropped by 12% in August (compared with July), while Ming Pao Daily News and Sing Pao Daily News
also suffered from a reduction in advertising revenues of 7% and 5% respectively.
Nevertheless, research figures indicate that the majority of free newspaper readers are 'new' readers or readers of both paid and free papers. The research concludes that even though the launch of free newspapers seems to have a negative causal effect on single copy sales of paid newspapers, the overall effect on readership and choices of newspapers might not be detrimental.
Also, it is suggested that readers who buy a paper everyday for its style and reputation are unlikely to change. Free newspapers would only lead to the repositioning or position enhancement of an individual newspaper. Free newspapers focus on the low-end market, while the priced newspapers target the middle-income class and professionals.
, on average, only 32% of newspaper-readers will dump their unwanted newspapers into recycle boxes. Since there are 500,000 issues of Headline Daily published every Monday to Friday, the wastage of paper and disposal problems may contribute significantly to the worsening of Hong Kong's pollution.
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...
published officially in Hong Kong (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...
(TC: 都市日報 Pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Dū Shì Rì Bào) being the first). The paper is only distributed on weekdays and is aimed at the working class. The estimated average daily circulation of the paper is around 500,000. The paper provides local and international news as well as articles on business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
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 :...
, 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...
, lifestyle and sports.
Reasons for the launch of the newspaper
The newspaper was launched as the Chairman of Sing Tao News Corporation, Charles Ho Tsu Kwok, felt there was room for the further development of free newspapers in Hong Kong in terms of content, distribution network and advertising formats.The pace of life in Hong Kong is so fast and people are so busy that Headline Daily was established to meet the people's needs by providing them with first-hand information on the hottest daily topics in a manner as concise and lively as possible, while attempting to portray a "positive" and "lively" image to readers.
In terms of market competition, the Headline Daily was also launched in a bid to gain a greater market share
Market share
Market share is the percentage of a market accounted for by a specific entity. In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 67 percent responded that they found the "dollar market share" metric very useful, while 61% found "unit market share" very useful.Marketers need to be able to...
of the territory's advertising market for Sing Tao News Corporation and to explore a new source of income for the corporation.
Distribution
Daily issues are distributed during morning peak hours from Monday to Friday, except on public holidaysPublic holidays in Hong Kong
Public holidays in Hong Kong are holidays designated by the Government of Hong Kong. They allow workers rest from work, usually in conjunction with special occasions.-Public holidays:...
. It is distributed in more than 600 different places, among which there are now three fixed distribution media: McDonald's restaurants
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
, KCR stations
Kowloon-Canton Railway
The Kowloon–Canton Railway refers to a railway network in Hong Kong which is now combined with the MTR railway system, comprising rapid transit services, a light rail system and feeder bus routes within Hong Kong, and intercity passenger and freight train services to the rest of China...
(except Tsim Sha Tsui East, Tai Wai, Racecourse and Sheung Shui Stations), and nearly 500 residential estates. Moreover, the papers are distributed at more than 100 fixed or non-fixed spots, including commercial buildings, bus/mini-bus stops and shopping malls all around Hong Kong. Readers may simply get a free issue from the eye-catching red shelfs at most locations or from the staff at certain locations.
Readership
The newspaper targets the working population, who are usually too busy to read a large number of pages nor to read every piece of news in detail. However, these people are likely to grasp every chance to read newspapers for a short period when travelling or having breakfast.In August 2005, a market research survey was conducted by Synovate, comparing the readership of 3 free newspapers in Hong Kong. The result shows that in the first three weeks of August, Metropolis Daily, Headline Daily and am730 respectively achieved 16%, 18% and 8% of the market shares. Headline Daily gains the leading readership of 893,000, compared with Metropolis Daily's 820,000 and am730's 401,000.
Contents
"Headline Daily" shares news sources with the Sing Tao DailySing 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...
.
The paper aims to present the most important news of the day in a concise way so as to provide readers with up-to-date, yet comprehensive, news and information on different areas in a short read. It usually has around 24 to 30 pages and has a layout similar to the following formats:
- Headlines (i.e. coverpage; with daily information such as Marksix Result, Activities of the Day, Lunar CalendarLunar calendarA lunar calendar is a calendar that is based on cycles of the lunar phase. A common purely lunar calendar is the Islamic calendar or Hijri calendar. A feature of the Islamic calendar is that a year is always 12 months, so the months are not linked with the seasons and drift each solar year by 11 to...
and Weather Forecast) - Local Mews (with critics)
- China News
- International news
- Financial news (i.e. news on Real EstateReal estateIn general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
, BusinessBusinessA business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
and stock marketStock marketA stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...
) - Sports news
- Lifestyle (different topics for each day: Technology(Monday), Fashion(Tuesday), Shopping(Wednesday), Amusement(Thursday) and Food(Friday))
- Entertainment (local and international entertainment news, along with Television Programme Schedule)
- The remaining pages are used for advertisements.
In a comment by Sing Tao chief executive Lo Wing-hung, he claimed that the average number of pages could be increased to 40 pages if its readership increases significantly over time. However, so far, more than three months after the first publication, the newspaper only consists of around 24 pages on the average.
Marketing strategies
As more and more free newspapers are appearing to fight for room in the local newspaper market, Headline Daily distinguishes itself by bringing new experiences to its readers. It tries to be competitive by implementing marketing strategies to attract readers' interest, such as:- "lucky draws" & "voting gamesVotingVoting is a method for a group such as a meeting or an electorate to make a decision or express an opinion—often following discussions, debates, or election campaigns. It is often found in democracies and republics.- Reasons for voting :...
"
- "apple-shaped pellet": a massage deviceMassageMassage is the manipulation of superficial and deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue to enhance function, aid in the healing process, and promote relaxation and well-being. The word comes from the French massage "friction of kneading", or from Arabic massa meaning "to touch, feel or handle"...
, which working classWorking classWorking 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...
readers can use to relax themselves and relieve their stress, was once offered to readers along with their newspaper
- "happy lucky reader": one reader is randomly-chosen in public areas (e.g. in a MTRMTRMass Transit Railway is the rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong. Originally opened in 1979, the system now includes 211.6 km of rail with 155 stations, including 86 railway stations and 69 light rail stops...
train) and awarded HK$500 on a daily basis
Moreover, to extend the market to overseas, a softcopy version Headline Daily is made accessible on line.
Public relations
In order to build up a good relationship with readers, Headline Daily invites readers to submit news articles for publication in return for rewards as a sign of its cooperation with the public. According to the official website, readers can become reporters for Headline Daily by handing in any information. While this information should be deemed to be news-worthy, other guidelines are provided on what type of news should be submitted. Particularly, the paper states that it has no interest in collecting any commentaries from the public. Meanwhile, the usage of any material submitted is solely dependent on the newspaper's discretion. The paper rewards any readers whose materials are published or utilized with a one-time sum of $100, regardless of how many times the paper utilizes these pieces of news.Professionalism of the free press
On the first day of its publication, Headline Daily claimed that "Headline news is important news, and different sections of the newspaper should have headlines. Not only the serious news has headlines, but also for entertainment news, let alone love affairs." This statement raised a controversy on whether Headline Daily is providing good journalismJournalism
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...
, which requires verification and objectivity rather than exaggerating the facts by making them headlines.
Reduction of newspaper hawkers’ income
Two days after the first publication of Headline Daily, the Hong Kong Newspaper Hawker Association accused Headline Daily of having an adverse impact on the business of newspaper hawkers. They claimed that the free distribution of Headline Daily had resulted in a general drop in newspaper transactions of around 10% to 20%.Effect on price and selling of the current newspapers
In addition, the Hong Kong Newspaper Hawker Association pointed out that under the current market conditions, it might be infeasible to decrease the prices of newspapers in order to maintain or increase their sales. Subsequently, they claimed to have considered taking Sing Tao DailySing 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...
off their shelves in order to counter the threat posed by it.
On another front, the vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Newspaper Hawker Association, Lam, gave an example of the impact. Ten years ago, an ice-cutting competition which was initiated by 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...
had resulted in the elimination of several old-fashioned newspapers. Drawing a parallel with that phenomenon, Lam speculated that if the current situation of free distribution of newspapers continued, newspapers run by small corporations might eventually be eliminated. This might in turn result in the undesirable situation of reducing choice for newspaper readers.
Three months after the launch of Headline Daily, The Sun Daily was the first newspaper that initiated a price-cutting campaign as a response. On October 19, 2005, The Oriental Daily Group followed suit by cutting down the price of The Sun Daily to 50% from $6 to $3.
After the launch of the two new free papers, 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...
's advertising revenue dropped by 12% in August (compared with July), while Ming Pao Daily News and Sing Pao Daily News
Sing Pao Daily News
Sing Pao Daily News is one of the oldest Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong and was first published on May 1, 1939 by the Sing Pao Newspaper Company Limited . It was initially published once every three days, and later once a day...
also suffered from a reduction in advertising revenues of 7% and 5% respectively.
Nevertheless, research figures indicate that the majority of free newspaper readers are 'new' readers or readers of both paid and free papers. The research concludes that even though the launch of free newspapers seems to have a negative causal effect on single copy sales of paid newspapers, the overall effect on readership and choices of newspapers might not be detrimental.
Also, it is suggested that readers who buy a paper everyday for its style and reputation are unlikely to change. Free newspapers would only lead to the repositioning or position enhancement of an individual newspaper. Free newspapers focus on the low-end market, while the priced newspapers target the middle-income class and professionals.
An obstacle to human traffic
The Hong Kong Newspaper Hawker Association suggested that the free distribution of Headline Daily outside MTR stations might affect the smoothness of human flow along the passageways. The Association suggested that Sing Tao News Corporation should improve the method of distribution and requested the government to interfere and deal with the problem seriously.Environmental problems
Moreover, some critics also think that free distribution may lead to greater wastage of paper. For example, a family with a few sets of free newspapers might end up throwing all of them into the dustbin directly without using them for other purposes as they did not pay for the newspapers. According to Friends of the EarthFriends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth International is an international network of environmental organizations in 76 countries.FOEI is assisted by a small secretariat which provides support for the network and its agreed major campaigns...
, on average, only 32% of newspaper-readers will dump their unwanted newspapers into recycle boxes. Since there are 500,000 issues of Headline Daily published every Monday to Friday, the wastage of paper and disposal problems may contribute significantly to the worsening of Hong Kong's pollution.
See also
- Sing Tao Holdings Limited
- Free daily newspapers
- Newspapers of Hong KongNewspapers of Hong KongThis 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.-Popularity:...
- Media in Hong Kong
External links
- Official website
- Express Post
- Sing Tao News Corporation
- Source:Pinyin translated with CozyChinese.COM
Articles
- Distribution the key for latest free daily paper - The StandardThe StandardThe Standard is an English free newspaper of Hong Kong with a daily circulation of 231,018. It was called the Hong Kong Standard and changed to HKiMail during the Internet boom, but it changed back to The Standard in 2001....
, Mark Lee. - Newspaper war won't affect us, says HKET- The StandardThe StandardThe Standard is an English free newspaper of Hong Kong with a daily circulation of 231,018. It was called the Hong Kong Standard and changed to HKiMail during the Internet boom, but it changed back to The Standard in 2001....
, Wong Ka-chun. - Hong Kong: Ming Pao shrugs off impact of free dailies - AsiaMedia, Frederick Yeung.
- Tabloid Newspaper War in Hong Kong - Asia Review, James Borton.
- Hong Kong's Newspaper Wars -- Tabloid Titans Battle For First Place - JINN, Coral Hui.