Regina Ip Says RTHK Should Cut News

RTHK plays an important role in Hong Kong especially with news gathering

Radio Television Hong Kong or RTHK performs an important service in the city. It does excellent television programming in terms of documentaries and public service announcements, informing viewers about all kinds of issues from food waste to telephone scams.

The broadcaster also records concerts so that the public can get a chance to hear top musicians who come through Hong Kong. One of its other functions is covering the news in an objective manner, something that can be hard for some privatized news outlets to do because their owners may have a particular bias.

Regina Ip thinks RTHK should do away with news department

But pro-Beijing lawmaker Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee thinks RTHK is spending too much money and it should cut back by shutting down its news service.

"RTHK spent more than HK$1 billion a year... and it should reflect on whether it has been spending the money effective," she said during a meeting of the Legislative Council's panel on information technology and broadcasting earlier today.

"I always think that the function of government departments is to do things that the private market cannot. I also have doubts whether news should be done by RTHK when so many other radio stations are doing the same," she said. "The only thing is maybe your English channel, maybe you hire people with better English."

Is Ip correct in saying RTHK spends HK$1 billion a year? It sounds like a very big number, but to think that news is not an important department to keep is preposterous.

Thankfully Council Front legislator Eddie Chu Hoi-dick disagreed with her comments.

Eddie Chu thinks RTHK is important for news in Hong Kong

"I think RTHK's news department should be expanded when many other commercial media outlets are facing the pressure to shrink," he suggested. "Very few reporters who worked in the Legco can become senior journalists, but RTHK offered a stable working environment and training, and has been making sure there are new journalists to succeed the old ones."

That prompted RTHK chief Leung Ka-wing to speak up.

"I am proud of the performance of RTHK's news department, including its radio and video news crews. We are working hard every day to do better," he said.

"We only had radio news in the past, but now we have video news, and we are developing news reporting in new media. I hope everyone can continue to have confidence in the Chinese- and English-language journalists in our news department," Leung added.

It is important for people to have as much access to news as possible and they have the freedom to choose where they get their news from. RTHK is serving this purpose. Why cut one less media outlet, especially when the taxpayers are paying for it and aren't complaining?

As I said before, having a news outlet that is not beholden to anyone, except the taxpayers who fund it, is very important. Ip doesn't seem to appreciate the difference...