Comments on: South China Morning Post’s Slide Toward Irrelevance? [UPDATE]

By: Frankie Fook-lun Leung

Frankie Fook-lun Leung — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 18:38:30 +0000

If the owners of the paper don’t care if it goes RED which apparently is the color they want, being irrelevant is the least of their concern. The East is red.

By: Frankie Fook-lun Leung

Frankie Fook-lun Leung — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 03:55:16 +0000

Media owners in H K have to learn that running a newspaper is more than owning a business. It deals with information. Information needs a free platform for it to flow. People read for knowledge and insight. That curiosity won’t be satisfied if a newspaper is presented as a propaganda sheet from a government-sponsored institution.

By: Frankie Fook-lun Leung

Frankie Fook-lun Leung — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 19:46:34 +0000

A group of ex-SCMP journalists including my good friend Willy Lam have jointly written a letter to the executive director of the company to protest about self-censorship. Let’s see how the owners and senior management react and tell the public what they think. If they choose to maintain silence, which they will probably do, more damage will be done. When a news organization becomes news itself, it must be bad news to that company. Rupert Murdoch can tell you painfully.

By: Frankie Fook-lun Leung

Frankie Fook-lun Leung — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 23:09:26 +0000

If freedom of speech in H K is eroded, sooner or later, its status of being an international financial center will be threatened. H K is no longer in the eyes of mainlanders, the goose which lays the golden eggs. Soon China loses face over H K because the rest of the world will laugh saying: see, one country two systems doesn’t work. The Chinese screw up big time.

By: Frankie Fook-lun Leung

Frankie Fook-lun Leung — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 17:33:23 +0000

Few English reading professionals outside H K care about SCMP for sure. Unfortunately, since 1997, the standard of English declines in H K. Hence the readership of SCMP has been in decline. What it could have done, if their management have the vision and ability to make it a first class China-watching financial outpost. To achieve that goal, independence and critical analysis are the basic requirements. Who dare do that under the Five Stars flag of the Chinese Special Administrative Zone, One Country and Two Systems accepted?

By: Frankie Fook-lun Leung

Frankie Fook-lun Leung — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 18:37:42 +0000

newspapers owners in china don’t care about independence nor profit. They use their newspapers to please China to make profits for their other businesses and China has her own agenda served. Liu Xiao Bo won the Nobel Prize. Does China care? What prizes a mere journalist won is irrelevant to the max.

By: Frankie Fook-lun Leung

Frankie Fook-lun Leung — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 18:34:45 +0000

SCMP stands for Serving China’s Mouthpiece Post or
South China Mourning Post.

By: » The Situation Is Excellent: The Week That Was At Beijing Cream Beijing Cream

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 15:50:43 +0000

[...] China Morning Post finds itself in journalistic crosshairs, thanks in large to some withering criticism by Paul Mooney. Stephon Marbury held a book signing [...]

By: scottinapac

scottinapac — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 23:35:06 +0000

Well said, Anthro. My comment was also meant as a reply to Spinelli.

By: Anthro

Anthro — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 11:24:33 +0000

You’re missing the point. The issue is the pro-China balance in the SCMP caused by Wang’s editorial decisions. Using Singapore as a model hardly helps your argument. Mooney has won awards for the SCMP two years in a row, including this past April, so it is quite odd that Wang would release one of his award-winning journalist. In fact, he got rid of 3 of this year’s award winners. The worry is that the Kuoks seek to make the paper less independent and open, and more pro-China.

By: scottinapac

scottinapac — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 04:17:32 +0000

Mooney is a class act, a great writer and spot on. As for SPH having no western reporters… it shows. A Puerile comment celebrating pathetic, pedestrian journalism.

By: spinelli

spinelli — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 18:13:46 +0000

This Mooney guy should learn never to criticise his ex-employers. That is a taboo for him and he certainly sounds like a sour grape. Why the SCMP would hire western reporters like him beats me. In Singapore, the SPH has no western reporters on the payroll. Western reporters are no better than Asians and they tend to be biased towards China. Mr Mooney is very arrogant and certainly is sore for being sidelined. His job was to write and his editor has the final say as to what goes into the press. If he wants to challenge his employers, he must understand he is just one of the journalist and certainly is dispensable.