Foundation Supports Local Journalists to Gain International Exposure

A group of dedicated local journalists will join an international workshop in the United States organised by the Better Hong Kong Foundation (the Foundation), in collaboration with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), to enhance their exposure and professional knowledge.

Selected journalists are Ms Eva Cheuk Shiu-kwan of Ming Pao, Ms Magdalen Chow Yin-ling of South China Morning Post, Ms Denise Hung Hiu-king of Hong Kong Economic Times, Ms Paulina Lau Yu-wai of Radio Television Hong Kong, Ms Betty Leung Shuk-fan of Cable News, Ms Tang Lei-ling of Cable News, and Ms Daisy Wong Suk-yee of Dow Jones Newswire.

The two-week workshop which is part of the “Hong Kong Together” Campaign, will run from February 14 to 28, 1999. The programme organised by the Foundation together with the Asia Pacific Media Network and the Pacific Rim Studies Center at the UCLA, is supported by the Hong Kong Journalists Association and the Hong Kong News Executives’ Association.

“This is a unique opportunity for these journalists to broaden their horizon. We are glad that the Foundation is spearheading this initiative to enhance the quality and standard of media reporting in Hong Kong,” said Mr Liu Kin-ming, Chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association.

“I am very impressed with the dedication and respect of these selected journalists to their profession,” said Mr George Yuen, Chief Executive of the Better Hong Kong Foundation. “Their professionalism justifies the Foundation’s commitment to continue to support this kind of training opportunity for Hong Kong’s journalists in order to enhance their quality of work in Hong Kong.

“I am sure the journalists will learn a lot from this unique experience,” Mr Yuen continued.

Mr Thomas Plate, the program organiser, is a professor of communication and policy studies at UCLA and seasoned journalist of the Los Angeles Times. Sharing the same ideals with the Foundation, he said, “We understand that media in Hong Kong, like those of us in America, have been under intense pressure and competition recently. Under these conditions, journalistic ethics becomes a prime concern. This exciting program will not only offer us the chance to exchange our views on this subject, but we will also discuss various aspects of our profession during this unprecedented professional and intellectual exchange.

“We are proud to be associated with the Better Hong Kong Foundation. Its commitment to journalistic excellence and enhancement belies stereotypes in the West that Hong Kong journalists are not as committed to professional values and mid-career training as their American counterparts. We look forward to meeting these journalists in February next year,” added Mr Plate.

The program will include courses on politics, journalism, mass communications, media economics and media management studies at UCLA. Meetings with top editors and journalists at the Los Angeles Times and other media institutions are also planned.

“The successful candidates for the programme are up-and-coming journalists who have great potential to take up a more significant role in the local media industry. To interact with their US counterparts and learn more about media management will provide them with the skills and experience essential to their career development.” said Mr. Ronald Chiu, Chairperson of the Hong Kong News Executives’ Association.

A selection panel comprising members from the Foundation, the Hong Kong Journalists Association, the Hong Kong News Executives’ Association, and department heads of Department of Journalism of the Baptist University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong was responsible for the screening of successful candidates. To achieve the objective of the workshop in enhancing the exposure and professional knowledge of young and potential journalists, priority has been given to those who were educated locally and have three to five years of experience in the profession.

 

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The Better Hong Kong Foundation is a privately funded, non-profit, non-political organization, formed by leading Hong Kong business people. The Foundation aims to reinforce Hong Kong’s role as the regional leading financial, shipping, trading and communications centre. It also serves to enhance greater international understanding between East and West. The Foundation is committed to facilitating communication between Hong Kong and China and the international community.

The Asia Pacific Media Network at the UCLA is a non-partisan, non-profit, non-ethnocentric institution dedicated to better understanding of trans-Pacific issues and to helping journalists, press officials, media experts and Asia-Pacific policy, history, arts and cultural experts to improve their performance and skill.