 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(September 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | |
| Type | Dailyfree newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format |
|
| Owner(s) | The Standard Newspapers Publishing(part ofSing Tao News Corporation, majority stake in turn held by Guo Xiaoting, vice-chairwoman of Kaisa Group) |
| Founder | Aw Boon Haw |
| Publisher | The Standard Newspapers Publishing |
| Founded |
|
| Ceased publication | 1987 (evening edition only)[1] |
| Political alignment | Pro-Beijing |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | Sing Tao News Comm Building,7 Chun Cheong Street, Tseung Kwan O Inte Estate,Tseung Kwan O,New Territories,Hong Kong |
| Country | Hong Kong |
| Circulation | 200,450 (as of 2012)[2] |
| Sister newspapers |
|
| Website | thestandard.com.hk |
| The Standard | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 英文虎報 | ||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 英文虎报 | ||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | English Language Tiger Newspaper | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
The Standard is an English-languagefree newspaper inHong Kong with a daily circulation of 200,450 in 2012.[2] It was formerly called theHongkong Standard[4] and changed toHKiMail during the Internet boom[when?] but partially reverted toThe Standard in 2001.
TheSouth China Morning Post (SCMP) is its main local competitor.
The Standard is printed intabloid format rather than inbroadsheet. It is published daily from Monday to Friday.
As of 2001[update],The Standard was published by Hong Kong iMail Newspapers Limited[5][6] (previously known as Hong Kong Standard Newspapers Limited)[6][7] but currently The Standard Newspapers Publishing Limited.[2] These enterprises are owned bySing Tao News Corporation Limited, also the publisher ofSing Tao Daily[8] andHeadline Daily.[9]
The Standard was previously owned bySally Aw'sSing Tao Holdings Limited. Aw is the daughter of the founderAw Boon Haw. In 1999 Holdings was acquired by a private equity fund,[10] and in January 2001 byCharles Ho's listed company Global China Technology Group Limited[11] (whose name was changed toSing Tao News Corporation Limited in February 2005).[8]: 24 In mid-2002 the ownership of an intermediate holding company ofThe Standard, Sing Tao Media Holdings, was transferred to Sing Tao News Corporation.[12][13] At the same time Sing Tao Holdings, without its main business, was sold to a Chinese private company.[12]
The Standard was originally named theHong Kong Tiger Standard. The newspaper was founded by TycoonAw Boon Haw after the end of theChinese Civil War.[citation needed] He incorporated the publisher The Tiger Standard Limited on 23 May 1947.[14] On the back of financially successfulSing Tao Daily andTiger Balm, he attacked the English-language newspaper market by launching the paper on 1 March 1949 to give a Chinese voice to the world and to advance the interests of Chinese in all their endeavours and defend them against all kinds of inequalities, challenging the pro-colonial establishment press.[15] It started life as a broadsheet, largely edited and run by Chinese, though not to the exclusion of other nationals.[15] Politically, it shared the Sing Tao and Aw's allegiance to theKuomintang.[15]
These early editors were all thoroughly U.S. educated and trained, the first being L.Z. Yuan (father-in-law ofGolden Harvest founder, Raymond Chow). There followed C.S. Kwei, a leading Chinese lawyer and bilingual intellectual–author, and Kyatang Woo, an alumnus ofUniversity of Missouri inColumbia, Missouri.[15] In 1985Robert Chow, who later became a staunch and vocal pro-establishment advocate of restrictive democratic elections for Hong Kong's chief executive, became the editor in chief ofThe Standard and worked there until the 1990s.[16]
During the 1990s, whenSally Aw (Aw Sian, adopted daughter of Aw Boon Haw) chairedSing Tao News Corporation Limited,The Standard was the only English newspaper in Hong Kong that was allowed to be circulated in China.[citation needed]
In 1994 a third English-language newspaper, theEastern Express, appeared. Its bold headlines and large photographs provoked a radical redesign at the Standard, which also suffered the loss of a great many reporters, sub-editors, and advertising to the Eastern Express, tempted by its boasts of generous pay. The new paper quickly pushed the Standard into third place for full-price sales. The Standard adopted a distinctive orange and black masthead and an advertising campaign that used a carrot logo and the maxim "clearer vision." Meanwhile, an emergency recruitment drive brought in new staff from theUK andTasmania, mostly from regional newspapers and on fixed contracts. Its Sunday supplement, Hong Kong Life, began free distribution in bars and clubs.[citation needed]
On 27 May 2000, facing challenges from its biggest competitor theSouth China Morning Post,[17] theHongkong Standard was renamedHong Kong iMail (Chinese:香港郵報) and reduced to tabloid size[17] to attract more younger readers,[17] and was refocused on business issues. On 30 May 2002, following the burst of thedot-com bubble, the paper reverted to beingThe Standard.[citation needed]
The currenteditor in chief is Ivan Tong, who replaced Mark Clifford.[citation needed]
From 10 September 2007,The Standard, then sold at HK$6, became afree newspaper.[citation needed] It is now Hong Kong's first and only free English newspaper. The newspaper is consideredpro-Beijing in its editorial stance.[18]
In August 1996 theIndependent Commission Against Corruption in Hong Kong found that 14,000 copies of the paper had been discarded atWan Chai Pier and therefore started an investigation. The ICAC discovered that from 1994 to 1997 the circulation figures of theHong Kong Sunday Standard and theHongkong Standard had been routinely and substantially exaggerated, in order to attract advertisers and to raise the revenue of the newspapers. Circulation figures had always been somewhat obscure, owing to the Sing Tao group's longstanding agreements with hotels and clubs where the newspaper was distributed free.
As a result, the ICAC arrested three staff members of theHongkong Standard and investigated Aw Sian as co-conspirator. The case was heard from 23 November 1998 to 20 January 1999, at the conclusion of which all three were found guilty and sentenced to 4 to 6 months in jail. Aw Sian was not charged, after the secretary of justiceElsie Leung decided not to prosecute her owing to insufficient evidence and in thepublic interest.[19] The decision generated controversy among a skeptical public who saw this as discrimination in favour of the powerful and well-connected.[20]
......rechristened the Hong Kong I-Mail (the I stands for interactive, as the paper will provide handy links to its website). The goal is to take the paper down market and attract younger readers....
