''Oriental Daily News'' is a

Chinese-language Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the wor ...

newspaper in Hong Kong. It was established in 1969 by

Ma Sik-yu Ma Sik-yu (, died 1998) was a Hong Kong businessman and, along with his brother Ma Sik-chun, co-founder of the Oriental Daily News. Biography Ma Sik-yu and his younger brother Ma Sik-chun came from Chiu Chow, Guangdong. They eventually relocated ...

and

Ma Sik-chun Ma Sik-chun (, 1938 – 15 June 2015) was a Hong Kong businessman, media mogul and, along with his brother Ma Sik-yu, co-founder of the Oriental Daily News. Biography Ma Sik-chun and his older brother Ma Sik-yu came from Chiu Chow, Guangdong. ...

, and was one of the two newspapers published by the Oriental Press Group Limited (). Relative to other Hong Kong newspapers, ''Oriental Daily News'' has an older readership.

History

It is very rich in content – both text and pictures. It also adopts a sensational and critical style when reporting hard news. The paper has been number one in circulation since 1976, with a record readership of over 3,100,000. ''

Apple Daily ''Apple Daily'' ( zh, link=no, 蘋果日報) was a popular tabloid published in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2021. Founded by Jimmy Lai, it was one of the best-selling Chinese language newspapers in Hong Kong.

'' was its main competitor. While claimed figures are around the 3 million (approx 5.72 readers per copy) mark, Nielsen data from 2008 had the ODN at 1,762,000 (530,000 circulation), ''Apple Daily'' at 1,633,000 (347,000 circulation), ''The Sun'' at 537,000 readers (180,000 circulation) all also includes online readers. Other selected readership figures as follows from full year 2008 and percentages of audience 12+ reached (including internet readers). * ''

'' (蘋果日報) 1,633,000 60% * ''Oriental Daily News'' (東方日報) 1,762,000 33% * '' The Sun'' (太陽報) 537,000 10% * ''

Ming Pao ''Ming Pao'' () is a Chinese-language newspaper published by Media Chinese International in Hong Kong. In the 1990s, ''Ming Pao'' established four overseas branches in North America; each provides independent reporting on local news and colle ...

'' (明報) 447,000 8% * ''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...

'' (南華早報) 296,000 6% * '' Sing Tao Daily'' (星島日報) 339,000 6% * ''

Hong Kong Economic Times The ''Hong Kong Economic Times'' (abbreviated as the ''HKET'') is a financial daily newspaper in Hong Kong. It was founded by Lawrence S P Fung (), (chairman), Perry Mak (managing director), Arthur Shek Kang-chuen ()(executive director) and o ...

'' (經濟日報) 220,000 4% * ''

Sing Pao ''Sing Pao Daily News'' () is one of the oldest Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong, first published on 1 May 1939 by the Sing Pao Newspaper Company Limited () under Ho Man-fat. It was initially published every three days, later becoming a daily. ...

'' (成報) 61,000 1% * '' Hong Kong Daily News'' (新報) 74,000 1% * ''

Hong Kong Economic Journal The ''Hong Kong Economic Journal'' (HKEJ). is a Chinese-language daily newspaper published in Hong Kong by the Shun Po Co., Ltd.. Available in both Hong Kong and Macau, the newspaper mainly focuses on economic news and other related, usuall ...

'' (信報) 74,000 1% * ''

Headline Daily ''Headline Daily'' () was launched on 12 July 2005, by Sing Tao Newspaper Group Limited and became the second free Chinese-language newspaper published officially in Hong Kong ('' Metro Daily'' being the first). The paper is only distributed o ...

'' (頭條日報) 1,093,000 20% * ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

'' (都巿日報) 616,000 12% * ''

am730 ''Am730'', is free daily Cantonese newspaper published in Hong Kong, the third with the prior two being ''Headline Daily'' and ''Metropolis Daily''. Shih Wing-ching, chairman of '' Centaline Holdings'', a property agency, is the founder of ...

'' 623,000 12%

Content

The paper does not differ greatly from other Chinese papers in terms of content. The newspaper provides daily coverage of local, international, financial, real-estate, entertainment, and sports news. Information on horse racing, football gambling, fashion trends and travel are also provided. The ''Oriental Daily'' is credited for a couple of breakthroughs. In 1977, it was the first local paper to launch a complaint page. These complaints could be against both public agencies (including governmental departments) and private companies. Readers can phone, fax or even complain through the internet using a realtime conference system. If the reporters find the complaints interesting, they will investigate and report them, acting as a sort of

ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

for their readers. This has contributed to the local newspaper's role as an influential channel for citizens to express their ideas and articulate their antipathy. The complaint page also reports on the response from the target of the complaints. It thus tries to stay neutral and fair, aiming only to arouse public awareness on the issues. Facing keen competition, ''Oriental Daily'' tries hard to keep up with the city's pace. For instance, new columns like 'new arrivals' postbox' were set up to accommodate the needs of mainland readers. A new soccer gambling page was also launched, with information on current

odds Odds provide a measure of the likelihood of a particular outcome. They are calculated as the ratio of the number of events that produce that outcome to the number that do not. Odds are commonly used in gambling and statistics. Odds also have ...

. Its editorial is one of a kind. It has two editorials every day. The first one is called the 'Main Editorial' (正論), which is a typical newspaper editorial. The second one is called 'Kung Fu Tea' (功夫茶), which is written in the

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

form of

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

, and is a daily critique of the misfits of the

bureaucracy The term bureaucracy () refers to a body of non-elected governing officials as well as to an administrative policy-making group. Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments staffed with non-elected offi ...

Internet service

''Oriental Daily'', like many newspapers, has its own website. It provides readers free access to full version, up-to-date news. ''On.cc'' is the flagship website of the Oriental Press Group Limited. It was started in February 2002, and includes e-paper versions of ''Oriental Daily''. The whole printed version is uploaded onto the web allowing people from all over the world to read.

Competition and new developments

''Apple Daily'', established in 1995, was the paper's main competitor. The two entered into a price war in December 1995. When ''Apple Daily'' reduced its price to HK$4, ''Oriental Daily'' responded by dropping its price to $2, in an effort to retain market share. During and after this war, six newspapers closed down due to persistent losses, driving out competitors such as ''Hong Kong Daily News'', ''Sing Pao Daily News'' and ''Tin Tin News''. The competition has led to changes in the paper's presentation, with more use of colour photos and illustrations. Competition also improved service quality, such as the introduction of customer service centres. Readers can report their complaints by visiting these centres in

Tsim Sha Tsui Tsim Sha Tsui, often abbreviated as TST, is an list of areas of Hong Kong, urban area in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is administratively part of the Yau Tsim Mong District. Tsim Sha Tsui East is a piece of land reclaimed from the Hu ...

and

Wan Chai Wan Chai is situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road, Hong Kong, Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to th ...

. Inside the centre, complaints can be lodged face-to-face to reporters via a digital video conversation system. Recently, Oriental Press Group Limited would like to extend its business to America and Canada. Cities like New York and Toronto which have high population of Chinese will be its first target.

References

External links

*
Oriental Press Group
at

Bloomberg Markets ''Bloomberg Markets'' is a magazine published six times a year by Bloomberg L.P. as part of Bloomberg News. Aimed at global financial professionals, ''Bloomberg Markets'' publishes articles on the people and issues related to global financial ma ...