Maddog or watchdogs?New newspaper strives to arouse public interest in political criticism
Maddog or watchdogs?
New newspaper strives to arouse
public interest in political criticism
By Helen Chan
This was how Mr. Wong Yuk-man expressed his confidence about the entry of his newly published newspaper — Mad Dog Daily — into Hong Kong's crowded newspaper market.
“People in Hong Kong will buy my newspaper out of curiosity as well as because of my fame,” bragged the well-known Hong Kong gadfly, “and this will make me a profit.”
Mr. Wong is known for his aggressiveness in criticizing politicians and government officials.
Writing articles in newspapers such as the Apply Daily, hosting radio programmes, appearing on television shows and inviting politicians into discussions of social issues and politics — these activities have made him prominent.
“Xinhua (New China News Agency) labelled me as a ‘mad dog’,” said Mr. Wong. “This is why I call my newspaper Mad Dog Daily.”
He said it would be a newspaper that possessed his own characteristics.
“The criticism we publish must be reasonable and supported by facts. This is the same as the way I criticize some public figures,” Mr. Wong explained.
Mr. Wong, as the publisher of the new paper, said he aimed at encouraging independent opinion to be heard by the public, and at promoting readers’ critical thinking so as to judge politicians’ behaviours.
"Xinhua labelled me as a 'mad dog'."
“It is done in such a way that readers are given alternatives other than existing choices of opinion frequently heard, so that they can have more room for thinking about politics,” he said.
The newspaper sells for $5, but it has only eight pages. Three pages of the paper are interpretative news. Two pages are devoted to horse-racing. One page is for criticism. One page is entertainment, and the remaining part devoted to leisure.
“Existing newspapers have so many pages that this would only lower readership,” said Mr. Wong. “How many people will read every single page of a newspaper?”
However, Mr. Loh Chan, editor-in-chief of Apply Daily, said two pages of horse-racing news was only a means to attract the audience.
“People will buy Mad Dog Daily only if the writers can predict results correctly. A certain number of copies can be ensured then.”
Regarding the news section in the new newspaper, Mr. Wong said Mad Dog Daily would publish analysis of some salient news together with essential background information. The writers would also try to probe into an issue at a rather different angle.
“Ordinary newspapers emphasize news reporting by providing different sides of an issue without bias, and they say they will let the readers make judgements on their own.
“But every reader knows that there must be some kind of political stand within each newsroom,” said Mr. Wong.
Mr. Wong expected circulation in the first week to be 30,000 to 50,000 copies daily. It is estimated that there will be more than $1 million profit if the newspaper is able to sell 50,000 copies. In fact, the paper was sold out on the first day, and copies were hard to find on succeeding days.
Mad Dog Daily aims at a small, segmented audience in Hong Kong, according to Mr. Wong.
Mr. Loh added, “The newspaper is only a supplementary one. People will buy another newspaper if they find the newspaper that they usually read is not adequate enough to provide some information such as background information or commentary by well-known critics.
“I do not see any possibility that Mad Dog Daily will take away our audience, since we are approaching two different segments of the audience.”
Mr. Wong criticized the opinions expressed by major dailies in the Territory. They are afraid of offending the mainland Chinese, he claimed.
“Self-censorship is obviously present in the local newsrooms before the Chinese Communist Party carries out real press censorship,” Mr. Wong added.
Mad Dog Daily will print no advertisements, which is the main source of income of common newspapers. The only income for Mad Dog Daily is circulation revenue.
“Mad Dog Daily is able to earn a profit of $2.20 per copy after excluding payments to employees and other administrative costs,” Mr. Loh estimated.
Mr. Wong said, “Without advertisements, we are able to voice our opinion free from the threat of losing advertisers if we offend them.”
Mr. Loh agreed that Mad Dog could have a market of 20,000 to 50,000 readers in Hong Kong. He assumed that the newspaper could attract consumers who wanted to read more in-depth reporting of news.
Mr. Wong said, “I am confident that my newspaper does have a share of the market in the Territory. Of course it will survive as long as more than 10,000 readers are willing to buy it.”
“I am not the one who will determine the continuity of survival of Mad Dog Daily after the changeover of sovereignty. It is Xinhua who will have the say.
“My fame is only a selling point to attract people to buy Mad Dog Daily when we first join the market competition. How to keep readers continuing buying it is the most important question that follows.
“We will keep track of our readers’ interests in our publication and remove contents which are not welcomed,” Mr. Wong said.
