An annual Reuters Institute REPORT in the global news industry has said Hong Kong journalists are facing “a wide range of threats, including tax investigations”, amid a deepening financial crisis among local media.
The Digital News 2026 report said journalists in the city are “treading carefully to avoid crossing vaguely defined legal red lines and, as a result, practicing more self-censorship.”
He mentioned the imprisonment of Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai and the call of foreign media chiefs at Beijing’s national security office last year.
The Hong Kong government has said that Lai’s decision had nothing to do with freedom of the presswhich insists it remains protected.
At least seven independent media and 20 individuals were targeted by tax auditshe said, citing the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA). They have received tax bills amounting to about HK$1.7 million, the HKJA said.
HKFP was among the intended ones. The Inland Revenue Department has maintained that a taxpayer’s history or industry has no bearing on such reviews and told the HKFP that it was “randomly selected” for an audit.
The report said Ming Pao and the Hong Kong Economic Times have suffered significant financial losses, although TVB bucked the trend as it turned a profit.
“Although Hong Kong news content cannot be distributed in mainland China, TVB’s dramas broadcast on major mainland platforms such as Youku have performed strongly, suggesting that expansion into the mainland may provide a way forward for local media organizations with business lines beyond news,” the report said.
While legacy media are struggling, the institute noted independent online units with weak operational structures: “These include The Witness, which focuses on court reporting; Kolektive, which specializes in in-depth reporting; and Initium Media and The (Pulse), which have moved overseas in response to NSL.”
Pro-government media also strengthened their presence: “Outlets such as Speak Out HK, Dot Dot News and Orange News have gained considerable influence online, aided by their relatively stronger sources.”
TVB, HK01, Yahoo have more reach
The report also included a survey of 2,004 Hong Kong residents. It found that TVB News had the widest weekly reach among offline media, with 55 percent of respondents. The state-backed Lion Rock Daily was last with a 7 percent gain.
TVB was also the most popular online platform, with TVB Online News reaching 34 percent of respondents each week. HK01 came next with 33 percent of readers checking weekly, followed by Yahoo News. Alibaba’s South China Morning Post was last among the online platforms surveyed with a weekly reach of 8 percent.
The study found that news consumption habits were consistent with five previous Digital News Reports: “The majority of respondents consume news online (87%), while 65% rely on television and 24% on print. The use of social media for news is growing steadily.”
Overall trust in the news among respondents remained at 52 percent, the same as last year. However, the percentage of those paying for news fell 4 percentage points to 18 percent.
| Brand | trust | neither | Don’t believe it |
|---|---|---|---|
| am730 | 67% | 24% | 9% |
| Bastillepost | 57% | 27% | 16% |
| Commercial radio | 70% | 22% | 8% |
| Dot Dot News | 54% | 31% | 15% |
| HK01 | 68% | 21% | 11% |
| i-CABLE News | 72% | 22% | 6% |
| In the media | 58% | 31% | 11% |
| Ming Pao | 69% | 23% | 8% |
| NOW TV News | 73% | 22% | 5% |
| Oriental Daily News | 66% | 23% | 11% |
| RTHK | 71% | 19% | 10% |
| Sing Tao Daily | 68% | 23% | 9% |
| collectivity | 56% | 32% | 12% |
| TVB News | 69% | 17% | 14% |
| Yahoo! tidings | 70% | 23% | 7% |
The report said most local media were trusted by more than half of respondents: “Popular electronic media enjoy relatively higher trust, with NowTV News, i-Cable News and RTHK among the most trusted. Less popular digital-only media outlets tend to score lower, although Yahoo! News is likely to benefit from public recognition of its terms of trust.”
The report was authored by Alex Zhi-Xiong Koo, Francis Lee and Hsuan-Ting Chen. The Reuters Institute is part of the University of Oxford’s Department of Politics and International Relations.
