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The government yesterday set up an independent committee, comprising veteran mediapersons and academics, to review public service broadcasting in Hong Kong.

But the seven-member committee will not target public broadcaster Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) and its corporatization, and it gave an assurance that editorial independence of RTHK would remain intact.

While the move was widely welcomed, academics urged the committee to be as transparent as possible with their review and consult the different sectors of society.

Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology John Tsang said it was necessary to set up the committee because Hong Kong didn't have a clear policy on public service broadcasting, and the subject had always been politicized at the expense of professional analyses.

The committee will be chaired by Raymond Wong, council member of Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) and Open University and former head of TVB news department.

The committee will submit in nine months its findings and recommendations to the government that would include the structure, funding, governance, management, programming, monitoring and accountability of public service broadcasting.

Overseas experts, including those from British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and different sectors of the community, RTHK staff and legislators among them, would be consulted.

Tsang said the review would be conducted with a macro perspective, and it would not be targeted at RTHK and its corporatization, for that had been suggested to make it more flexible, cost-effective, efficient and to ensure its editorial independence. "We are aiming at a macro and high-order review. We have no plan to pinpoint RTHK and any particular aspect of the station," Tsang said in response to a question on whether the corporatization idea would be studied. "We will not target any programming of RTHK."

Wong said the committee would not interfere with RTHK's programs.

"We are not going to review every single program of RTHK. What do they have to do with us? The management of RTHK will decide what programs to do," Wong said.

"We will only study the topic from a macro perspective, and only make recommendations on what kind of programs should be produced more and what kind, less. We will not study whether horse racing should be broadcast. We will not go to that level," Wong said.

He gave an assurance that the committee would operate independently, saying "the chief executive will not participate in our meetings".

He reassured RTHK staff that they should not fear about losing their editorial independence. "The staff should continue doing what they should do, then they will eventually enjoy editorial independence."

RTHK internal committee

Welcoming the review, RTHK said it would set up an internal committee to make submissions to the government committee. Assistant Director Cheung Man-sun agreed with the government that there was no clear policy on public service broadcasting now.

Cheung said the government committee should consult people with public broadcasting experience. "I also hope the (government) committee will not have any presumptions of public broadcasting and the current situation of RTHK."

RTHK Program Staff Union Chairman Janet Mak, too, welcomed the review, saying the previous one was conducted 21 years ago, and the public had a different understanding of the public service broadcasting framework.

"This is the appropriate time for such a review... for a clear understanding," she said. She didn't think RTHK's editorial independence would be compromised if the review was conducted in an impartial, fair and open manner.

"I think the review can really help find the (right) way for future public service broadcasting if various views, including ours, are sought," she said.

Chinese University's Journalism Professor Kenneth Leung said a review was necessary for a clear understanding of a public broadcaster's role.

"By referring to overseas experience and conducting a survey, the committee will be able to get a lot of useful indicators, then make a conclusion on public service broadcasting with consideration to the actual situation of Hong Kong. I think the review should be conducted with a macro perspective to avoid interference in any station's operations," he said.

Hong Kong Journalist Association Chairperson Cheung Ping-ling said the committee should consult Hong Kong residents, RTHK staff and private sector broadcasters to maintain transparency.

The committee should consider whether the public service broadcasters could provide additional services, including dedicated TV and digital radio broadcasts, he said, and urged the government to consider enacting a legislation to guarantee RTHK's editorial freedom.

Commercial Radio, too, welcomed the move, saying it would ensure that resources were used effectively and to serve diverse needs of the public. A Metro Radio spokesman said they were open to the review.

(China Daily HK edition January 18, 2006)