HKU POP SITE publishes a column article entitled "Exploring the Concept of Referendum" and releases the latest figures of people's appraisal of local news media's professionalismBack


Press Release on November 18, 2004
 

The Public Opinion Programme (POP) at the University of Hong Kong today publishes at the "HKU POP SITE" (http://hkupop.pori.hk) a column article entitled "Exploring the Concept of Referendum" written by Robert Ting-Yiu Chung, Director of Public Opinion Programme, as well as releasing on schedule the people's appraisal of the professionalism of the local news media. Relevant figures are summarized as follows:

 
 Date of survey 9-14/2 10-13/5 9-16/8 8-11/11 Latest change
 Sample base 1,008 1,021 1,019 1,000 --
 Overall response rate 66.0% 61.9% 62.9% 64.5% --
 Sampling error of percentages (at 95% confidence level)* +/- 3% +/- 3% +/- 3% +/- 3% --
 Sampling error of rating (at 95% confidence level)* +/- 0.12 +/- 0.10 +/- 0.12 +/- 0.10 --
 Freedom of the press in HK: Satisfaction rate** 59% 51% 51% 50% -1%
 Freedom of the press in HK: Dissatisfaction rate** 12% 23% 19% 13% -6%
 Perceived the local news media to be responsible in their reporting** 20% 26% 25% 22% -3%
 Perceived the local news media to be irresponsible in their reporting** 29% 30% 30% 33% +3%
 Perceived that the local news media had given full play to the freedom of speech 67% 63% 63% 68% +5%
 Perceived that the local news media had not given full play to the freedom of speech 18% 24% 23% 22% -1%
 Perceived that the local news media had misused/abused the freedom of press 62% 62% 57% 65% +8%
 Perceived that the local news media had not misused/abused the freedom of press 21% 23% 27% 24% -3%
 Credibility of the local news media in general 6.16 5.91 5.99 5.90 -0.09

* "95% confidence level" means that if we were to repeat a certain survey 100 times, using the same questions each time but with different random samples, we would expect 95 times getting a figure within the error margins specified.
** Collapsed from a 5-point scale.

 

Results of survey conducted in early November showed that, 50% of the respondents were satisfied with the freedom of the press in Hong Kong, 22% perceived local news media to be responsible in their reporting. On the other front, 68% believed local news media had given full play to the freedom of speech, but 65% said they had misused or abused the freedom of press. As for the credibility rating of the Hong Kong news media in general, on a scale of 0-10, the latest figure registered was 5.90 marks.

 

Robert Ting-Yiu Chung, Director of Public Opinion Programme, observed, "Our latest survey shows that people's dissatisfaction with Hong Kong's press freedom continued to subside, after its surge due to the departure of some outspoken radio talk show hosts. However, satisfaction rate continued to fluctuate at around 50%, meaning that many more people have opted for a 'half-half' attitude. People's appraisal of the news media continued to be double-sided. That the media have given full play to the freedom of speech, and that they have misused or abused press freedom, are both majority views. The negative view, however, has increased significantly over the last 3 months, probably due to Legco election stories. The credibility of the local news media in general, however, has not changed much."

 

POP's normal practice is to release the results of our regular surveys every Tuesday at 2 pm via our POP Site, except during public holidays, each time with a forecast of the items to be released in the forthcoming week. We will review and adjust this operation regularly. The date and time of our next release will be November 23, 2004, Tuesday, at 2 pm, the latest popularity of CE Tung Chee-hwa and the HKSAR Government will be released.

 

Shall anyone have any question regarding the research design of the surveys published in the POP Site, members of the POP Team will be happy to answer them, but we will not further comment on the findings. Shall any person or journalist have any other questions, please email them to us at <[email protected]>. The Director of Public Opinion Programme would answer them as soon as possible. We will keep such an arrangement under constant review, suggestions most welcome. Please note that everything carried in the POP Site does not represent the stand of the University of Hong Kong. Dr Robert Ting-Yiu Chung, Director of Public Opinion Programme, is responsible for everything posted herewith, except for column articles which represent the stand of their authors.