Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) has handed in its written submission on the public consultation on the New RTHK today (4 January). RTHK set up a working committee to study the issues set out in the consultation paper and collected the views of the full-time staff through a survey in November last year. Out of the 730 questionnaires issued, 324 returned with a respondent rate of 44%. RTHK raises in its submission that the inherent public purposes of a public broadcaster is to uphold social justice and such role and function should not be diluted as a result of RTHK remaining to operate as a government department and being tasked to be the public service broadcaster. It is considered that a clear articulation of RTHK's public purposes will be vital to the way that RTHK will operate in future.
There are 77% to 88% of the respondents in the staff survey supported the proposed public purposes in the consultation document. There are however views that the wording should be refined along the following lines: a) To better align with the intended meaning as reflected in the Chinese version, it is recommended that the English wording of the second public purpose should be changed to “encouraging social inclusion and pluralism”; b) For the purpose of “Establishing education value and promoting lifelong learning”, it is recommended that it should be re-worded as "Promoting education and learning" because the phrase "education value" may be overly subjective; c) For the fourth purpose, it is recommended that it can be simplified in the following terms: "Stimulating creativity and enriching cultural diversity in Hong Kong".
On corporate governance, RTHK accepts that it is a vital element in the work of RTHK. At present, RTHK is held accountable to the public via a variety of mechanisms. However, it also accepts that these mechanisms can be improved, such as enlarging the scope and size of the Programme Advisory Panel and holding more frequent consultation sessions with the public and focus groups.
Regarding the proposal in the consultation document to set up a Board of Advisors, the staff survey showed that 61% of the respondents were concerned that the Board might place restrictions on RTHK’s editorial policy, creating the public impression that RTHK’s core value, editorial independence, might be undermined. There were also serious concerns as to whether the Board would be advisory in nature only; whether the Board would get itself involved in or become influential on day-to-day executive matters, including editorial decisions; what the proper line of command among the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB), the Board and RTHK should be.
It is recommended that if a Board is to be set up, it should not have the power to interfere in editorial policy matters and the day-to-day operations of the broadcaster, the Director of Broadcasting (D of B) should have the final say in all matters, the Board should operate in a transparent manner by opening up its meetings to the public, and Board members should share RTHK's core values, including editorial independence and impartial and accurate reporting, as set out in RTHK's Producers' Guidelines. Board members should also be appointed through a process of public engagement, including consultation with DB. In addition, consideration should be given to include one RTHK staff representative.
RTHK considers the Charter as a document of vital importance. The drafting of the Charter should take reference to the current Framework Agreement which has been implemented effectively for more than ten years. The staff survey showed that 86% of respondents believed that editorial independence should be placed first and foremost in the Charter. The principle of universality, as adopted by UNESCO, should also be incorporated. RTHK should target not only minority groups but also a wide audience.
For performance evaluation, RTHK welcomes the calls for RTHK to face public monitoring, to ensure that it meets its obligations as a public service broadcaster. However, there are in total 37 performance indicators in the consultation document, two of which are subdivided into four sub-indicators. RTHK raises the concern of being overburdened with an excessive number of performance indicators.
RTHK recommends 5 criteria to be adopted for the setting of performance indicators: a) They should be meaningful to the public. b) They should be measurable and comparable over a period of time. c) They should be in line with RTHK's public purposes and Vision, Mission and Values Statement. d) They should be related to RTHK's programmes, including cost, the feedback system and complaints channels. e) They should not in any way stifle creativity.
RTHK welcomes the extended mode of service delivery of digital audio and television services. RTHK is going to set up one high-definition and two standard-definition channels and will also explore emerging digital TV delivery technologies. For radio service, the number and arrangement of existing radio channels have to be maintained after the full launch of digital radio service to ensure effective reach to listeners in general. New media service will address the needs of the young generation through a personalized service.
RTHK agrees with the proposed directions on new programming areas. More than 50% of the respondents agreed to encourage community participation in broadcasting. The establishment of a Community Broadcasting Involvement Fund is also supported. It is recommended that the proposed Board of Advisors, if set up, could manage the fund and take care of its operation. RTHK could then provide technical support and media training to participants of the community broadcasting. However, RTHK has reservation on the proposed mode of implementation of community participation in broadcasting which is quite different from other countries or regions. As for the guiding principles and operational details for community participation in broadcasting, they should be further worked out.
Full version of the submission and the summary of RTHK staff consultation results have been uploaded to RTHK ON INTERNET: http://www.rthk.org.hk/special/psb/
4 January 2010
Media Enquiry: Corporate Communications Unit Ms Chan Man-kuen 2339 6348 / 9876 3162
