2019年下半年以来，香港社会面对前所未遇的困局，逃犯条例修订草案所引发的连串示威和暴力冲突，持续至今仍未平息。2020年初新冠肺炎疫情爆发，犹如雪上加霜，大大打击本港、内地以至国际经济。香港的零售、餐饮、航空、酒店及旅游业受到严峻的考验，不少业者被迫裁减人手、缩减店铺、暂时关闭，甚至倒闭。各行各业的困境直接影响它们在新闻媒体的广告投放量，报业因而亦成了重灾区。

成立广告平台

犹幸报业近年来顺应科技发展及读者使用电子平台的习惯，不断转型创新，传统报章成功发展网上版、视频新闻、电子报、网上直播、webinar等，网上广告和电子订閲的收入不断增加。可惜的是，传统报章的网上广告，受制於社交媒体及搜索平台的掠夺式经营手法，未能取得合理回报。爲了抵御它们的压榨，阻止它们蚕食报业的盈利和发展空间，本会成员报章正在积极推动成立联合电子广告销售平台，结合大家的力量，取回业界应有的广告收入。在这个销售平台成立后，广告商可以通过它直接在一家或多家报章投放网上广告，更加准确地向目标读者发放讯息；而受惠报章也能赚取他们应得的利润，更好地服务读者和照顾股东和员工的福祉。

坚守专业精神

在这个资讯泛滥的年代，人们很容易在互联网上获得大量资讯，但各种各样的消息良莠不齐，真假难分，虚假消息有时更弄得人心惶惶。香港报业公会一向认爲，新闻媒体是能够影响舆论和构建社会的公器，所以经营报业的人必须有强烈的社会责任感。传统报章以担当「守门人」的角色爲己任，投入大量资源，通过严谨的编采流程和核实功夫为读者把关，去除杂乱误导的讯息，提供优质的新闻和分析，满足读者的资讯需求。作为立足香港的传统新闻媒体，香港报业公会的成员报章会坚守严谨求真的信念，为读者提供具公信力及多元的内容，承担社会责任，推动社会进步。

提升专业水准

一年一度举办香港新闻大奖，是香港报业公会的主要活动，旨在推动业界不断提升新闻专业水准。新闻界同业在报业经营困难的环境下，仍努力维护新闻质素及坚守专业精神，将事实展现在读者面前，对社会絶对有积极、正面和不可替代的作用。我谨代表香港报业公会感谢社会各界支持举办香港最佳新闻奖，尤其是所有评审委员及各家赞助机构。衷心祝贺本年度的得奖者，希望他们秉承新闻专业精神，继续和其他同业携手发掘更多的优质新闻，以飨读者。谢谢。

Keith Kam
Chairman, The Newspaper Society of Hong Kong

Since mid-2019, Hong Kong has faced an unprecedented situation. Protests and violent conflicts sparked by a proposal to amend the law on fugitive offenders have buffeted the city. To make things worse, the coronavirus outbreak that started in early 2020 has precipitated a recession in not just Hong Kong and the mainland, but also around the world. Our retail, catering, aviation, hotel and tourism industries are all badly hit by this unexpected crisis. Many businesses have been forced to cut their staff, shrink or suspend their operations and even close down. The difficult business environment has led to a collapse in advertising spending that has severely battered the newspaper industry.

Setting up an advertising platform

Fortunately, the industry has broken new grounds in recent years in responding to technological developments and readers’ growing use of electronic platforms. Traditional newspapers have successfully developed web editions, video news, electronic versions, webcasts and webinars, and increased their revenues from electronic advertising and online subscription. Regrettably, they have been barred from obtaining a reasonable return from electronic advertising because of the predatory business practices of social media and search engine platforms. In order to safeguard the profitability and sustainability of newspapers, members of The Newspaper Society of Hong Kong have banded together to set up a joint electronic advertising platform to ensure they could obtain their rightful share of revenue. When the platform becomes operational, advertisers will be able to directly place their messages in one or more newspapers’ online versions, so that they can disseminate their messages to targeted readers precisely. At the same time, newspapers will benefit from obtaining a proper return from such advertising, so that they can better serve and reward their readers, shareholders and staff.

Abiding by professionalism

In this age of information overload, people can easily obtain a large amount of information on the internet. But what people get is often a mixed bag of rumours and questionable reports that are hard to verify. In some cases, false reports have sparked panics. The Newspaper Society of Hong Kong has always regarded the press as a public institution that can shape public opinion and build a society. Newspapers operators must therefore have a strong sense of social responsibility. Taking their role as “gate-keepers” seriously, traditional newspapers provide readers with quality news and analyses by weeding out misleading and unreliable information through their stringent editorial and fact-checking processes, which are expensive to operate. As established media operators rooted in the city, members of The Newspaper Society of Hong Kong will remain truthful in providing readers with credible content from diverse perspectives and foster social progress by acting responsibly.

Enhancing professional standards

As the annual flagship programme of The Newspaper Society of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong News Awards seeks to propel the industry to enhance its professional standards. Despite a harsh business environment, member newspapers and their staff have strived to uphold professionalism by producing truthful reports for their readers. They have undoubtedly made a positive and irreplaceable contribution to the society. On behalf of member newspapers, I congratulate this year's award winners and hope that they will continue to work with fellow journalists to produce quality news to reward their readers. Thank you.