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Ten years after the handover, Hong Kong's media faced multiple pressures. There were few cases of outright prosecution of the media, but there were subtle political and economic pressures. Co-optation of media bosses, fear of losing advertising revenue and media takeovers by pro-Beijing figures brought some of the media into line. This brought editorial shift and self-censorship, as the media systematically shied away from stories that might antagonize Beijing, underplayed negative news for the government and gave the democrats less favourable coverage. Interviews with journalists showed little evidence of ostensible intervention from government officials or media bosses, but newsroom socialization and editorial gatekeeping are effective constraints. The constitutional guarantee of freedom of the press and the moral force of professional ethics lent the media the room to defend and negotiate their freedom, but the pervasive fear induced by the political environment invariably overpowered the resistance and constrained press freedom in Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the link between the efforts of elite authors to take their part in the political decision-making process through statecraft writings, and the rise of the newspaper press of Hong Kong, China and treaty-port Shanghai. Comparison between Cai Erkang's and Wanwei Shuqiao's statements on the political status of the press in China; Issues concerning the merger of statecraft discourse and journalistic writing; Examples of journals that have coincided with the implementation of yangwu politics in the decade preceding the Sino-French war.

Focuses on the press freedom of Hong Kong newspapers after the island's sovereignty reverted to the People's Republic of China. Discussion on the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong people under the Sino-British Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong, 1984; Views of members of the Hong Kong Journalist Association on press freedom under the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government; Reasons for China's press policy in the Island.