The Rise of Alternative Net Radio in Hong Kong: The Historic Case of One Pioneering Station

Abstract

Over the past decade in Hong Kong, net radio stations have served as alternative media safeguarding freedom of speech. Using the historical case of one pioneering alternative net radio station, the People's Radio Hong Kong (2004–2007), this article traces the historical emergence and development of alternative net radio in this democratizing city. The historical legacy of this exemplary station will also be discussed through the lens of recent developments. This case study aims to contribute to net radio research by exploring its political potential in terms of challenging the political-economic status quo.

Notes

Notes

¹ For field observations, I conducted more than 20 field visits to PRHK's studio and its outdoor broadcast activities from June 2006 to May 2007. I also conducted in-depth interviews with 23 participants from February to May 2007. These interviews/observations were gathered and archived as part of an earlier research project that was conducted at that time. See Appendix for the interviewee list.

² According to a university opinion poll conducted shortly after the famous radio host resignation incident, the public's satisfaction with the status of press freedom had decreased from 59% to 51% while the dissatisfaction rate had increased from 12% to 23% (“Dissatisfaction with Press Freedom,” 2004).

³ Some less prominent and established alternative net radio stations included DIYHK, Radio45, E-politics, Hiradio, Radio71, Talkonly, Non-Commercial Radio Hong Kong, Open Radio, Talk Radio Hong Kong, Rainbow Broadcasting, Pure Addiction, and WM6471. However, most of them were very short-lived.

⁴ PRHK did not have an official record of the number of its programs. The number of programs was obtained by the author's own counting of the programs which were uploaded and stored on PRHK's Web site at the time of research. It is possible that some minor and less regular programs were not included because they had been deleted before the author started the research. Therefore, the actual number might exceed the author's count. However, the difference is expected to be minimal. Besides, one-off programs were not included in the count.

⁵ For example, these participants included Leung Kwok-hung (legislator and activist), Leung Yiu-chung (legislator), Cyd Ho Sau- lan (former legislator), Kenneth Chan Ka-lok (university professor), and Ada Wong Ying-kay (educator and cultural advocate).

⁶ PRHK did not have an official account of the number of individual participants. It is therefore impossible to count the exact number of them. However, my one-year field observations (June 2006 to May 2007) informed me that the number should be more than a few dozen.

⁷ For example, Eddie Leung Kam-cheung, one of the PRHK founders, and core participant Damian Yau Nai-kuen have still remained very active in the field until now. Especially for Eddie Leung, after his life in PRHK, he has helped establish a few new stations, including the My Radio and Our Radio.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dennis K. K. Leung

Dennis K. K. Leung (M.Phil., Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008) is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Journalism and Communication, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. His research focuses on alternative media and media activism.