HK Magazine

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HK Magazine is a free-distributed English language city-living magazine. It is a Hong Kong-based English-language weekly published by Asia City Publishing Limited. Premiering in 1991, it targets young metropolitans. It offers discussions on social issues as well as entertainment listings. New issues are distributed every Friday; piles of copies are a common sight. The 600th issue was published on 11 November 2005. Despite Hong Kong's 150 year history of using English as an official language, with British English taught in local schools, and large numbers of Indian, Antipodean, Canadian and South African residents in the Territory, HK Magazine perhaps strangely chooses to use American spellings and idioms. It's not clear why the publishers think this is appropriate.

Contents

[edit] History

The founders of HK Magazine are Greg Duncan, Stephen Freeman and Gretchen Worth. In 1989, considering Hong Kong a suitable place to start a magazine, they decided to establish an English-language magazine.

The first issue, called HK: the indispensable Hong Kong Guide, was published in June 1991 by the local private company Asia City Publishing Limited. It had 24 pages and claimed a circulation of 15,000. It continued to publish on a monthly schedule until November 1992, when because of the ambiguity of the name and the change of the publisher's schedule, the magazine was renamed HK Magazine, and switched to a bi-weekly schedule for the next three years.

Later in September 1995, it became a weekly magazine. Currently, the claimed circulation is 100,000.

[edit] Distribution

The magazine, which is audited by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, is free at around 900 venues including restaurants, bars, coffee shops, bookshops and retail stores. The distribution outlets are mostly concentrated in commercial business districts.

In July 2006 HK Magazine claimed it increased its circulation to 100,000 copies per week.

[edit] Readership

The magazine claims around 236,000 readers per week.

According to a survey conducted by HK Magazine in 2004, 87% of the readers are holders of at least one university degree and 75% earn more than HK$30,000 per month. (Source: HK Magazine 2004 Readership Survey, HK Magazine 2004 Distribution Survey).

[edit] Contents

HK Magazine usually contains features about social issues, and articles about music, movies, fashion, dining and travel, etc. --> The main sections that appear regularly in the magazine are:

Letters
Letters from readers. There may be comments or thoughts about past issues of the magazine or opinions towards social issue, etc.
Streettalk
Interviews with ordinary Hong Kong people on their lifestyle and working environment. For example, in an issue, a news vendor was interviewed about his working condition and the habits of his customers.
Features
Generally, there are two features in each issue, both covering local issues and sometimes foreign issues. The first one is usually about social, political and cultural events. The second one is usually about events in everyday life.
Dish
This section includes features and reviews on restaurants and cafes, introducing the latest news on where to find delicacies in Hong Kong. There are usually recommendations of an indoor, an outdoor and a new restaurant in every issue. Sometimes, there will be a collection of recommendations from a particular country or cuisine.
Where to go & what to do
There are six different categories in this section:
  1. Nightlife: List of clubs and bars in alphabetical order.
  2. Art: Galleries and shows in Hong Kong.
  3. Stage : Concerts or dances.
  4. Sport: "Spectator Sports" and "Get Physical".
  5. Stuff: Classes, seminars and workshops.
  6. Film: Synopses and reviews of recently released movies, CDs and DVDs and also a film schedule.
First person
Interviews with celebrities and politicians.
Black + White
Attached as a separate booklet, containing classified advertisements and a 'Q & A section'.
In every issue
Comics The Perry Bible Fellowship, Tom the dancing bug and Red Meat, astrology, column Savage Love, and short paragraphs about significant cultural events.

[edit] Periodic Supplements

[edit] Restaurant Guide

An annual publication providing information about restaurants in Macau and Hong Kong.

"Restaurant Guide" gives out a "Dish Award" every year. Hong Kong's Habibi Restaurant, which serves Middle-eastern cuisine, won the 2003 HK Magazine Dish Award.

[edit] Nightlife Guide

An annual publication with information about bars and discos around Hong Kong with short descriptions.

[edit] Health and Beauty Guide

[edit] Other Services

HK Magazine collaborates with "Relationship Network", an online personal network, to provide online meeting services and personal ads.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] About HK Magazine

[edit] References