In-your-face publisher Jimmy Lai still has a place in democrats' hearts
Albert Cheng urges Jimmy Lai on his return from Taiwan to continue using the clout of Apple and Next to advance democracy in Hong Kong
Local media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying's decision to sell Next Media's print and television operations in Taiwan to Jeffrey Koo Jnr for NT$17.5 billion (HK$4.6 billion) marks the company's exit from the Taiwanese market to focus on its Hong Kong operations. The move has inevitably aroused a great deal of public interest as to what Lai is going to do next.
Lai has been a highly controversial figure since he entered the media market in 1990, mostly because of his combative stance to support press and political freedom.
No one can deny the fact that Lai is an extremely shrewd and successful businessman. His media empire is a force among local media and highly influential, having a catalytic effect on its more traditional rivals.
Lau has forced most of them to adapt and follow the Apple way to become more sensational and aggressive in their reporting. Only the small handful of local newspapers that focus on a high-end readership have not followed suit.
On the magazine side, Next Media has popularised the paparazzi style of news reporting, with all of Hong Kong's local gossip magazines copying this practice, which has seriously affected the quality of journalism.
The rise of paparazzi has led to a decline in not only quality reports but also the moral standards of the local media industry.