YOU will not find ATV's chief controller of News and Public Affairs, Mr Timothy Jim, sitting back in his executive chair enjoying the view from the top, but you will find him riding the MTR, listening to radio phone-in programmes or running to a brainstorming session.
Mr Jim is obsessed with keeping his finger on the pulse of Hongkong life, and when he senses things have changed, he is the first to take action.
To this end, he decided to revamp the look and format of Newsline, which uses the same Ovaltine-coloured set as the morning news show on the Home channel. The updated Newsline will have a warm, study atmosphere with bookshelves in the background to make guests feel more at ease.
But building the new set, which will also be used for Chinese public affairs programmes, has been hard for the cash-starved channel.
''We'd like to make a more three-dimensional set, but given our budget restrictions that is certainly a difficult task for the art designers ,'' said Mr Jim. ''You read in the newspaper that Mr Lim [Por-yen, ATV's chief executive officer] has stretched to give us more support, but so far we have seen nothing concrete.'' While the cosmetic changes are important, the ATV news team is also making its format more punchy, shortening the reports, letting the picture and the sound tell the story rather than relying on talking heads.
This upbeat and straightforward attitude veers away from authoritarian, rigid presentation and moves towards shortening the distance between the newsroom, the presenter and the public.