Eastweek has closed following the Carina Lau Ka-ling affair and Hong Kong is a better place. Or is it?
Hong Kong breathed a sanctimonious sigh of relief when the hard-core scandal magazine closed last month. But the market tells a different story.
Two months on and other magazines are mutating to replace it. Express Weekly in particular has taken up the slack and hired former Eastweek staff. Its covers, paper and design have evolved to be almost indistinguishable from the discontinued magazine. And where convenience shops and newsagents once stocked Eastweek, Express Weekly is piled high.
Jimmy Lai Chee-ying's Next magazine - the original and market leader - is also trawling for former Eastweek readers. Its publication date has moved forward to Eastweek's Wednesday slot.
Recently released readership figures confirm a depressing story. After Eastweek's closure, sales of all the scandal mags have shot up. Indeed, the Lau affair appears to have increased the city's appetite for gossip. The truth seems to be, that while claiming to despise paparazzi culture, Hong Kong people can't get enough of it.