Flying economy on a 10-day trip to five cities is not my idea of luxury. If some giant corporation thinks this will bribe cheapskate hacks into writing positive articles, it is sadly mistaken. It would take a business-class ticket, at least. So I am at a loss as to what all the fuss was about when a Hong Kong Economic Times reporter - who, incidentally, has also registered for the trip - raised possible conflicts of interest in an article this week about a junket jointly sponsored by Cheung Kong and Sun Hung Kai to fly journalists to Vancouver, New York, Paris, Bilbao and St Petersburg later this month. The trip's aim is to give uncultured hacks a better understanding of the property giants' proposed joint development for the West Kowloon cultural hub. The reporter even called the Independent Commission Against Corruption, but I'm happy to report the graft-buster decided not to press charges. The Journalists Association says reporters should not go. RTHK's Media Watch has been calling on editors (including my bosses) to explain themselves. Actually, on learning the itinerary, we practically had to arm-twist our reporter to go because she was the only one on the desk with in-depth knowledge of the entire project. We all feel sorry for her.
