Daily News folds after 56 years
130 employees shocked by closure as one of city's oldest newspapers publishes its last edition citing financial losses and free competition
One of the city's oldest newspapers, the Hong Kong Daily News, has thrown in the towel after publishing for 56 years, finally succumbing to years of financial losses.
The Chinese-language newspaper, wholly owned by the Emperor Group, put out its final edition yesterday. It blamed, among other things, the rise of free newspapers for its failure.
"Circulations of traditional newspapers have been plummeting ever since the advent of free newspapers," the newspaper said in a surprise statement.
."Coupled with the changing reading habits of newspaper readers, the situation has led the Hong Kong Daily News into a long-standing deficit despite repeated attempts to reform."
About 130 employees are affected by the paper's demise.
The newspaper's publisher Peter Kuo said they would be compensated according to labour laws. He said he "regretted" the paper was folding and admitted staff members were "startled" when told of the news.
"The decision had been discussed for a long time with the sole investor, the Emperor Group," he said.