HK Magazine is a free weekly English-language magazine focusing on "City Living”. It is a magazine printed on matt paper, broadsheet size and it includes strong coverage of leisure activities. It will have published 600 issues by November 2005.
History
The first issue of HK Magazine was published in June, 1991. As the name of the magazine suggests, it is a magazine about life in Hong Kong. It started off as a monthly magazine and was originally called "HK: the indispensable Hong Kong Guide", as was depicted on the cover, although it was also referred to as "HK Magazine".
In November, 1992, because of the ambiguity of the name and the change of the publisher's schedule, the magazine was renamed as "HK Magazine" and was published bi-weekly.
Later in September, 1995, it became a weekly magazine with an increase in the variety of its content to keep up with the pace of life in Hong Kong.
Distribution
The magazine is available for free every Friday from around 700 venues in Hong Kong. Most of the venues are bookshops, bars, coffee shops, retail stores, restaurants and other venues frequented by English-speaking people living in Hong Kong. Therefore the distribution outlets are most concentrated in the Central district.
Readership
The magazine targets a young readership, especially the expatriates and local Chinese-speaking who have a good command in English.
It has around 236,000 readers per week with 60% of which female and 40% male. About 83% of the readers are in the age range of 20-44. According to information from the magazine itself, 87% of its readers have at least one university degree and 75% earn more than HK$30,000 per month, supporting its claim that its readers are in general the well-educated and affluent young professionals. (Source: HK Magazine 2004 Readership Survey, HK Magazine 2004 Distribution Survey).
Contents
Claiming itself to be a "City Living" authority, HK Magazine covers mainly the reviews and reports of local venues and events of entertainment. It can be regarded as a lifestyle guide for the outgoing, energetic, active young residents in the city. It usually contains features about Hong Kong's local issues, and articles about music, fashion, dining and travel, etc. The cinema screening schedule and the extensive lists of eateries and bars are especially useful to tourists.
Letters
Letters from readers who would like to have their voices heard are published.
Streettalk
Interviews with people on the street. For example, in an issue a newstand worker was interviewed about his working condition and the habits of his customers.
Features
Generally, there are two features in each issue, both covering local issues. The first one is usually about social, political and cultural events. For instance, the issue published on 16 September, 2005 was about the Mid-Autumn Festival. The second feature in an issue is usually about how to adapt to life in a special environment, like the feature about Soho lifestyle in the same issue.
Dish
It features restaurants, introducing delicacies. There are usually recommendations of a core indoor, an open door and a new restaurant in every issue.
Nightlife
It writes about the nightlife of Hong Kong youths- where they chill out and what they do.
Film
This section provides synopsis and reviews of recently released movies, CDs and DVDs and also a film schedule.
First person
Interviews with famous people and celebrities such as Sam Lee(李燦森), a local actor and Joey Tang(鄧建明),vocalist of a local pop-rock band "TaiChi"(太極) from the 80s.
Black + White Section
It is attached as another booklet, containing mainly different kinds of advertisements and also Q & A sections where the readers pose questions and the magazine provides answers.
In every issue
This part includes comics, astrology and so on.
Other Services
HK Magazine had joined with "Relationship Network", an online personal network, in providing online meeting services and personals. Local residents' can have advertisements printed in HK Magazine as part of the service.
Other Publication Attached
HK Magazine is also attached with a booklet called "Restaurant Guide". It is an annual publicatoin providing the information of restaurants in Macau and Hong Kong.
Publisher
HK Magazine is a publication of the Asia City Publishing Group(ACPG). Established in 1989, the Asia City Publishing Group is one of the media firms producing free-distribution publications in South East Asia. It aims at introducing new lifestyle to readers in different regions through a variety of publications. After 16 years of development, it now has branches in Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and recently in Shanghai as well. Along with the HK Magazine, Asia City Publishing Group also publishes "Where HK", a free tourist guide, as a supplementary of the HK Magazine.
Sister Publications
HK Magazine is one of the magazines under the "Asia City Living" project of the Asia City Publishing Group. Others publications under this project include Singapore's "I-S Magazine", Bangkok's "BK Magazine", and Shanghai's "SH Out Every Friday".
Editors and Directors
The current editorial team consists of:
Publisher and Executive Editor: Stephen Freeman
Managing Editor: Tom Hilditch
Production Manager: Blackie Hui
Advertising Director: George Christofis
Marketing Director: Michelle Fong
Group Financial Controller: Philip Wong
Contact
Asia City Publishing Ltd.
301 Hollywood Centre
233 Hollywood Road, Hong Kong
Tel: 852-2850-5065
Fax: 852-2543-1880
E-mail:asiacity@asia-city.com.hk
Other HK magazines
East Touch - A magazine dedicated to reporting latest news on trends and leisure for young readers.
East Week - A magazine dedicated to gossip new of the domains of politics and entertainment.
Next Magazine - A magazine dedicated to gossip news of the domains of politics and entertainment.
See Also
External Links
About HK Magazine
Articles from HK Magazine
- Interview with Mani Rao - About echolocation, by Andrew Sun, 08/2003
- The Dish On Dining: High Food - Restaurant Review, by Reggie Ho, 31/08/2001
- The Dish On Dining - Restaurant Review, 11/09/1995
- Dish On Dining: Small Is Good - Restaurant Review, 29/06/2001
- Mr Know-It-All's Guide to Article 23 - About Article 23, by Joyce Hor-Chung Lau, 31/01/2003
- Street Talk: The Book, Man - Interview with Nick Lovatt, by Patrick Suen
- Get Out There: A Balancing Act - About unicycling, by Alex Ng, 14/05/2004
- Close Encounters - About unicycle hockey, 12/10/2001
- True French - Restaurant Review, 21/12/2001
References
Asia City Publishing Group.(2005).Retrieved October 8, 2005 from http://www.asia-city.com/group/acpg.html.
Companies Registry. (2005).Retrived October 11,2005 from http://www.info.gov.hk/cr/