In 2019, Hong Kong’s median monthly household and individual income stood at HKD 35,500 and HKD 18,200, respectively. This was up from HKD 24,890 and HKD 15,500, respectively, in 2016. The two lowest-income groups largely comprise seniors, with a median monthly household income of HKD 5,650, while the two highest-income groups have a median monthly household income of HKD 79,000 (Census and Statistics Department, 2016, 2019).
Hong Kong’s newspapers generally sell for HKD 10, in addition to most of them making news content freely available online. Moreover, all major private local television broadcasters and public service broadcasters provide free news content online via websites or mobile apps. News outlets also share content via social media platforms. A survey conducted in 2016 found that 77 per cent of people aged over 18 accessed news through social media (Huang & Song, 2018).
As mentioned previously, Hong Kong has very high Internet and mobile phone penetration rates. As of January 2020, the mobile subscriber penetration rate stood at 283.7 per cent, and the household broadband penetration rate stood at 93.6 per cent (Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, 2020). Broadband services are affordable, often coming in at less than HKD 100 per month. Given the accessibility of online news, Hong Kong’s general public has widespread and affordable access to local news media (Telcocheck, 2020).
