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Citizen News or CitizenNews (Chinese: 眾新聞) was an online news website based in Hong Kong. The platform was launched on 1 January 2017 and shut down on 4 January 2022 amid a government crackdown on news media.
Establishment and growth
Citizen News was established in 2017 following a successful crowdfunding campaign.[1]
Citizen News was founded by 10 veteran journalists, including Ming Pao former editor-in-chief Kevin Lau and former HKJA chairperson Daisy Li. They expressed concern on the worsening freedom of press in Hong Kong at that time, and hoped to start a new platform to secure jornalistic professionalism.[2] Citizen News relied on public donations to sustain operation and growth.[2][3]
Citizen News focused on in-depth, less-biased, local news reporting,[3] especially in legal and political issues, and was focused on filling gaps not covered by mainstream media.[4] The outlet expanded in 2021, recruiting journalists from Chinese News Group of Cable Television on 18 January 2021 after their resignation in protest to staff cuts,[5] and from RTHK, after many of its staff left the public broadcaster over what was seen as increasingly pro-government and censored political coverage.[6]
Closure
A press conference was held by Citizen News on 3 January 2022, announcing the outlet was closing the next day.
The outlet shut down on 4 January 2022, citing unclear “legal boundaries,” after the passing of the controversial national security law.[7] The decision was made to cease operations to ensure the safety of its staffers.[8][9] The surprise announcement on 2 January came just days after another opposition-leaning online news platform Stand News was raided and shut down, and several months after Apple Daily was similarly forced to close.[10]
At the time of its closure, Citizen News employed a team of around 40 who worked from a newsroom in Cheung Sha Wan.[11]
The Hong Kong Journalists Association stated that it was saddened by the closure. On the other hand, Beijing mouthpiece Wen Wei Po referred to the closures of Citizen News, Stand News, and Apple Daily as "self-inflicted".[1] Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam stated that Citizen News had decided to close on its own, and therefore the incident was not an issue of diminishing freedom of the press.[12]
^ ab"《眾新聞》周二停運 稱風高浪急要保船上人平安" ["Citizen News" shut down on Tuesday, saying that high winds and waves urgently need to ensure the safety of people on board]. 明報新聞網 - 即時新聞 instant news (in Traditional Chinese). 2022-01-02. Archived from the original on 2022-01-02. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
^ ab王陽翎 (2017-01-03). "《眾新聞》有希望嗎？香港傳媒專業面對怎樣的未來？" [Is there any hope for "Citizen News" ? What kind of future does the media profession in Hong Kong face ?]. The News Lens 關鍵評論網 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
^"《眾新聞》宣布後日停運：身在風眼，須確保船上人平安 | 獨媒報導" ["Citizen News" announced the suspension of operations in the next day: in the eye of the wind, we must ensure the safety of people on board]. 獨立媒體. 2022-01-02. Archived from the original on 2022-01-02. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
^"前有線中國組原班人馬加入 眾新聞成立中國組 盼公眾支持訂戶倍增" [Former Cable China Group team joined Citizen News, hoping that public support for subscribers will double]. Citizen News. 2021-01-17. Archived from the original on 2021-06-07. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
^"眾新聞製作《問究未？！》今晚首播" [Public News produced "Ask You ? !" Premiere tonight]. Citizen News. 2021-10-12. Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
