The Comparison between Newspapers in Hong Kong and Mainland and its Enlightenment -- A Case Study on Apple Daily and Southern Metropolis Daily

It has been for 15 years after Hong Kong reunification in 1997. During the past 15 years, the newspaper industries in both Hong Kong and Mainland have undergone enormous changes. Apple Daily founded in 1995 brought about new challenges and stimulus for the recession of the newspaper industry in Hong Kong at that time. Later, other newspapers in Hong Kong followed suit which led to great ecological changes in the Hong Kong newspapers. In the Mainland, coincidentally enough, Southern Metropolis Daily showed its first appearance as a weekly publication in 1995, and later turned into a daily paper. Having undergone several expansions of pages, it finally developed into one of the best metropolitan newspapers. Moreover, it has been playing the role of reforms and innovations in the newspaper industry, since it was issued in Guangdong Province, as the China's reform and opening up forward area. In this paper, these two newspapers are selected as the representatives of Hong Kong and Mainland newspapers. On the basis of the comparisons on their similarities and differences, this paper intends to figure out the current situations of newspapers in Hong Kong and Mainland and find enlightenments for the future newspaper industry.