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{{Infobox journalist
{{Infobox Newspaper
| name = Mark L. Clifford
|name = South China Morning Post
| image = <!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:mark clifford1.jpg]] -->
|image = [[Image:SCMPlogo.gif]]
| birthname =
|type = Daily newspaper
| birth_date = 1957
|format = [[broadsheet]]
| birth_place =
|foundation = 6 November 1903 ({{age in days|1903|12|6}} issues)
| age =
|owners = [[SCMP Group]]
| death_date =
|headquarters = Hong Kong
| death_place =
|editor = Cliff Buddle (acting)
| education =
|publisher =
| occupation = Executive Director, [[Asia Business Council]]
|ISSN =
| alias =
|website = [http://www.scmp.com/ scmp.com]
| gender =
| status =
| title =
| family =
| spouse =
| children =
| relatives =
| ethnicity =
| religion =
| salary =
| networth =
| credits = Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, ''[[The Standard]]'' (1/2004 – 2/2006),<br>Editor-in-Chief, ''[[South China Morning Post]]'' (2/2006 – 4/2007)
| agent =
| URL =
}}
}}


The '''''South China Morning Post''''' (aka SCMP or 'the Post'), together with its Sunday edition, the '''''Sunday Morning Post''''', is an English-language [[Newspapers of Hong Kong|Hong Kong newspaper]], published by the [[SCMP Group]] with a circulation of 104,000.
'''Mark L. Clifford''' was the publisher and editor-in-chief of ''[[The Standard]]'' newspaper in Hong Kong from January 2004 to February 2006, and the Editor-in-Chief the ''[[South China Morning Post]]'', its larger rival, from 3 February 2006 to 1 April 2007. He joined the [[Asia Business Council]] in May 2007, as its Executive Director.<ref>{{cite press release|title = Asia Business Council Announces New Leadership Team|publisher=Asia Business Council | date = 19 March 2007 | accessdate =22 March 2007 | url = http://www.asiabusinesscouncil.org/news.html}}</ref>


Reginald Chua, deputy managing editor of ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' and former editor of ''The Wall Street Journal'''s Asia edition, was appointed editor-in-chief on 2 July 2009, replacing CK Lau. Chua was joined by David Lague, formerly of the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' and ''The Wall Street Journal'', as managing editor.<ref>{{cite news|title = New editor-in-chief for The South China Morning Post|last = Crampton|first = Thomas|publisher = [[thomascrampton.com]]|date = 2 July 2009|accessdate = 2 July 2009|url = http://www.thomascrampton.com/newspapers/scmp-reg-chua-david-lague-reginald-hui-kuok-kwong/}}</ref> Chua has since stepped down, replaced by former Deputy Editor Cliff Buddle.
==Biography==


==History==
Clifford is an American author and former journalist who has lived in Asia since 1987. Clifford worked at ''[[Forbes]]'' and other business publications in New York City during the 1980s. His career in Asia began in 1987 in Seoul at the ''[[Far Eastern Economic Review]]''. He held a number of positions with that magazine, including Business Editor, before leaving to join ''[[BusinessWeek]]'' in 1995 as a Regional Correspondent and later became Asia Regional Editor. Along with a ''BusinessWeek'' team, he won the Morton Frank award for Best Business Reporting from Abroad (Magazine) from the Overseas Press Club for coverage of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.<ref>[http://opcofamerica.org/awards/awards-recipients? "OPC Awards Past Recipients" (Search for Mark Clifford, affiliated with BusinessWeek)]. Overseas Press Club of America. Retrieved 11 August 2011</ref> From January 2004 until his appointment to head the SCMP, Clifford served as publisher and editor-in-chief of ''The Standard'', another Hong Kong English-language daily newspaper. He joined the ''South China Morning Post'' in February 2006.<ref>{{cite press release|title = SCMP Group Executive Appointment and Changes|work=South China Morning Post |location=Hong Kong | date = 3 February 2006 | accessdate =7 December 2006 | url = http://scmpgroup.com/pressroom/press_20060203.html}}</ref>
===Broadsheet===
South China Morning Post Ltd was founded in 1903. The first edition of the paper published on 6 November 1903. In November 1971, it was listed on the [[Hong Kong Stock Exchange]]. It was privatised by [[Rupert Murdoch]]'s [[News Corporation]] in 1987, and relisted in 1990.{{Fact|date=September 2007}}


Malaysian tycoon [[Robert Kuok]]'s Kerry Media bought the controlling interest from News Corp in October 1993. His son, [[Kuok Khoon Ean]], took over as chairman at the end of 1997{{Fact|date=September 2007}}. Kuok Khoon Ean's sister, Kuok Hui Kwong, was named chief executive officer on 1 Jan 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marketing-interactive.com/news/9995 |title=Senior shuffle sees Kuok tighten grip |date=9 December 2008 |author=Matt Eaton |work=Marketing-Interactive.Com |publisher=LightHouse Independent Media Pte Ltd |accessdate=14 April 2010}}</ref>
Clifford is a graduate of the University of California Berkeley (1980). He was a Walter Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University (1986-87).


===South China Morning Post===
===Circulation and profitability===
The paper has a circulation, which has remained relatively constant at 104,000 copies since 2000.{{Fact|date=September 2007}} The average audited circulation for the first half of 2007 stood at 106,054, while its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', has a readership of 80,865. Its readership outside Hong Kong remains at some 6,825 copies for the same period, again, relatively unchanged.<ref>{{cite web|publisher = [[Hong Kong Audit Bureau of Circulations]] | title = Audit Report
Clifford generated controversy early in his tenure at the ''South China Morning Post'' after a November 2006 incident in which he summarily dismissed chief articles editor Trevor Willison and articles editor Paul Ruffini for a vulgar joke. Over 100 of the approximately 300 editorial staff signed a petition following the incident,<ref>{{cite news|title = Subs sacked over leaving page|work=Guardian |location=UK | | date = 14 November 2006 | accessdate =21 March 2007 | url = http://media.guardian.co.uk/presspublishing/story/0,,1947667,00.html | first=Stephen | last=Brook}}</ref> which challenged the grounds for dismissal, and demanded reinstatement of the sacked.
| accessdate = 21 March 2007 | url = http://www.hkabc.com.hk/en/index.htm}}</ref> It also had the enviable position as the most profitable newspaper in the world on a per reader basis, profit declined since peaking in 1997 at HK$805 million,<ref name="clash">{{cite news|title = Clash of civilizations at Hong Kong newspaper|last = Smith|first = Patrick|publisher = [[International Herald Tribune]]|date = 19 November 2006|accessdate = 22 March 2007|url = http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/11/19/business/paper20.php}}</ref> yet its growth potential is viewed as being largely dependent on its ability to penetrate the wider Chinese market.<ref name="one">{{cite news|title = Two more top editors leave South China Morning Post|publisher = [[International Herald Tribune]] | date = 29 January 2007
| accessdate = 21 March 2007 | url = http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/29/business/paper.php}}</ref>


The Group reported net profit of HK$338 million for the year 2006 (''2005 = HK$246m''), the operating profit of HK$419m (''2005 = HK$306m'') was attributable mainly to the newspaper operation.<ref>{{cite news
There had already been some disquiet over the sacking in October of a junior photographer (since rehired) over a mis-captioned photograph, which provoked the eventual departure of Clifford's lieutenant and the paper's business editor, Stuart Jackson. In January 2007, further high-level departures were announced at the paper.<ref>{{cite news|title = Two more top editors leave South China Morning Post|work=International Herald Tribune | date = 29 January 2007 | accessdate =21 March 2007 | url = http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/29/business/paper.php}}</ref>
| title = Ad revenue lifts SCMP profit 37pc
| publisher = South China Morning Post
| date = 27 March 2007 }}</ref>


The selling price of the paper is HK$8 each from Monday to Saturday, and HK$10 for the ''Sunday Morning Post''. A discounted student subscription is also available. It was increased 14.5% (from HK$7) and 25% (from HK$8) respectively in August 2011.
The newspaper management credited him for his "key role in changes that have both strengthened and improved editorial operations" and for being "the driving force behind the SCMP's forthcoming re-design"<ref>{{cite press release|title = SCMP Announces Senior Management Change|work=South China Morning Post |location=Hong Kong | | date = 19 March 2007 | accessdate =21 March 2007 | url = http://scmpgroup.com/pressroom/press_20070319.html}}</ref> but denied his departure was due to the recent turbulence.<ref>{{cite news|title =
Editor quits Post after bitter year|work=The Standard |location=Hong Kong | | date = 20 March 2007 | accessdate =21 March 2007 | url = http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=40537&sid=12738762&con_type=1&d_str=20070320&sear_year=2007}}</ref> Both the ''South China Morning Post'' and the ''Standard'' won numerous awards for news coverage, photography and design during Clifford's tenure. <ref> See, for example, http://www.sopasia.com/awards/2007-winners-b.asp </ref>


==Other==
===Format===
The printed version of the ''Post'' is in a broadsheet format, in sections: Main, City, Sport, Business, Classifieds, Property (Wednesday), Racing (Wednesday), Technology (Tuesday), Education (Saturday), Style magazine (first Friday of every month); the Sunday edition contains Main, a Review section, a Post Magazine, Racing, "At Your Service", a services directory, and "Young Post", targeted at younger readers.
Clifford has been a member of the Board of Governors of the [[English Schools Foundation]] since October 2008.<ref>[http://www.esf.edu.hk/FileManager/EN/Content_1/result%20of%20election%20of%20parent%20members%20to%20the%20board%20of%20governors%20of%20esf.pdf Notice of Result of Election], English Schools Foundation (10 October 2008)</ref> Also in Hong Kong, he is a member of the [[Oxfam]] Trailwalker Advisory Committee. He is a member of the [[Council on Foreign Relations]].
==Books==


On 26 March 2007, the ''Post'' was given a facelift, with new presentation and [[font]]s.<ref>{{cite news
===Author===
| title = News Digest
*''Troubled Tiger: Businessmen, Bureaucrats, and Generals in South Korea'' (ISBN 0765601400)
| page = 1
| publisher = South China Morning Post
| date = 26 March 2007 }}</ref>


===Co-author===
===Online version===
''Scmp.com'' is a [[subscription]]-only service, which also allows the retrieval of [[archive]] articles dating back from 1993. It was launched online in December 1996. On 30 May 2007, scmp.com relaunched with a new look, features, and multimedia content. Headlines and the introduction to stories are now free to view, while the full articles are available to subscribers. Archive photos and articles are available for purchase.
*''Building Energy Efficiency: Why Green Buildings Are Key to Asia's Future'' (ISBN 9889956519), 2007

*''China and the WTO: Changing China, Changing World Trade'' (ISBN 0470820616), 2002, with former [[World Trade Organization]] Director-General [[Supachai Panitchpakdi]].
On 16 July 2007, scmp.com launched its first-ever viral video marketing campaign targeting a global audience and highlighting the new multimedia features of the website.
*''Meltdown: Asia's Spectacular Boom and Devastating Bust'' (ISBN 0735201412) 1999

===Editorial===
The Kuok family is known to be pro-[[Central People's Government|Beijing]], and questions have been raised over the paper's editorial independence.<ref name="clash">{{cite news|title = Clash of civilizations at Hong Kong newspaper|last = Smith|first = Patrick|publisher = [[International Herald Tribune]]|date = 19 November 2006|accessdate = 22 March 2007|url = http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/11/19/business/paper20.php}}</ref> There have been concerns, denied by Kuok, over the forced departures, in rapid succession, of several staff and contributors who were considered critical of China or its supporters in Hong Kong. These included, in the mid-1990s, their popular cartoonist [[Larry Feign]], humour columnist [[Nury Vittachi]], and numerous China-desk staff, namely 2000–01 editorial pages editor Danny Gittings, Beijing correspondent Jasper Becker, and China pages editor Willy Lam, who departed after his reporting had been publicly criticised by Robert Kuok.<ref name=eroded>[http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=&art_id=11891&sid=&con_type=1&d_str=20010702&sear_year=2001 Freedoms eroded to please Beijing: report], [[The Standard]], 2 July 2001</ref><ref>Vanessa Gould, Nelson Lee & Bryan Lee, [http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=&art_id=10130&sid=&con_type=1&d_str=20010228&sear_year=2001 SAR defends rights record], [[The Standard]], 28 February 2001</ref>

Cartoonist Feign was abruptly dismissed not long after Kuok's purchase of the newspaper, after running several cartoons about the culling of human body parts from Chinese prisoners. His firing was defended as "cost cutting", but was widely viewed as political self-censorship during the jittery final years before Hong Kong's handover to the PRC.<ref>Stephen J. Hutcheon, Pressing Concerns: Hong Kong’s Media in an Era of Transition [http://www.hks.harvard.edu/presspol/research_publications/papers/discussion_papers/D32.pdf]</ref>

Editorial page editor Gittings complained that in January 2001 he was told to take a "realistic" view of editorial independence and ordered not to run extracts of the [[Tiananmen Papers]] but was allowed to only after protesting "strenuously". The editor, however, believed that there had already been sufficient coverage.<ref>Greg Rushford, [http://www.rushfordreport.com/2002/4_2002_Cover.htm Cover Story: Hong Kong at a Crossroads], April 2002</ref>

At the launch of a joint report published by the Hong Kong Journalists' Association and Article 19 in July 2001, the chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists' Association said: "More and more newspapers self-censor themselves because they are controlled by either a businessman with close ties to Beijing, or part of a large enterprise, which has financial interests over the border."<ref name=eroded/>

[[Mark Clifford]], appointed editor-in-chief in February 2006, also enjoyed a turbulent 14 months on the job. He was responsible for the high-profile dismissal several journalists over an internal prank.

As of 26 August 2010, SCMP Group posted a profit of $52.3 million in the first half of 2010.<ref>http://scmpgroup.com/pressroom/press_20100826.html</ref>

==See also==
* [[Media of Hong Kong]]


===Chapter Contributor===
*''Reimagining Japan: The Quest for a Future That Works'' (ISBN 9781421540863) 2011
*''Korea 2020: Global Perspectives for the Next Decade'' (ISBN 9788925536286) 2010
==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


==External links==
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
*[http://www.scmp.com/ Official website]
| NAME =Clifford, Mark

| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
[[Category:English-language newspapers published in Hong Kong]]
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
[[Category:Publications established in 1903]]
| DATE OF BIRTH =1957

| PLACE OF BIRTH =
[[de:South China Morning Post]]
| DATE OF DEATH =
[[es:South China Morning Post]]
| PLACE OF DEATH =
[[fr:South China Morning Post]]
}}
[[ja:サウスチャイナ・モーニング・ポスト]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifford, Mark}}
[[no:South China Morning Post]]
[[Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni]]
[[pt:South China Morning Post]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[zh:南華早報]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:American newspaper journalists]]

Revision as of 05:38, 30 August 2011

South China Morning Post
TypeDaily newspaper
Formatbroadsheet
Owner(s)SCMP Group
EditorCliff Buddle (acting)
Founded6 November 1903 (44206 issues)
HeadquartersHong Kong
Websitescmp.com

The South China Morning Post (aka SCMP or 'the Post'), together with its Sunday edition, the Sunday Morning Post, is an English-language Hong Kong newspaper, published by the SCMP Group with a circulation of 104,000.

Reginald Chua, deputy managing editor of The Wall Street Journal and former editor of The Wall Street Journal's Asia edition, was appointed editor-in-chief on 2 July 2009, replacing CK Lau. Chua was joined by David Lague, formerly of the International Herald Tribune and The Wall Street Journal, as managing editor.[1] Chua has since stepped down, replaced by former Deputy Editor Cliff Buddle.

History

Broadsheet

South China Morning Post Ltd was founded in 1903. The first edition of the paper published on 6 November 1903. In November 1971, it was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It was privatised by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation in 1987, and relisted in 1990.[citation needed]

Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok's Kerry Media bought the controlling interest from News Corp in October 1993. His son, Kuok Khoon Ean, took over as chairman at the end of 1997[citation needed]. Kuok Khoon Ean's sister, Kuok Hui Kwong, was named chief executive officer on 1 Jan 2009.[2]

Circulation and profitability

The paper has a circulation, which has remained relatively constant at 104,000 copies since 2000.[citation needed] The average audited circulation for the first half of 2007 stood at 106,054, while its Sunday edition, the Sunday Morning Post, has a readership of 80,865. Its readership outside Hong Kong remains at some 6,825 copies for the same period, again, relatively unchanged.[3] It also had the enviable position as the most profitable newspaper in the world on a per reader basis, profit declined since peaking in 1997 at HK$805 million,[4] yet its growth potential is viewed as being largely dependent on its ability to penetrate the wider Chinese market.[5]

The Group reported net profit of HK$338 million for the year 2006 (2005 = HK$246m), the operating profit of HK$419m (2005 = HK$306m) was attributable mainly to the newspaper operation.[6]

The selling price of the paper is HK$8 each from Monday to Saturday, and HK$10 for the Sunday Morning Post. A discounted student subscription is also available. It was increased 14.5% (from HK$7) and 25% (from HK$8) respectively in August 2011.

Format

The printed version of the Post is in a broadsheet format, in sections: Main, City, Sport, Business, Classifieds, Property (Wednesday), Racing (Wednesday), Technology (Tuesday), Education (Saturday), Style magazine (first Friday of every month); the Sunday edition contains Main, a Review section, a Post Magazine, Racing, "At Your Service", a services directory, and "Young Post", targeted at younger readers.

On 26 March 2007, the Post was given a facelift, with new presentation and fonts.[7]

Online version

Scmp.com is a subscription-only service, which also allows the retrieval of archive articles dating back from 1993. It was launched online in December 1996. On 30 May 2007, scmp.com relaunched with a new look, features, and multimedia content. Headlines and the introduction to stories are now free to view, while the full articles are available to subscribers. Archive photos and articles are available for purchase.

On 16 July 2007, scmp.com launched its first-ever viral video marketing campaign targeting a global audience and highlighting the new multimedia features of the website.

Editorial

The Kuok family is known to be pro-Beijing, and questions have been raised over the paper's editorial independence.[4] There have been concerns, denied by Kuok, over the forced departures, in rapid succession, of several staff and contributors who were considered critical of China or its supporters in Hong Kong. These included, in the mid-1990s, their popular cartoonist Larry Feign, humour columnist Nury Vittachi, and numerous China-desk staff, namely 2000–01 editorial pages editor Danny Gittings, Beijing correspondent Jasper Becker, and China pages editor Willy Lam, who departed after his reporting had been publicly criticised by Robert Kuok.[8][9]

Cartoonist Feign was abruptly dismissed not long after Kuok's purchase of the newspaper, after running several cartoons about the culling of human body parts from Chinese prisoners. His firing was defended as "cost cutting", but was widely viewed as political self-censorship during the jittery final years before Hong Kong's handover to the PRC.[10]

Editorial page editor Gittings complained that in January 2001 he was told to take a "realistic" view of editorial independence and ordered not to run extracts of the Tiananmen Papers but was allowed to only after protesting "strenuously". The editor, however, believed that there had already been sufficient coverage.[11]

At the launch of a joint report published by the Hong Kong Journalists' Association and Article 19 in July 2001, the chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists' Association said: "More and more newspapers self-censor themselves because they are controlled by either a businessman with close ties to Beijing, or part of a large enterprise, which has financial interests over the border."[8]

Mark Clifford, appointed editor-in-chief in February 2006, also enjoyed a turbulent 14 months on the job. He was responsible for the high-profile dismissal several journalists over an internal prank.

As of 26 August 2010, SCMP Group posted a profit of $52.3 million in the first half of 2010.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ Crampton, Thomas (2 July 2009). "New editor-in-chief for The South China Morning Post". thomascrampton.com. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  2. ^ Matt Eaton (9 December 2008). "Senior shuffle sees Kuok tighten grip". Marketing-Interactive.Com. LightHouse Independent Media Pte Ltd. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
  3. ^ "Audit Report". Hong Kong Audit Bureau of Circulations. Retrieved 21 March 2007.
  4. ^ a b Smith, Patrick (19 November 2006). "Clash of civilizations at Hong Kong newspaper". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 22 March 2007.
  5. ^ "Two more top editors leave South China Morning Post". International Herald Tribune. 29 January 2007. Retrieved 21 March 2007.
  6. ^ "Ad revenue lifts SCMP profit 37pc". South China Morning Post. 27 March 2007.
  7. ^ "News Digest". South China Morning Post. 26 March 2007. p. 1.
  8. ^ a b Freedoms eroded to please Beijing: report, The Standard, 2 July 2001
  9. ^ Vanessa Gould, Nelson Lee & Bryan Lee, SAR defends rights record, The Standard, 28 February 2001
  10. ^ Stephen J. Hutcheon, Pressing Concerns: Hong Kong’s Media in an Era of Transition [1]
  11. ^ Greg Rushford, Cover Story: Hong Kong at a Crossroads, April 2002
  12. ^ http://scmpgroup.com/pressroom/press_20100826.html
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