Telum Talks To…Tom Poon, Editor-in-Chief, Hong Kong Business Times
Interview

Telum Talks To…Tom Poon, Editor-in-Chief, Hong Kong Business Times

How did you start your journalism journey and why did you specialise in financial news? 
Having studied journalism at University, I have regarded the media as my lifelong career. I was a bit hesitant about which beat I should take, however. When I was in Year Four, I took financial journalism as an elective course. The professor provided me with a lot of useful guidance. He also helped me make an informed choice by understanding that financial journalism is a professional field. I started to understand listed companies' operations and the connection between the financial markets and our society.  
 
After my graduation in June 2000, I jumped right into the financial media industry, working in Capital.com, Sing Tao Daily’s Property section, Economic Digest, Hong Kong Daily News and other related institutions. I thought It was an excellent way to accept various challenges, including financial management, banking products, funds, interviews with listed companies and real estate etc. Being a journalist for more than 20 years now, I still have a strong sense of mission. I always adhere to the central message of being objective, impartial, and speaking with facts to achieve news reporting consistency.  
 
Please tell us about the Hong Kong Business Times. How is it different from other financial news platforms?
Hong Kong Business Times is an online media company, and we operate MeWe, LinkedIn and Instagram social media platforms concurrently. We also invest a lot in developing our own website articles that are often promulgated on our Facebook page. Since April 2020, our Facebook page has accumulated more than 80,000 followers; nearly 80% of them are from Hong Kong, ranging from white-collar workers to senior executives. It goes without saying that financial news is a hot topic locally.

In terms of our own website, we strive to produce in-depth content that our readers care about. When we cover IPO stories, we want to provide practical tips and suggestions without forgetting to look at the bigger picture. We want to inspire our readers so that they will share or forward our articles on the internet. We are happy to say that our Facebook page has many reposts, and the audience is expanding day by day. The most reposted posts usually relate to financial management, new stocks and interviews on practical financial management. To expand our reach, we treat search engine optimisation (SEO) quite seriously as we want to improve the visibility of our Facebook posts and webpages in search engines. 

Concerning our working culture, we emphasise teamwork and believe that there are no absolute experts in the cyber world. Regardless of the position, each colleague has his own strengths and the ability to present the most professional, accurate and personalised news. We encourage our colleagues to read more and sometimes pay for their book purchases

Even though we do not have a print publication at Hong Kong Business Times at the moment, we are an accredited media outlet, having registered with the Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration and the Government News and Media Information System of the Information Services Department.
 
With the rapid development of digital media, how do you stand out? 
First and foremost, we need to search for topics that readers are interested in and then create related stories. In the future, we are going to emphasise video news production and Facebook live broadcasts. Besides, a new column named Wealth Investment Area will be launched on our own website, covering a wide range of topics from new stocks and news analysis to foreign exchange/alternative investment, funds and other wealth management.

What makes a good piece of financial news? What are the opportunities and challenges facing the industry? 
Going back to the basics, a piece of news should, of course, have the 6Ws (What? When? Where? Why? Who? How?) and be well written. It is also essential to touch upon a relevant subject matter and present it accurately.  If the news content does not match the facts, you will receive complaints from readers. In terms of challenges, I would say information overload, worsened by the rise of algorithm-generated “content farms, " may make it harder for readers to determine credible information.

How will you work with PRs and brands? When a PR professional invites you to report certain customer-related news, how should they make the pitch? What interviews are you working on in the next few months? 
We always receive interview invitations from different public relations firms through emails. We have to be selective, and we sometimes get our marketing colleagues involved in the decision-making process. But at the same time, we want to make sure any piece of content is editorially neutral. If it’s about the brand, we will provide an objective account of whether it will bring real benefits to our readers.

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Hing Tong Poon

Editor-in-Chief

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