Entrepreneurs not put off by House News woe

The demise of the popular but short-lived House News website is not deterring new media entrepreneurs, with one portal set to launch today and another looking to hire more staff.

The pro-democracy House News abruptly took its content offline on Saturday, and its dozen or so staff were formally dismissed yesterday. The collapse of the website shocked its devoted readers, and a message from its founder citing political pressure led to renewed concern about the state of media freedom in the city.

Co-founder Tony Tsoi Tung-ho also cited poor advertising revenue - despite the 300,000 individual visitors the site received each day in June - as a reason for the closure of the outlet.

Still, others believe they can have more success.

The latest to try is Simon Lee Chao-fu, a former writer at outspoken newspaper and founder of free-market think tank the Lion Rock Institute. Lee's portal, Hong Kong Citizens' Media, launches today. Half of its coverage will be business-based, and it will largely shy away from politics - for now, at least.

"Mainstream media have taken sides. I believe many Hongkongers would be interested in knowing what the other side thinks," Lee said, adding that the local media was facing a "grave situation" in terms of freedom.

Also in the market is veteran media entrepreneur and chat-show host Stephen Shiu Yeuk-yuen. Shiu, who last year pulled the plug on his online radio station Hong Kong Reporter, plans to expand his new site Meme Hong Kong with a text-based service, according to reports on another start-up website, the six-month-old Post 852.