Initium Media

Initium Media (Chinese: 端傳媒; Sidney Lau: Duen1Chuen4Mooi4) is a Singapore-based digital media outlet launched in August 2015. It mainly provides in-depths news, opinions and lifestyle content to Chinese-speaking readers worldwide with the aim of staking out neutral terrain among Chinese readers in Hong Kong, Taiwan, mainland China, and abroad.[3]

This article is about the Singapore media website. For the Samhain album, see Initium.
Initium Media
IndustryNews
Founded3 August 2015 (2015-08-03)
HeadquartersHong Kong (2015 - 2021) Singapore (2015 - Present)
Key people
Jin Ding (CEO)[1]
Lulu Ning (Editor-in-chief)[2]
ProductsWebsite
iOS & Android Applications
Websitetheinitium.com
Initium Media
Traditional Chinese端傳媒
Simplified Chinese端传媒

Initium Media has explained that its naming concept was sourced from a passage from the writings of Mencius (Chinese: 孟子; Sidney Lau: Maang6Ji2) in which the word "端" (Sidney Lau: Duen1) ("beginning", or "initium" in Latin) is significant: “The sense of concern for others is the starting point of Humaneness. The feeling of shame and disgust is the starting point of Fairness. The sense of humility and deference is the starting point of Propriety and the sense of right and wrong is the starting point of Wisdom.” [4][5]

By 2019, it had 33,000 paid members of the company's online subscription for the in-depth articles which was started in July 2017.[6] It has users from more than 200 different countries and territories, the vast majority being in Hong Kong and Taiwan, with the rest coming from the U.S., Japan and elsewhere.[6]

Initium Media currently has 10 channels, which are Daily News, Opinions, International News, Hong Kong News, China News, Taiwan News, Culture, City, Parenting and Photos.

In August 2021, against the backdrop of increasing pressure on Hong Kong media outlets following the enactment of the national security law, Initium Media announced that they will move their headquarters from Hong Kong to Singapore.[7]

Ownership and editorial team

Initium Media's major shareholder is Will Cai, a Stanford-trained lawyer operating the company as a sideline to his duties at Skadden Arps, an investment he considered "better than buying a sports car."[8][9] Mr. Cai stepped down from his position at Initium Media when the media platform implemented its restructuring plan in April 2017.[10]

Initium Media has a global editorial and development team of nearly 40 people in Hong Kong and Taiwan who are producing daily news reports, analysis, infographics, investigative stories and video pieces from around the world.

Its Chief Executive Editor was Zhang Jieping, who previously worked for Yazhou Zhoukan, a Chinese political magazine, iSun Affairs Magazine, a current affairs publication, and City Magazine, a lifestyle magazine.[11]

April 2018, Taiwanese senior media professional Lee Chih-Te took over the Chief Executive Editor of The Initium,[12] and left in 2020.

Jing Wu became the Chief Executive Editor in 2020, and left in 2022.[13]

Coverage

Since its launch, Initium Media has been criticized both for being too antagonistic of the Chinese Communist Party and too supportive. Apple Daily, a Hong Kong newspaper owned by Jimmy Lai and critical of China's Communist Party rulers, accused Cai of having secret ties to mainland backers and Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping.[14] Some media observers say that The Initium has demonstrated its independence with in-depth reports such as these.[15]

2020 raid

On 10 August 2020, the Hong Kong offices of Apple Daily were searched by over 200 national security officers in a large-scale police raid, following Lai's arrest for alleged violations of the recently implemented national security law.[16]

Journalists interviewed 7 reporters from AppleDaily that night and concluded up an article for restoring the experiences and thoughts of the reporters that day when they saw the company was searched by great number of polices and alleging violations of the national security law. [17]

Tianjin explosion

On August 12, 2015, a series of major explosions swept across the Binhai New Area, a busy port just 40 kilometres east of the northern Chinese city of Tianjin. The explosions occurred less than one kilometre from several high-density residential areas, and damage extended as far as two kilometres from the blast site.

Initium Media was one of the very few Hong Kong media that dispatched journalists to the scene, where toxic chemicals stored in a warehouse had erupted in a fireball that spewed debris and poisons over nearby apartments. The reporters slipped past security cordons to write about the disaster that claimed more than 150 lives and then reported on the connections of the warehouse owner.[8] Initium Media also released an investigative report to trace the individuals behind this tragedy.[18]

Application development

Initium Media has an in-house data journalist team. One of its works is the Legco matrix project, through which they analyze over 200,000 voting records of Hong Kong legislative council and visualize the recent movement and voting trends of lawmakers.[19]

It also dedicated a project in anticipation of the 2016 LegCo election.[20]

Awards and recognition

Initium Medium won numerous recognition in the SOPA Awards 2020.[21]

Award Type Category Title of Entry Award Recipients
Excellence in Photography

(卓越攝影獎)

 Award of Excellence Hong Kong's anti-extradition bill protest: a photo documentation

香港反修例運動影像記錄

 Lam Chun Tung 林振東
Excellence in Feature Writing

(卓越專題特寫獎)

 Honorable Mentions A feature of the Polytechnic University siege

理大圍城之戰

 Stephanie Yang, Lin Kexin

楊子琪、林可欣

Excellence in Reporting Breaking News

(卓越突發新聞獎)

 Honorable Mentions Investigation of the indiscriminate attack of

July 21 Yuen Long Nightmare

721 涉黑白衣人無差別襲擊事件突發事件調查

 Gemini Cheng Pui Shan, Yang Ziqi, Irene Chan,

Leung Man Ki, Sam Leung, Eddie Pang, Stanley Leung,

鄭佩珊、楊子琪、陳倩兒、梁敏琪、梁中勝、彭嘉林、 梁詩聰

Excellence in Video Reporting

(卓越視頻報道獎)

 Honorable Mentions Statement of a Hong Kong young valiant: if the problems were solved, we won't be here

一個勇武年輕人的自白：你解決了問題，這幫人就不會出現

 Stanley Leung, Lin Kexin, Irene Chan

梁詩聰、林可欣、陳倩兒

Funding

On December 2, 2015, Initium Media received a preferred share financing led by WI Harper Group, a leading global venture capital firm.[22]

On April 6, 2017, the company announced it would be restructuring due to cash flow difficulties and staff would be laid off.[23]

In July 2017, Initium Media kicked off a subscription model to charge readers for in-depth contents. The subscription divided into two memberships which are the normal membership and the premium one.[24]

References
  1. Ding, Jin [@jinkding] (25 October 2023). "#ProfessionalNews: After over a decade in English journalism, I'm thrilled to announce that I'm returning to my Chinese community as the new CEO of @initiumnews, starting this November" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. "Announcing Global News Leaders for the 2024 Executive Program Cohort". Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism (CUNY). 2023-08-17. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  3. Speelman, Tabitha. "Initium's Ambition: A Digital Magazine for All Chinese". Archived from the original on March 14, 2021. Retrieved Aug 16, 2020.
  4. Muller, A Charles (2 December 2014). "Mencius (Selections)". Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  5. "漩渦裏的人，有責任說出漩渦的樣子". Archived from the original on 2016-04-22. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
  6. "【訂閱新趨勢】靠收費絕境翻身 端傳媒總編：深度分析鮮被抄稿 ｜ 即時 ｜ 要聞 ｜ 20190422". Archived from the original on 2020-09-02. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  7. Cheng, Selina (3 August 2021). "In media first, Hong Kong news outlet Initium quits city for Singapore". Hong Kong Free Press. Archived from the original on 3 January 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  8. Oster, Shai (27 April 2016). "China's Media Startups Fight Censorship Crackdown". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  9. "[獨家專訪]端傳媒神秘金主 蔡華曝光". AM730 香港免費派發的報紙 (Online Edition of am730). Archived from the original on February 16, 2021. Retrieved Aug 16, 2020.
  10. "眾新聞 - 《端》半年前撲水 總編張潔平接任Ceo". Archived from the original on 2021-08-01. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  11. "New Hong Kong media startup attempts to capture Chinese global market - World News Publishing Focus by WAN-IFRA". blog.wan-ifra.org. 2 March 2016. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020. Retrieved Aug 16, 2020.
  12. "【訂閱新趨勢】靠收費絕境翻身 端傳媒總編：深度分析鮮被抄稿". Apple Daily 蘋果日報. Archived from the original on September 2, 2020. Retrieved Aug 16, 2020.
  13. "與你分享我們的新開端｜廣場｜端傳媒 Initium Media". Archived from the original on 2020-09-29. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  14. "【短片】【端傳媒起底】大股東蔡華與習近平千絲萬縷". Apple Daily 蘋果日報. Archived from the original on February 16, 2021. Retrieved Aug 16, 2020.
  15. Chen, Frank (2016-04-07). "Why money still flows to HK's sunset media industry". EJ Insight. Archived from the original on 2021-02-16. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  16. Ramzy, Austin; May, Tiffany (9 August 2020). "Hong Kong Arrests Jimmy Lai, Media Mogul, Under National Security Law". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  17. "編輯部遭到大搜查：《蘋果日報》七個記者的一天｜反修例運動一年｜國家安全法｜深度｜端傳媒 Initium Media". Archived from the original on 2020-09-24. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  18. "起底瑞海國際：幕後操盤手在香港持有同名公司". Archived from the original on 2021-02-16. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
  19. "20萬條投票紀錄帶你解碼香港立法會". Archived from the original on 2021-04-17. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
  20. "立法會GPS". theinitium.com. Archived from the original on December 16, 2020. Retrieved Aug 16, 2020.
  21. "Awards Finalists". The SOPA Awards. Archived from the original on 2020-08-29. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  22. "端傳媒獲得台灣美商中經合集團領投優先股投資". Archived from the original on 2021-02-16. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
  23. Tong, Elson (6 April 2017). "Digital Hong Kong news outlet Initium Media to lay off 'substantial' no. of staff amid funding fears". Hong Kong Free Press. Archived from the original on 3 January 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  24. "付費訂閱｜端傳媒 Initium Media". Archived from the original on 2020-08-21. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
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