Media regulator officials given new posts at RTHK

Two officials from the Communications Authority are joining RTHK to provide “special support”, staff were told on Friday.

The news came just days after a former director of administration started work as an “adviser to the director of broadcasting”, and a senior administrative officer was appointed to provide “special support”.

According to an internal circular, the two new positions for the media regulator officials are also in “special support”.

Jimson Chan, a principal entertainment standards control officer for content regulation at the authority, will become a manager at RTHK, while Wilma Wong, an entertainment standards control officer on content regulation, will become an assistant manager. They will start their new jobs on April 26.

Last week, RTHK said several posts would be created to help management implement recommendations included in a damning government review report that found “serious inadequacies” in the station’s editorial management.

Since the social unrest of 2019, the Communications Authority has upheld several complaints against RTHK, admonishing the station for programmes it found to be biased against the police.

On one occasion, the station was given a serious warning for failing to ensure that opinions expressed by a member of the public were “based upon accurate facts.”

In March, the government appointed career bureaucrat Patrick Li as director of broadcasting. He has since pulled a number of RTHK shows at the last minute after they apparently failed his test on impartiality.