"Any proposal to modify RTHK into a public broadcaster will also pre-empt government decision on what role it may assign to RTHK, as a government department, following the formation of a public broadcaster," the report says, adding the committee has consciously steered away from discussing this matter, as it falls outside the committee's terms of reference.

"In short, a sea change in RTHK's status is bound to be fraught with practical and insurmountable problems, and not conducive to the start-up of a new public broadcaster. Therefore, the committee does not favour the transformation of RTHK into a public broadcaster. Instead, it proposes the establishment of a new public broadcaster with a fresh start."

Answerable to the public

"The landscape of local broadcasting will continue to change as a result of digitisation and further development of multimedia technologies. These changes will enhance rather than diminish the social responsibility and value of PSB," Mr Wong said.

"There will be a greater and more pronounced public demand for PSB as the audience looks to it as a credible source of accurate and impartial information, educational inspirations and resources, as well as quality entertainment and enlightenment."

The report recommends a new public broadcaster be constituted as a statutory body and funded primarily from the public purse to provide PSB that is genuinely universal, diverse, independent and distinctive. This broadcaster should be be named the Hong Kong Public Broadcasting Corporation.

"The PBC should be independent in its editorial and programming decisions. Its board, management and rank-and-file should exercise freedom of speech and of the press responsibly," Mr Wong said.

"It should operate under stringent governance and accountability measures. And it must be answerable to the public for the scope and quality of services it provides, and the public money it spends."

Secretary for Commerce, Industry & Technology Joseph Wong said the Government will study all the recommendations carefully and will issue a public consultation document in the second half of the year which will set out the Government's views on the way forward.

"The consultation document will cover all the major issues involved, including the policy and role of PSB, as well as the arrangements on governance, accountability, funding, programming and performance evaluation.

"We will allow sufficient time for all stakeholders and the community at large to deliberate the issues fully. In the light of views expressed during the consultation, we will decide on the future of PSB and its implementation details," Joseph Wong said.

Joseph Wong also expressed gratitude to the chairman and all the committee members for their contribution and dedication.

"On behalf of the Chief Executive, I wish to thank all seven members of the committee, in particular the chairman, for undertaking and completing this arduous task. They have examined the PSB issues in a most thorough manner, drawing on overseas experience and engaging a wide cross section of the community in the process.

Four specific purposes suggested 

The report recommends that the PBC should fulfil four specific public purposes. First, it should sustain citizenship and civil society, helping to promote understanding of the community, the nation and the world through accurate and impartial news, information, perspectives and analyses. It should promote understanding of the concept of "One country, two systems" and its implementation, and it should provide an open platform for exchange of views.

It should also foster social harmony and promote pluralism, to enhance public understanding and acceptance of the cultural, linguistic, religious and ethnic diversity in the community and beyond through the diversity of its programme coverage and universality of reach.

Thirdly, it should establish educational value and promote lifelong learning, stimulating interest in a range of subjects, and providing information and resources to promote learning at all levels and for all ages.

It should also stimulate creativity and excellence. It should produce, commission or acquire distinctive and original content; it should actively promote public interest, engagement and participation in cultural activities; and its programming and other corporate policies and practices should foster creativity and nurture talent.

"To deliver on all these fronts, it is important for PSB to follow closely the development of multimedia, and take the lead when necessary to ensure delivery of quality programmes through as many platforms as possible, serving as wide an audience as possible," Raymond Wong said.

"The committee proposes that the PBC should operate on digital platform and run at least one free television channel to provide Cantonese, English and Putonghua programmes; operate a sufficient number of radio, especially FM, channels; and develop multimedia services.

"The committee recognises that its recommendations, if implemented, will herald significant changes to the local broadcasting scene. We believe that, if done well, PSB will enrich Hong Kong's social and cultural tapestry, create a better balance in the local media ecology and contribute to the long-term development of a thriving broadcasting industry. It will also broaden the regional and international perspective of the people, and contribute to Hong Kong's overall competitiveness," Mr Wong added.

During the review, the committee met legislators, commercial broadcasters and other media executives, management and staff representatives from Radio Television Hong Kong, academics, various special interest and social concern groups and overseas PSB experts. Many more expressed their views in writing, either by mail to the committee or through the committee's website.

"We are grateful to the hundreds of people, both here and abroad, who have generously shared their wise counsel, insight, experiences, expertise and candour. In particular, we would like to thank members of the four focus groups set up by the committee. They made important contributions to the formulation of proposals regarding governance structure, accountability measures, funding arrangements and programming.

Summary highlights

Among the committee's key recommendations are the following:

* A combined funding model should be adopted, with government appropriation as the primary source. Supplementary sources could include sponsorships, except for news and current-affairs programmes; doations; voluntary subscriptions from the public; pay -per-view fees for on-demand services; and programmes and merchandise sales. It rules out retail advertising revenue, though. By the 10th anniversary, the organisation should be able to raise at least 20% of its baseline funding from supplementary sources, with the other 80% coming from government.

* A Board of not more than 15 people should set objectives and strategy, monitor performance, ensure legislative and regulatory compliance and be accountable to the public. It should be in regular communication with tht management team, without interfering in the organisation's operational and editorial decisions. A nomination committee should propose a list of nominees to be presented to the Chief Executive. Vacancies on the board should be advertised to the public.

Click here to read the full report; click here to read the summary.

The members of the committee responsible for the report are Chairman Raymond Wong, Chan King-cheung, May Fung, Prof Leung Tin-wai, Prof Judy Tsui, Mathias Woo, and the late Pao Wan-lung.