Asia Pacific Media Network :: A loss for words in 'boring' Macau

"Indeed, homegrown press probably would have succumbed long ago to the influx of Hong Kong and mainland competitors if not for the very unique dynamics of the market: the single largest investor in Macau's media industry is the local government. Nearly every media organisation in Macau receives an annual subsidy of up to 780,000 patacas ($ 790,530), distributed by the Macau Government Information Bureau, known by its Portuguese acronym GCS. Moreover, the government shows no signs of giving the market a freer hand in the sector - as it did in recent years with gaming and telecommunications. In February, Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah announced plans to increase press subsidies by the end of the year. Last month, the government took over Macau's only terrestrial television and radio broadcaster, Teledifusao de Macau (TDM), by formally acquiring the 49.5 per cent that it did not already hold." more