"Digital News, Social Change & Globalization" Conference
Screening

Title The Grey Areas
Language Cantonese with Chinese subtitles
Length 40 minutes
Producer Brain Wong Wah-fai
Production Asia Television Ltd.
First showing A longer version was first broadcast as part of the "News Magazine" series on Home channel, Asia Television Ltd., January 8 and 15, and November 14, 1999
Awards Silver Award, Consumer Rights Reporting Award 1999 (organized jointly by the Hong Kong Consumer Council and Hong Kong Journalists Association) Special Commendation, Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union Prize Competition 1999 (under the title "A Black Art")
* The producer, Wong Wah-fai, will introduce the piece and take questions after its showing.
Synopsis Property prices have plunged considerably since 1997 despite government’s repeated attempts to revive the market. Buying properties have been regarded as one of the most important investments or consumptions in one’s life. Unit sales prices -- $ per square foot of the Gross Floor Area (GFA) of a residential flat -- are widely taken as the major indicator in the property market. There is legislation that governs the GFA measurement for construction purpose but there is no law to govern the GFA for sales. The GFAs are often exaggerated in sales brochures so as to make the sales prices look more competitive. Buyers never know how the areas are measured. The measurement is regarded as an art by the property sector. Media know this but do not question it. One can imagine how many home buyers may have been misinformed and misled?

Property news in Hong Kong is often reported in a way that readers find it difficult to differentiate them from advertisements. Why do property reporters and editors do this? Media ethic perhaps is central to the property news reporting. Many people who are about to make the most important decision in their life whether to buy a flat or not may probably seek news reports for advice. To what extent had the media contributed to the escalation in the property prices in the run up to the 1997 peak before the bubbles burst is the main area of my research interest.