BREAKING NEWS: James Shing quits role as ATV's executive director

I’ve been really busy recently, so haven’t had a chance to update my blog (my apologies once again to those who continue to read and support my blog).  There have actually been quite a lot of ‘developments’ in the world of HK entertainment in the past few months as well as many many articles worth reading / translating – unfortunately though, I haven’t been able to find much time  to spare with my busy schedule to do much translating….with that said however, I have definitely continued to keep up with the latest in HK entertainment news so I can keep myself current on the latest happenings and such.

For those who have been reading up on HK entertainment news, the ‘biggest’ news of late is of course the ‘controversy’ surrounding ATV and its executive director James Shing.   To be honest, I’ve never liked Mr. Shing from the beginning (when he took over ATV several years ago) – the guy has always been a worthless ‘puppet’ under the control of ATV investor Wong Ching and his ‘antics’ the past 3 years or so pretty much prove how much of an idiot he is.  Therefore, when I heard the ‘news’ last week that the Communications Authority (aka the Broadcasting Authority) won its case against ATV and not only penalized the station (in the form of monetary fine), but also gave them an ‘ultimatum’ – ATV must fire its chief executive director James Shing within 7 days (deadline is September 1^st) or else risk having its free-to-air TV license revoked – I was actually very very ECSTATIC!!! 

While it’s true that I’ve never been a fan or supporter of ATV and to be very honest, that station has been run into the toilet so badly over the past decade that it’s beyond salvageable (which means that I could really care less what happens to the station), part of me still remembers ATV’s ‘glory days’ back in the 70s (when it was still under its previous name of Rediffusion Television) as well as 80s/early 90s.  Sure, ATV was never able to ‘surpass’ TVB in terms of ratings or popularity, but there were numerous times when ATV actually WAS a formidable ‘competitor’ against TVB in that TVB actually felt ‘threatened’ by the station’s existence and therefore rolled out a lot of great programming to combat this ‘threat’ (yup, so ATV’s 56 year existence didn’t go completely to waste).  Plus there are quite a few artists and behind the scenes people who came from ATV and whom I’ve ‘followed’ for many years, so for their sake I don’t want to ‘discredit’ ATV completely.  So pretty much, even though I don’t really give a damn about ATV nowadays, I still pay attention to news about them and yes, I still do get pissed off when I read about the imbecilic management who run ATV (honestly, those morons make TVB’s management look like ‘angels’…LOL!!). 

Anyway, I went ahead and posted the latest article I found about James Shing quitting his executive director post at ATV (though it’s actually not the best article on the issue – I’ve read quite a few articles on the subject lately and there are plenty of articles out there that are more detailed….I chose this particular one merely because it’s written in English so I wouldn’t have to translate it…). 

While James Shing’s ‘resignation’ won’t necessarily mean the ‘end’ to Wong Ching’s involvement in ATV’s affairs (especially since it’s rumored that the new executive director also has ties to Wong Ching), at least it’s a step in the right direction in terms of the HK government FINALLY doing something about the ‘corrupt’ HK television industry by forcing out people who should never be involved in the television business in the first place.  Though I feel that the ‘ousting’ of James Shing is “too little, too late” and most likely won’t do a thing to change ATV’s fate in the long run, I can’t help feeling happy about the situation. 

Lastly…this may sound mean, but I just have to say it….

GOOD RIDDANCE, MR. SHING!!!   You definitely WON’T be missed -- though I do echo the sentiments of many former ATV employees such as director Wong Jing, Chapman To, Anthony Wong, Elena Kong, etc. who have all publicly stated that they wish James Shing continues to REFUSE all attempts at ousting him because then that means ATV will finally get its license revoked (it’s truly sad when even ATV’s former employees don’t support the station and instead want to see it closed down…haha…talk about ‘no eye see’!).  What the future will hold for ATV in the long run is uncertain, but one thing’s for sure – in the short term, this move will at least hold ATV over until 2015 when its license is set to expire….my prediction is that ATV won’t survive beyond that…whether that’s a ‘good’ thing or ‘bad’ one – you decide for yourself!

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James Shing quits role as ATV's executive director

Station chief complies with part of government order to resign, but may still be on ATV board

Source:  South China Morning Post

Article originally posted September 2, 2013 (originally written in English by Vivienne Chow at SCMP)

ATV's James Shing Pan-yu has finally relinquished his role as the broadcaster's executive director.

Yesterday, ATV announced that it had on Saturday received documents signed by Shing confirming his resignation from the position immediately.

But it was unclear if he had also quit the ATV board.

Shing is required by the Communications Authority to step down from both his roles as executive director and board director by today.

The order came after the authority released its investigation report on ATV on August 23, concluding that Shing had breached the licensing terms by allowing investor Wong Ching to exercise de facto control over the station. Shing and Wong are relatives.

The authority said Shing was no longer a "fit and proper person" for the role as stipulated in the Broadcasting Ordinance. It also fined the station HK$1 million for the breach.

Shing, who was executive director for more than three years, last week said he was "willing to sacrifice himself for ATV".

Yesterday, it remained unclear if he had fully complied with the authority's order, but the Companies Registry showed he remained a board director.

ATV did not respond to queries on this matter by press time. Shing could not be contacted.

The authority said it would continue to monitor ATV to ensure that the broadcaster complied with its ruling. Meanwhile, ATV said Louie King-bun, who was late last month appointed a board director, would replace Shing.

Louie, who was formerly executive editor of pro-Beijing newspaper Ta Kung Pao, joined ATV as vice-president last year.

He became mired in controversy after an episode of ATV Focus, of which he is in charge, ran critical comments against student group Scholarism for opposing the introduction of national education classes at the height of the debate last year.

The Communications Authority received more than 10,000 complaints against the programme after it aired last September.

But the controversy did little to mar Louie's rapidly advancing career in ATV - in June, he was promoted to senior vice-president, succeeding the retiring Kwong Hoi-ying.