The South China Morning Post is still dedicated to journalism, 120 years later

Seasons change, but the Post stands firm in our unwavering commitment to the highest standards of journalism

SCMP’s 120th anniversary

Tammy Tam

Published: 8:15am, 6 Nov 2023

Why you can trust SCMP

What a journey it has been for the South China Morning Post since it first hit the streets of Hong Kong on November 6, 1903.

On the front page of that maiden issue on Friday was a wall of advertisements for passage on steamers – no aeroplanes back then because the first was about to be flown only in the following month – and businesses hawking furniture, whisky, typewriters and printing presses, all reflecting the international nature of this already thriving city.

Now, 120 years later, advertising has generally moved out of our front pages unless companies have bought a full-page wrapper, a banner or a quarter-sized advertisement at the bottom right corner.

Everything else was and remains dedicated to one goal: reporting on the city’s fortunes, its meteoric highs and its miserable lows, all the while keeping a close eye on changes in the wider world.

When it launched, the Post joined several other English-language newspapers in competing to be the first one out with the news every day. Now it can safely say it is one of the most influential newspapers, not just in Hong Kong and the rest of Asia, but also with a substantial global audience that is the envy of our direct competitors.

We have come a long way, thanks to you, dear reader. We owe our success to you as much to the perseverance and dedication of our team of reporters, photographers, subeditors, editors and many other related professionals who work tirelessly, 24/7, to bring you the latest news that matter. Our stories are about triumphs as much as about tragedies, always reflecting the complexities of the world we live in.

In this special supplement, we take you through the pages of our history and also look to the future, with perspectives from veteran journalists as well as our loyal readers, along with visuals from the past explaining how we transformed ourselves from that maiden edition, with a front page full of ads, to a respected and trusted international publication.

Like every other profession, we are on the cusp of transformative change with the rise of artificial intelligence and new ways of communication, and we are witnessing some of the most profound shifts in geopolitics that will shape our future.

Seasons change, but we stand firm in our unwavering commitment to the highest standards of journalism, providing our audience around the globe with high-quality, comprehensive and impactful coverage of China, including Hong Kong, our home, along with the region and the wider world. Our promise to preserve and strengthen journalism is here to stay.

We hope you will continue to support us, read us, challenge us and criticise us, if you must – if only to make us do better – but stay with us on the journey. Our promise to preserve and strengthen journalism is here to stay, for the coming decades and beyond.