An Afternoon with Tom, Founder of Hong Kong Free Press

It is an invaluable occasion to visit the Hong Kong Free Press office in Cyberport with Tom Grundy, the Editor-in-Chief and Co-director, who shared with us their daily operation and strategic goals with a high level of transparency.

“For the voice of the voiceless, not the powerful”

To protect freedom of the press, HKFP collects funding from multiple sources to avoid external intervention of editorial direction. HKFP emphasizes on independence and political neutrality. They are also producing more original audios, videos, and photographs especially in their featured posts. Tom also shared with us some fun stories in running HKFP, such as topics that are always popular, from Cats to “worst fears confirmed”.

One of our volunteers Justin said:

“What I admire about Tom is that he saw a need for independent news in Hong Kong and decided to fill that hole. Often times, HKFP will highlight social injustices or other stories not covered by competing news outlets. As we toured his office and were given a lesson on the inner workings of his company, I found a great appreciation for the work that goes behind the scenes. If you take a look around, you may be overwhelmed by the hustle of publishing a breaking story or the live analytics of their website’s views. There’s a strong grassroots vibe in that office and an underdog mentality to become one of the bigger news groups in Hong Kong. They’re exploring a new space in Hong Kong which is refreshing for those looking for a different perspective.”

It is not impossible that there are times Tom and his crew are so devoted to their work that they forgot to eat properly! Photo shows Tom shopping for lunch with us in supermarket.

Thank you Tom for the open sharing and the tour to HKFP office. We look forward to your continual quality coverage! The meeting has raised over 20 volunteer hours to St James’ Settlement, Ocean Park Conservation Foundation and more.

For more auctions, visit Time Auction Hong Kong, a platform that connects you with inspiring mentors while encouraging volunteerism.

By Karen Chiu, HKUST Time Auction Ambassador