ReNews is a Hong Kong–based online news outlet established in 2022. Operated solely, the outlet was founded in response to the consecutive shutdowns of Hong Kong pro-democratic media outlets and primarily covers non-mainstream political news.
History
Founder and sole operator Lam Yin-pong has worked as a journalist for Hong Kong Cable Television, Hong Kong Economic Times, TVB, and Stand News for sixteen years.[1] After the closure of pro-democratic media outlets such as Apple Daily, Citizen News, and his former employer Stand News, Lam decided to found ReNews to provide an alternative news source.[1][2] The news outlet was established on 19 April 2022.[3] He chose to operate the outlet alone to avoid implicating others in potential investigations.[1][4] The outlet was named "ReNews", signifying a repackaging and reinterpretation of significant but overlooked news from mainstream media.[4] It releases three to four reports per day, all authored and photographed by Lam, with 70% focused on daily news and 30% consisting of opinion pieces and interviews, covering topics that he believes mainstream media may overlook or avoid.[1][4][5]
The outlet is completely free to read,[4] relying entirely on reader subscriptions via Patreon for its funding.[5][6] Within ten days of its establishment, ReNews attracted over 25,000 followers.[4] By December 2023, it had grown to over 110,000 followers on Instagram and more than 100,000 followers on Facebook.[7] The outlet was known for launching a series of interviews with political prisoners.[7][8]
