Few Hong Kong residents sit on the fence when it comes to the city's leading English-language newspaper, the South China Morning Post (Post).
But love it or loath it, its recent circulation growth is undeniable.
According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the average daily circulation of the Post, Monday to Saturday, over the six months to the end of June was 100,004 copies - an increase of 8.3 per cent over the corresponding period in 2003.
This is, undoubtedly, welcome news as the Post grappled with several challanges in recent times. Declining revenue led to significant staff cuts during the economic dowturn, and the continued Asian expansion of international titles such as the Financial Times and the Asian Wall Street Journal has raised questions over its dominant status in Hong Kong. Its director of marketing and communications, Amanda Turnbull, puts the recovery down to two factors: "It is far more energetic marketing and distribution, but it is also the product.
"One of the key things is we have been doing so many special reports and very targeted supplements to appeal to our infrequent readers. On the days they appear, we make sure we promote them heavily in the skybox and point-of-sale."
The month of September, for example, saw something of an explosion of supplements - over 40 were published. Events such as the Olympics, the Shanghai Grand Prix, and the Post's own centenary campaign have made ideal fodder for such reports. "We're trying to provide value-added content which will draw people into the paper," confirms Turnbull.
Both classified and display advertising have, consequently, rebounded.
Display ads grew by 21 per cent for the first nine months of 2004, year-on-year, while classified revenue surged by 51 per cent over the first three-quarters of this year.
According to MindShare Hong Kong and Shenzhen CEO KK Tsang, the rise in adspend can be attributed to the economic revival. In such a climate, Tsang sees the Post's reputation as a definite bonus.
"More clients are interested because of the economic bounce-back," says Tsang. "A lot of brands spend more money on image building now - they will rely on the image of the Post to build the same image for their brand."
In terms of competition, furthemore, Tsang sees local papers as far more of a threat than the regional ones. "Most readers who read a regional title will also read a local title, so it is more complementary than competitive."