Transit Jam is an independent news channel, entirely funded in time and money by owner James Ockenden, with no affiliation to any political group or lobby interests.
This report covers the registered newspaper (official title TRANSIT JAM under the Newspaper Ordinance) here at transitjam.com and our former RTHK show Wham Bam Tram!
Our focus is sustainable transport, liveable streets and worker rights in Hong Kong. Within that remit we offer a balanced and impartial professional journalistic resource for a global readership.
Trust
Our newsroom adheres to the UK’s National Union of Journalists Code of Conduct. Where we have made mistakes, we have corrected and retracted as soon as possible.
Note: we do not hold content directly published on other platforms (such as Substack or X) to such high journalistic rigour; Transit Jam’s X in particular is used for off-beat comment, speculation and parody as much as sharing news. This is why we call it the “Unofficial X of Transit Jam”, do not take it too seriously!
Transparency
All staff and fact-checkers etc, including our owner and founder James Ockenden, are unpaid and work on a voluntary basis. In the past we paid freelance journalists industry rates but this was not sustainable given our limited income.
Since 2020 Transit Jam has earned a tiny amount from advertising in our “notices” section: HK$2,000 to date.
This income has not come close to covering our operating costs, which (excluding time) include annual registration with the Office of Newspaper and Article Administration; extensive journalist transport; web, file and email hosting and software subscriptions.
Radio production
We were awarded a grant of around HK$90,000 from RTHK in 2021 and around the same in 2022 for production of our radio show Wham Bam Tram!
All individuals working on the show, from interns to producers, were paid the same flat rate of HK$380 per episode for each of the two 13-episode seasons. The bulk of the RTHK grant was used for studio recording and mastering, in accordance with RTHK procedure. In fact, with careful and efficient use of studio time and a respect for the public money, we came in under budget for both seasons.
At the same time James Ockenden funded, out of pocket, additional items (including an overseas actor for the mini-drama not covered by the RTHK grant, sound effects subscription not covered by the grant and show theme music not covered by the grant) amounting to around HK$15,000.