Independent news company, All About Macau (AAM), has announced that it will cease operations by December.
Known for its thorough if critical coverage of local issues, the media outlet said in a statement yesterday that it would no longer publish a magazine following the release of a commemorative October issue. Meanwhile, AAM’s website and social media platforms will “suspend” updates starting from 20 December 2025.
Facing “resource constraints” and what it characterised as “mounting external pressures,” AAM said that it was “increasingly difficult to maintain reporting standards,” which left it “no choice, but to make the difficult decision” to close.
The media outlet was itself in the headlines over the conduct of its reporters at the Chief Executive’s (CE) 2025 policy address Q&A session on 15 April, and at a session involving the then-secretary for administration and justice, André Cheong on 17 April.
On the first occasion, AAM said its journalists were issued a permit that only allowed them to view a livestream of the CE’s Q&A session from another room – a condition that would have prevented them from asking questions. The reporters were asked to refrain from filming and to follow ushers’ instructions, although they failed to comply, as they considered the directives to be “unreasonable.”
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On the second occasion, the AAM reporters were not permitted into the legislative chamber, as ushers noted that there was a “limited amount of space.” Again, they were invited to cover the event from another room. However, the government noted that the reporters rejected the request, leading to the police removing them for “obstruction of order.”
As a result of these events, three AAM reporters were accused of criminal conduct and may face prosecution.
As well, AAM was informed by the Government Information Bureau in October that its monthly publication registration had been cancelled, as it was deemed ineligible to engage in publication under Macao laws.
A government letter cited by local media indicates that the authorities revoked AAM’s print publication eligibility as the outlet did not fulfil the requirement of having a publisher who was based in Macao.
Co-founded by the late Macao journalist Ng Sio Ngai in 2010, AAM was originally a print newspaper, although it expanded to online publication in 2012. A year later, the media outlet issued its first monthly magazine.
The closure of AAM comes four years after the demise of Macau Concealers, another media outlet that reported social issues critically. It terminated its operations in October 2021, claiming “unprecedented changes in the environment” and “a lack of resources.”
