Stop press: China's presses not about to stop

As newspaper circulations tumble worldwide and as titles close under pressure from the Internet, China is proving to be a haven for those who love the printed page and the smell of ink on their hands.

A report just published by the General Administration of Press and Publication and the Chinese Academy of Press and Publication shows that newspapers are not only showing resilience, but that circulations are rising.

Last year the total number of newspaper copies sold rose from 45.21 billion to 46.74 billion, up 3.4 percent. There were 1,928 newspapers, a mere dozen less than the previous year.

Wei Yushan, vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Press and Publication, says: "Based on the data, we believe that print publications still have room for growth and the market is not saturated yet."

In the past two years newspapers that were unpopular or unprofitable had been closed, which had helped enhance the quality of those remaining, resulting in increases in circulation, he says.

Research by Amy Mitchell and Tom Rosenstiel of the Project for Excellence in Journalism of the Pew Research Center in the US, says global newspapers' woes had deepened last year.

"Even as online audiences grew, print circulation continued to decline. Even more critically, so did ad revenues. In 2011 losses in print advertising dollars outpaced gains in digital revenue by a factor of roughly 10 to 1, a ratio even worse than in 2010. When circulation and advertising revenue are combined, the newspaper industry has shrunk 43 percent since 2000."

Nevertheless, even though total circulation has risen in China, its newspapers, just like those elsewhere, are feeling the pain of competition from the emerging new media, Wei says.

The report shows that the circulation of national newspapers fell last year, while the circulation of their provincial and municipal counterparts rose by 2.91 percent and 6.28 percent respectively.

"It is national newspapers that are now falling victim to the new media," Wei says. "Regional newspapers are feeling the pressure less. The trend is inevitable, both in China and other countries."

Regional papers can provide more local information and a close relationship to their readers that national newspapers cannot match, he says.

"The situation is similar to that in the US, where many (big-city) newspapers have closed, but community newspapers are doing fine."

Zhang Zhi'an, an associate professor at the School of Communication and Design, Sun Yat-sen University, in Guangdong province, says that for newspapers "regional news is the final defense against new media".

Unlike in developed countries, in China, it has not yet come to one form of media wiping out the other, he says, and newspapers in China will have more staying power than their counterparts elsewhere.

In the US, use of the Internet is high, and its users tend to be the better educated, Zhang says, and they quickly abandoned newspapers. In China, while Internet companies can produce their own news content, many rely on newspapers as a source, he says, and new newspapers are still coming out.

"The main battle will be how to grab young readers, who are tech savvy and prefer new media. Meanwhile, both media will co-exist and there may still be 20 years to 30 years before newspapers in China are squeezed out by new media."

Zhou Baohua, an associate professor and research fellow of the Center for Information and Communication Studies of Fudan University, says there is a conflict between newspapers and new media, and that newspapers will greatly change.

"We all know that newspaper professionals are worried about their future. I guess we will see more and more digitalization of traditional media, including newspapers, to expand their readership, to integrate multimedia for distribution of content, and to build their special brand and culture to influence audiences."

Tang Yue and Su Zhou contributed to this story.

linjingcd@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/13/2012 page3)