China's newspaper industry has been ready to make grouping sorties in face of increased challenges from a highly flexible world market. Latest examples are eight newspaper groups that have been formed in China, pushing the country's newspaper industry grouping up to a total of 15 newspaper conglomerates.
The first newspaper group came into existence only three years ago in China, to be followed by a rising trend to form new groupings in the country. The Press and Publication Administration of China has lately mapped out that China's newspaper industry grouping will achieve substantial progress by 2010 and that newspaper conglomerates run on a sizeable grouping basis exceeding over 100 million yuan will by their number reach at least 10 percent of the country's total.
Liang Heng, deputy chairman of Press and Publication Administration of China said in a recent interview that China's newspaper industry grouping will follow the law of the country's socialist market economic system. He pointed it out that policy support by Chinese government will not persist forever and China's newspaper industry is needed by large grouping to acquire increased competitive force to face competitions with other industries on the basis of equality sooner or later.
In line with conventional practice of world media, newspaper industry grouping in China is an efficient way to expand circulation. "Guangzhou Daily", the first newspaper conglomerate in China, has succeeded in achieving a daily circulation amounting to over 1.2 million and an annual income of over 2 billion yuan after taking over 10 smaller newspapers, three magazines and a publishing company. Against this, a daily grouping issuance of over 2 million, 60 percent of local newspaper issues put out in Beijing, has also been achieved by "Beijing Daily".
China's newspaper industry has been ready to make grouping sorties in face of increased challenges from a highly flexible world market. Latest examples are eight newspaper groups that have been formed in China, pushing the country's newspaper industry grouping up to a total of 15 newspaper conglomerates.
