Tag Archives: Reuters

MEDIA: Reuters Trims China News Site, in Bow to Beijing

Bottom line: Reuters decision to put its Chinese-language website on hold is partly a surrender to Beijing, but also acknowledges that new approaches are needed to succeed in the nation’s restrictive media space.

Reuters revamps China consumer strategy

No one else is writing about the latest strategic shift at Reuters’ (NYSE: TRI) Chinese language news site in Beijing, probably because the actual number of headcount reductions is quite small, at less than 10. But the move has huge symbolic significance, since it looks like an admission of defeat to Beijing censors who blocked the site in China more than a year ago. At the same time, the move also represents a certain realism, and the fact that Chinese consumers increasingly get their news via other channels anyhow, most notably social media. Read Full Post…

MEDIA: China’s ‘Business Insider’ Reels in SMG

Bottom line: Wall Street Round-Up’s new venture funding from China Media Capital testifies to its rapid rise, using a similar formula to the popular US-based Business Insider financial news aggregator.

SMG backs Wall Street Round-Up

A fast-rising financial news website that looks like China’s answer to the popular US site Business Insider has just netted its latest funding, in the amount of a relatively modest 100 million yuan ($15 million). But what’s attracting the biggest interest in this story is the source of the funding, which is coming from China Media Capital (CMC), the new media investment arm of the aggressive Shanghai Media Group (SMG).

As a member of the media, this story is of particular interest to me because of the controversial nature of the funding recipient, called Huawerjie Jianwen, or roughly Wall Street Round-Up. The company was founded as a financial news blog in New York in 2010 by a group of young entrepreneurs, but its rapid rise didn’t begin until they returned to China in 2013 and re-registered the company here in Shanghai. Read Full Post…

MEDIA: Luxury Slowdown Clips Phoenix’s Wings

Bottom line: Sputtering demand for luxury goods and cars is likely to hamstring Phoenix Satellite TV’s earnings for at least the next year, as the company increasingly loses ground to new media rivals.

Sliding luxury demand undermines Phoenix

The recent slowdown in China’s luxury goods market is claiming one of its first victims in the media realm, with Phoenix Satellite TV (HKEx: 2008) warning that a sudden chill in luxury ad sales has wiped out its profits in the first half of the year. The news certainly doesn’t bode well for traditional media companies, which are a favored place for luxury goods makers to advertise. Car makers are another major source of ad revenue for these older media companies, and rapidly slowing sales in that sector also means that names like Phoenix and even some new media high-flyers like Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) and Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) could be looking at a difficult period ahead. Read Full Post…

MEDIA: Alibaba Moves Into Financial Media With SMG

Bottom line: Alibaba’s new tie-up with SMG could produce a homegrown financial news and information giant drawing on both companies’ strengths, but could also face obstacles due to the 2 partners’ differing backgrounds and styles.

Alibaba buys into SMG financial newspaper

E-commerce titan Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) is taking an interesting new step into the news media realm, with word that it’s investing 1.2 billion yuan ($200 million) in one of China’s leading financial newspapers that is owned by Shanghai Media Group (SMG), the country’s second largest state-owned media company. I’ve watched for the last couple of years as traditional newspapers like SMG’s China Business News, or CBN, have struggled to chart a new path in the digital media age.

For many of these traditional media, that movement has meant putting their content online, and launching a mobile app, but not much more. As a result, many are seeing their revenue shrink as advertisers flock to more dynamic new media, mirroring a trend in the west. In that light, this new Alibaba tie-up could breathe some new life into CBN’s new media push, providing new ideas and other expertise to reverse the newspaper’s decline.

Read Full Post…

MEDIA: Xinhua, AP Talk Tie-Ups In Strange New Media World

Bottom line: AP’s willingness to consider new tie-ups with Xinhua is the result of economic pressures being felt by western media, but is unlikely to produce any major alliances due to the potential for negative publicity.

AP open to deeper partnership with Xinhua

Rapid changes in the traditional media realm are creating some strange bedfellows, and the situation looks even stranger in China due to the strong elements of censorship and state control. That odd combination of circumstances is creating a perfect storm that has led some western media companies to do the previously unthinkable and consider partnerships with some of China’s most centrally controlled media. Recent rumors have said that global financial news leader Bloomberg may be considering such a tie-up, and now the latest reports are saying US media giant Associated Press (AP) is also open to such partnerships. Read Full Post…

MEDIA: Chinese Fire Wall Slams Down On Reuters

Bottom line: The latest blockage of Reuters sites in China is probably temporary and related to coverage during the recent National People’s Congress, but still reflects the very real risk of doing business in the tightly controlled media market.

Reuters websites blocked in China

China’s latest crackdown on foreign media has just netted global news giant Reuters (Toronto: RTR), in a potentially worrisome trend that has seen Chinese censors block a growing number of websites operated by big multinationals. Despite longer-term crackdowns on big names like Bloomberg and the New York Times, Reuters had managed to largely steer clear of China’s censors and its websites have remained largely accessible in China for most of the last 2 years.

But I couldn’t access any of Reuters sites in Shanghai starting last Thursday, and later reports confirmed the company’s Chinese- and English-language websites have been blocked throughout the country since then. (English article) Before I go any further, I should disclose that I previously worked at Reuters for a decade, and maintain contact with many of my former colleagues 4 years after leaving the company. Reuters Chinese site also is a regular user of my work, though apparently none of that has been viewable in China for the last few days. Read Full Post…

MEDIA: Caixin Lawsuit Takes On Pirates At Sina, Sohu

Bottom line: Caixin’s new lawsuit against leading portals Sohu, Sina and Hexun could mark the start of a much-needed clean-up that will end the practice of rampant copyright violations among major Chinese news sites.

Caixin sues Sina, Sohu for illegal copying

I’m giving this week’s special award for bravery to cutting-edge financial news publisher Caixin, which is challenging the widespread illegal copying of copyrighted articles that occurs daily on Chinese news sites. Everyone knows that this kind of piracy is rampant in China, but some might be surprised to learn that companies targeted in Caixin’s new lawsuit include some of China’s top news portals, led by Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) and Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU). I was also just slightly embarrassed to see that one of the companies being sued is financial news and information site Hexun, which is backed by my former employer Reuters (Toronto: TRI). Read Full Post…

News Digest: March 21-23, 2015

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 21-23. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════

  • Bacardi Challenges Baijiu With Tea-Based “Tang” Liquor Developed For China (Chinese article)
  • Yidao Welcomes Cooperation With Uber, Sees No Need For Merger (Chinese article)
  • Sohu’s (Nasdaq: SOHU) Sougou Eyes US IPO In 2nd Half 2015, Sees Value At $3 Bln (Chinese article)
  • Reuters (Toronto: TR) Websites Blocked In China (English article)
  • Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) Hits 52-Week Low on Wider Q4 Loss, SEC Probe (English article)
  • Latest calendar for Q4 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)