China: Print, Internet media clash

Posted by Maddie Hanna on May 24, 2006 at 2:42 PM

In China, the conflict between print and online media is coming to a head, a Poynter Institute contributor writes, the declining traditional print industry face to face with an ever-booming Internet media explosion.

The Chinese government regulates the media, so when the Internet took hold in China, it frightened media organizations about their ability to compete. In the late 90s, the government placed restrictions on Internet media sites, allowing them only to post already published information rather than doing their own reporting. Chinese print media provided their news to Web sites for free — seeing it as another way to get their product out and not considering the consequences. Now, hard hit by major losses from a lack of advertising, the print media is forced to watch the Internet media industry skyrocket.

Chinese government restrictions echo what most pundits argue was a lack of investment in Western newspapers’ Internet operations, which throughout much of the evolution of the Internet have been rehashings of the print edition. The regret at most Western newspapers today is that the chance to invest in online was always present; no restrictions were imposed.

Source: The Poynter Institute, EastSouthWestNorth

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