China: from paid-for paper, to entertainment-only, to free

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 27, 2007 at 3:26 PM

According to Interfax, The Beijing Daily Messenger, one of the capital’s most popular newspapers, run by the municipality, has switched overnight from a retail and subscription model to a freesheet, to become Beijing's first subway free paper.

This summer, the Messenger had already revamped its editorial focus, from presenting relatively serious news to almost pure entertainment.

On the paper’s website, sections for domestic and international news were removed overnight, and its 48 pages were cut down to 36.

Although it seems the switch to entertainment was politically-motivated, could the Messenger’s path be the more frightening trend for news in general?

Source: Danwei.org - Interfax through IFRA Executive News Service