Every time the paper media is shut down, it will always cause a hot discussion on the Internet. Recently, the online newspaper Jinghua Times has to be shut down and turned around, which has triggered various discussions. Some people think that this is the decline of "paper media", some people think that this is the result of the outdated production method of paper media content, and some people think that this is the embodiment of the newspaper industry’s dilemma. After the tide of newspaper restructuring, some newspapers are full-time or balance allocation institutions, and some newspapers are self-financing enterprises; The business models of various newspapers are not the same, and the reasons behind every newspaper reform and adjustment are diversified. It is inevitable to talk about the future of a media form from a case. Jinghua Times is a popular newspaper with readers and enjoys a good reputation in the field of national metropolis newspapers, but in recent years, it has also been plagued by the loss of readers and the decline of business. Judging from the market-oriented reform process of China newspaper industry, the reform and adjustment of Jinghua Times in the highly competitive Beijing Metropolis Daily market is not an unexpected thing, but a normal phenomenon under the laws of the media market and a reasonable phenomenon in the process of newspaper structure adjustment.
First, the adjustment of the industry structure of metropolis daily under the market law
Jinghua Times was founded in 2001, which was the golden age of metropolis daily. The Beijing News was founded in 2003; The two newspapers quickly occupied a place in the highly competitive Beijing Metropolis Daily market. At that time, most of the first-and second-tier cities in China set off a wave of establishing metropolitan newspapers, and many other types of newspapers also adjusted their positioning and transformed into metropolitan newspapers. The market competition of metropolitan newspapers in various places became increasingly fierce, and at the same time, a large number of elites in newspaper management emerged. Profitable metropolis daily has become the darling of media industries all over the world. Apart from meeting the information needs of the masses, it is also a major task for metropolis daily to make profits and transfuse blood for its newspaper group. More and more urban newspaper markets have entered a state of excessive competition, and it is very common for provincial newspapers and prefecture-level newspapers to compete in the same city.
In the past ten years, the most important rule is the market rule around the adjustment of the industry structure of metropolis daily. If there is a lack of metropolitan newspapers in a certain area and the market demand is large, then other types of newspapers will be transformed into metropolitan newspapers; If the metropolitan newspapers in a certain area compete excessively, then some newspapers that are not suitable for competition will withdraw from the market.
Beijing is an over-competitive market for urban newspapers. Today, we can see the Beijing News, Beijing Youth Daily, Beijing Evening News, Beijing Morning News and Legal Evening News. For more than ten years, there have been many metropolis newspapers coming in and out. Beijing daily messenger was renamed from Drama Film Newspaper in 2000, and once played an important role in the market of Beijing Metropolis Daily. In 2007, it abandoned its position as a metropolis newspaper and transformed into a subway newspaper. "Jingbao" was founded in 2004 and closed in 2014. At the beginning of its establishment, it also tried to participate in the market competition of metropolis daily. Huaxia Times changed its name from China Materials Newspaper in 2001, and was originally a metropolis newspaper. In 2007, it was transformed into a financial newspaper. "Labor Lunch" also worked as a metropolis daily. In 2009, it gave up its position as a metropolis daily and returned to be the organ newspaper of Beijing Federation of Trade Unions. Today, it is not surprising if Jinghua Times is faced with reform and adjustment.
Second, the integration of newspaper products under the logic of enterprise management
Jinghua Times was under the People’s Daily from 2001 to 2011. In 2011, it was transferred to the director of the Propaganda Department of Beijing Municipal Committee. The Beijing News was jointly sponsored by Guangming Daily and Nanfang Daily in 2003, and was headed by Guangming Daily Group. In 2011, it was transferred to the director of the Propaganda Department of Beijing Municipal Committee. The assets related to the two newspapers are funded by the Beijing State-owned Cultural Assets Supervision and Administration Office (hereinafter referred to as the Cultural Assets Office).
The change of the organizers and investors in charge of Jinghua Times and Beijing News has changed the main pattern of operators in Beijing Metropolis Daily market. Beijing Evening News and Beijing Morning Post, affiliated to Beijing Daily, sponsored by the Propaganda Department of Beijing Municipal Committee, and Jinghua Times and Beijing News, sponsored by Beijing Municipal Committee, are all metropolis newspapers. In a highly competitive market, just like the integration of Youku and Tudou, and the integration of Kuaidi and Didi, it is a rational decision to integrate competing enterprises or institutions under the same investor. The specific reform plan of Jinghua Times has not been disclosed, and the online information said that it would merge with Beijing Morning Post, which just avoided the competition of two urban newspapers with similar content structure under the same investor.
Third, the survival logic of newspapers determined by technical, market and institutional factors
Technical factors, market factors and institutional factors are the basic factors that affect the pattern of media market and the evolution of media form. Technical factors promote the emergence of a media form, while market factors and institutional factors provide economic sources and regulatory framework for it. Newspapers are also based on certain media technology, and they are born in response to market demand and political demand; Within the regulatory framework provided by the system, it obtains operating income from the market or financial assistance from other stakeholders (such as the government, political parties, enterprises or various social organizations) to maintain its economic operation.
Technical factors lead to the change of media form and change the situation of media business model. After the emergence of the Internet based on new communication technology, the media contact time of the audience gradually tilted towards the Internet, and the contact time of traditional media was generally squeezed. After the popularity of mobile Internet, the media contact space of the audience has also undergone profound changes. The audience can receive news and other content information through the mobile Internet anytime and anywhere, and the original portable reading advantage of newspapers is no longer available. The contact time and space of newspapers have been compressed, and the audience group has shrunk. The business model of metropolis daily, which mainly relies on large-scale distribution and obtains market advertising income, has been the first to bear the negative impact. The current media market environment is difficult to support a large number of metropolitan newspapers that operate according to the traditional model.
From the narrow sense of paper newspapers, as long as the market demand for paper media reading still exists, the living space of newspapers based on these market demands still exists. The problem is only which newspapers should adjust their business models and which newspapers should withdraw from the market. At the same time, the living space of newspapers based on political needs will undoubtedly continue to exist for a long time. From the perspective of paper media operators in a broad sense, whether to continue publishing paper products is a product decision-making problem based on cost accounting and enterprise strategy; Whether providing paper products or digital products, specialized content production that can meet people’s information needs can always get market returns.
Four, and "shut down and turn" related to the reform of the newspaper system
It is normal for all industries in modern society to "shut down and turn around" in areas with insufficient market competitiveness and overcapacity, not because the newspaper industry is an industry with ideological particularity. At the institutional level, the institutional construction related to the newspaper industry’s "shutting down and turning around" has already been paved.
In my impression, there was a similar discussion about the newspaper’s "shutting down and turning" earlier. One was the indiscriminate control of newspapers in 2004, and the other was the closure and liquidation of China News in 2009. When the former happened, the relevant system was not perfect enough, and the relevant industry discussions were all aimed at the indiscriminate distribution of newspapers and periodicals, but there was no more discussion on the system of shutting down newspapers and periodicals itself. When the latter happened, the representative view at that time was that it was a sign of the progress of newspaper reform and market operation in China. If the organizer in charge thinks that the newspaper is difficult to operate, it is a reasonable decision to take the initiative to apply to stop publishing and reduce the financial burden.
Compared with the emerging Internet information industry, the operation system, mechanism, organization and management of the press and publication industry are relatively backward. In the new media market environment, the living space of traditional press and publication institutions is reduced, but the number of press and publication institutions under the traditional institution system is difficult to reduce. Therefore, government departments have long embarked on a series of reforms to make institutional arrangements for the market withdrawal of press and publication institutions.
The important institutional preparation for the newspaper’s "shutdown and transfer" is the reform of the newspaper withdrawal system and the transformation of news publishing units into enterprises about ten years ago. In 2005, it was mentioned in the Regulations on the Administration of Newspaper Publishing and the Regulations on the Administration of Periodical Publishing issued by the then General Administration of Press and Publication that "the planning of the total amount, structure and layout of newspaper publishing in China should be formulated and implemented, and the supervision and management systems such as the comprehensive evaluation system of newspaper publishing quality, the annual verification system of newspapers and periodicals and the exit mechanism of newspapers and periodicals should be established and improved". In 2008, the pilot work of newspaper withdrawal began, and in 2011, the quality evaluation of newspaper publishing began and the work of newspaper withdrawal was gradually promoted. Almost at the same time, the press and publication units were transformed into enterprises, and the press and publication units that met the conditions for restructuring were transformed into enterprises with their own hematopoietic capacity. The reform of the exit mechanism of newspapers and periodicals and the transformation of news publishing units into enterprises are aimed at the new media market environment. On the one hand, they promote the business integration and upgrading of traditional news publishing institutions and improve their market viability. On the other hand, they learn from the experience and lessons of state-owned enterprise reform and properly coordinate the issues of asset liquidation and personnel placement in the reform process.
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Under the joint action of technology, market and system, the evolution of media form is a natural trend; As long as the market demand of a certain media form still exists, this media form will have room to survive, but the relevant media organizations must adjust their business model or business structure according to the changes in the market environment. In the media environment of China, institutional factors will continue to provide survival guarantee for some newspapers, and at the same time provide institutional preparation for individual newspapers to withdraw from the market. In the future, news that individual newspaper products have withdrawn from the market or made business adjustments will continue to appear, which is a normal phenomenon under market rules; There is still room for survival and development for all kinds of market entities engaged in the production of professional content, including newspaper operators. (Associate Professor Han Xiaoning, School of Journalism, Renmin University of China)