“It is a shock even though we knew it would happen sooner or later, either to the China Times or another newspaper,” said Vince Cheng, managing director of MEC Taiwan.
The China Times will drop from 13 to 10 broadsheet pages and eliminate its local news bureaus, 19 of which are scattered around the island.
Half of its 1,200 staff are to be laid off. In future, the editorial focus will be on national news. Another major paper, the United Evening News is also considering its future. “We are feeling the same pressure,” said George Shuang, president of the United Evening News.
“The mainstream newspapers are hit the hardest but niche market papers, like the Economic Daily News, are doing fine.” Last year, the China Times was reported to have advertising income of NT$1.7 billion (US$560 million), a third of what it was during print advertising’s peak in 1998.
Speaking of the China Times Group, MEC’s Cheng said: “Its print media is relatively weak.”
Last year it closed the China Evening News and Marie Claire. The group’s broadcasting interests are faring better. “As a group, their CTV and CTi [cable TV] are profitable,” Cheng said.
Shuang said a recent news print price rise was “salt in the wound” at a time when advertising revenue for newspapers was shrinking fast.
China Times announces drastic downsizingg
TAIPEI - Taiwan's China Times has announced it is to produce a dramatically smaller paper and drastically cut staff.
