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Friday 27 November 2009
New issue of Caijing reflects sombre mood in empty newsroom
The latest issue of Caijing magazine - the first since the departure of high-profile editor Hu Shuli, who founded the influential business publication 11 years ago - has appeared, with a sombre mood prevailing in the newsroom.
New issue of Caijing reflects sombre mood in empty newsroom
Raymond Li 26 November 2009
The latest issue of Caijing magazine - the first since the departure of high-profile editor Hu Shuli, who founded the influential business publication 11 years ago - has appeared, with a sombre mood prevailing in the newsroom.
The issue hit mainland newsstands on Monday with a cover story wrapping up US President Barack Obama’s visit to China last week.
The most eye-catching piece was a frank editorial written by Wang Boming, the editor-in-chief.
Wang, a former Wall Street banker and head of the Stock Exchange Executive Council, which owns and publishes Caijing, told of how he had to write an editorial for the first time in nearly 12 years. He did so in an empty office after an exodus of staff.
At its peak, the Caijing editorial section boasted a head count of 300, but now it can hardly fill one corner of the newsroom.
“A team of fewer than 20 had to finish the work that was formerly done by nearly 200. They tried to get a complete magazine to you, our respected readers,” Wang wrote.
He pledged to adhere to an independent editorial policy in upholding the public’s right to information and expressed his regret over Hu’s departure. Hu quit Caijing this month along with more than 80 per cent of the editorial staff after failing to settle differences with management over the magazine’s future direction and control of advertising revenue, estimated at 200 million yuan (HK$227 million) a year.
A former Caijing manager said Hu would take up a post as director of the school of communication and design at Sun Yat-sen University next month. She is also expected to launch a new multimedia business venture.
The former manager said Hu’s team offered to stay for one or more issues to ensure a smooth transfer, but the offer was turned down and some of the articles were lifted from two internal test issues produced by a team from weekly financial newspaper Investor Journal.
Sun Xiaoxiao, a loyal reader of Caijing and a former reporter for China Business Post, a Caijing sister publication, hardly noticed any difference in the latest issue.
“But I was a bit upset after reading Wang Boming’s editorial, as a new team is not yet in place,” she said.
Sun said she had great respect for the magazine and was worried about its future - but in the long term she had confidence that Wang’s team could keep Caijing as it was.
“It was not easy for Caijing to get where it is now,” she said.
However, mainland economist Yi Xianrong, from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the quality of the magazine was bound to drop because of the deteriorating media environment.
Yi, who had not read the latest issue of Caijing, said it would be better off if Hu were still there, but nevertheless readers would see “fewer Caijing reports with stings and horns”, meaning there would be fewer provocative reports. “It has much to do with the macro reporting environment in the country. If you do something different, authorities will be sure to come along.”
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New issue of Caijing reflects sombre mood in empty newsroom
Raymond Li
26 November 2009
The latest issue of Caijing magazine - the first since the departure of high-profile editor Hu Shuli, who founded the influential business publication 11 years ago - has appeared, with a sombre mood prevailing in the newsroom.
The issue hit mainland newsstands on Monday with a cover story wrapping up US President Barack Obama’s visit to China last week.
The most eye-catching piece was a frank editorial written by Wang Boming, the editor-in-chief.
Wang, a former Wall Street banker and head of the Stock Exchange Executive Council, which owns and publishes Caijing, told of how he had to write an editorial for the first time in nearly 12 years. He did so in an empty office after an exodus of staff.
At its peak, the Caijing editorial section boasted a head count of 300, but now it can hardly fill one corner of the newsroom.
“A team of fewer than 20 had to finish the work that was formerly done by nearly 200. They tried to get a complete magazine to you, our respected readers,” Wang wrote.
He pledged to adhere to an independent editorial policy in upholding the public’s right to information and expressed his regret over Hu’s departure. Hu quit Caijing this month along with more than 80 per cent of the editorial staff after failing to settle differences with management over the magazine’s future direction and control of advertising revenue, estimated at 200 million yuan (HK$227 million) a year.
A former Caijing manager said Hu would take up a post as director of the school of communication and design at Sun Yat-sen University next month. She is also expected to launch a new multimedia business venture.
The former manager said Hu’s team offered to stay for one or more issues to ensure a smooth transfer, but the offer was turned down and some of the articles were lifted from two internal test issues produced by a team from weekly financial newspaper Investor Journal.
Sun Xiaoxiao, a loyal reader of Caijing and a former reporter for China Business Post, a Caijing sister publication, hardly noticed any difference in the latest issue.
“But I was a bit upset after reading Wang Boming’s editorial, as a new team is not yet in place,” she said.
Sun said she had great respect for the magazine and was worried about its future - but in the long term she had confidence that Wang’s team could keep Caijing as it was.
“It was not easy for Caijing to get where it is now,” she said.
However, mainland economist Yi Xianrong, from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the quality of the magazine was bound to drop because of the deteriorating media environment.
Yi, who had not read the latest issue of Caijing, said it would be better off if Hu were still there, but nevertheless readers would see “fewer Caijing reports with stings and horns”, meaning there would be fewer provocative reports. “It has much to do with the macro reporting environment in the country. If you do something different, authorities will be sure to come along.”
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