NEW MEDIA FRESHENS CHINA-ASEAN DIPLOMACY

From Ahmad Zukiman Zain

BEIJING, March 30 (Bernama) -– A billboard-size screen of its website greets
visitors to the People’s Daily Online (PD Online) centre here as it flashes
up-to-the minute reports of China and the world.

Launched on Jan 1, 1997 by People’s Daily –- one of the world’s top 10
newspapers -- the website has transformed into one of the largest comprehensive
media on the Internet.

People’s Daily Online -- http://www.people.com.cn -- releases news, covering
various fields including politics, economy, society and culture, in real time
and round-the-clock with the support of the newspaper’s more than 70 branches
home and abroad.

Apart from pictures and text numbering up to 10,000 news items per day, the
website uses animation, audio and video clips, the BBS forum, blog, podcast and
webcast that has boosted its daily page-view to chart as much as 200 million.

To appeal to the young audience who surf the internet by cellphones, it has
also combined news releases with games and working with businesses to offer
‘trendies’ like E-book.

Besides the Chinese version (traditional and modern Chinese), the website
offers six foreign languages -- English, Japanese, French, Spanish, Russian and
Arabic.

More could be added over time as PD Online president He Jiazheng said it
hoped to have more languages, when asked if the website would consider having
Malay Language.

“We will need time but we hope one day, we will have this language,” he told
participants of the just-concluded China-Asean Media Cooperation Seminar, the
fourth since its launch in 2002, and hosted by People’s Daily.

After a decade of existence, the website has become an important window
to enable international readers to understand and take a glimpse of China.

But, what's more crucial is that its success story has provided lessons on
how
new and traditional media could co-exist and supplement one another.

He said the rapid growth of new media had put tremendous pressure on, and
poses great challenges to, the traditional media.

“Statistics from the World Association of Newspapers show, in 2009, 507
newspapers in the US saw drastic decreases in circulation.

"The Japanese newspaper, Asahi Shimbun, the world's second biggest
newspaper,
was suffering from its first deficit in 130 years since the start of
publication.

"And in France, 154 out of every 1,000 French citizens buy newspapers
regularly.

"The total revenue of The New York Times dipped 11.5 per cent in the fourth
quarter of 2009 to US$680 million," he said.

Meanwhile, its Internet advertisement revenue rose 10.6 per cent to
US$90.6
million, accounting for 23 per cent of all its advertisement revenue, he said.

This, he said, showed that along with the challenges, the media found even
more opportunities and new sources of revenue.

With publication having begun in June 1948 and a current circulation of
three million, People's Daily is among the most influential and authoritative
newspapers in China. According to UNESCO, it takes its place among the world's
top 10.

He said, while the 14-year-old website depended on the People’s Daily group
financial support in its early years, it had recorded profit over the last two
years and “made some contribution to the group” .

Its well-equipped audio-visual studio for live internet coverage was built,
using its own revenue.


Asean Secretariat assistant director Linda Lee said, with new technology for
mobile phones and the internet, the spread of new media was likely to increase,
enhancing greater interactivity.

“In Asean, we have a relatively young population - about half of the 580
million people. The new media -– blogging, social networks, video sharing,
podcasting etc -- may appeal more to them than traditional media,” she said.

It was good news for the Asean delegates when a senior official in charge of
the country’s press policy assured them that China was prepared to discuss
viable media projects to strengthen cooperation with the 10 member-grouping.

Liu Yunshan, head of publicity department of the Communist Party of China
Central Committee, said the mechanism for such ventures were institutionalised
through the China-Asean Media Cooperation Seminar.

“There is big potential for us to strengthen cooperation, particularly in
media technology. What is important is to identify good projects and ensure
their efficiency,” he said.

Asean Secretariat assistant director Linda Lee said, with new technology
for
mobile phones and the internet, the spread of new media was likely to increase,
enhancing greater interactivity.

“In Asean, we have a relatively young population - about half of the 580
million people. The new media -– blogging, social networks, video sharing,
podcasting etc -- may appeal more to them than traditional media,” she said.

It was good news for the Asean delegates when a senior official in charge of
the country’s press policy assured them that China was prepared to discuss
viable media projects to strengthen cooperation with the 10 member-grouping.

Liu Yunshan, head of publicity department of the Communist Party of China
Central Committee, said the mechanism for such ventures were institutionalised
through the China-Asean Media Cooperation Seminar.

“There is big potential for us to strengthen cooperation, particularly in
media technology. What is important is to identify good projects and ensure
their efficiency,” he said.

-- BERNAMA