TRADITIONAL MEDIA ORGANISATIONS MUST ADAPT TO CHANGES IN NEW MEDIA, SAYS

BEIJING, Oct 8 (Bernama) -- The traditional media are facing unprecedented
challenges in this digital age and, if they stay put and refuse to accept
changes, their influence on public opinion and market share could eventually
shrink with time, Xinhua News Agency president Li Congjun said Thursday.

"New media using the Internet and handphones as their means of distribution
of their 'rich' content are easy to access," he said, adding that their more
flexible business models would attract more readership and advertisement
revenue.

In a special interview prior to the two-day World Media Summit beginning
here tomorrow, he said the traditional media could still thrive and improve
their business models and expand readership by leveraging on information and
communication technology (ICT).

"If they (are quick to) follow the trends, ready to adopt changes on how
news is distributed, the traditional media could maintain and even enhance their
competitive edge and influence," said Li.

In entering the 21st century, he said, the fast-track development of
information technology had resulted in tremendous changes in the ways and habits
of people accessing information, he said.

New technologies, he said, had made news distribution and the integration of
multimedia content move to a new level.

Li said the pace of development of the new media in China was the fastest in
the world where the Internet media and handphones had become important sources
of information.

"China's media industry had explored various ways to cope with the
challenges of the digital age," Li said, adding that some Chinese traditional
media organisations had improved their traditional businesses since they
actively entered the new media world to capture new markets and sources of
income.
-- BERNAMA