|
Highbrow magazines hit a low
By Wang Shanshan (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-07-12 08:27 Becoming marginalized
The ups and downs of Book Town illustrate how an
"intellectual magazine" can become marginalized.
It was founded in 1993
by Ni Moyan, a renowned scholar of modern Chinese literature, with investment
from the Shanghai Municipal Press and Publication Bureau. At first, it enjoyed
quite a reputation among intellectual circles, with its stories often arousing
widespread feedback and being reprinted by other media.
During the
mid-1990s, the magazine claimed a circulation of 30,000. But it carried few
advertisements, if any, and had to ask constantly for financial support from the
municipal publication bureau.
In 1998, State-owned Shanghai Sanlian
Bookstore Co Ltd took ownership as part of an industry-wide reform in which the
government severed its ties with most magazines.
But two years later,
Sanlian Bookstore Co Ltd closed Book Town, which was losing more than 200,000
yuan (US$25,000) annually, according to a report in China Reading Weekly. It
didn't reappear until December 2001, after 21st Century Newspaper Corporation
bailed it out with money and editors.
By the end of 2004, the newspaper
corporation had lost more than 3 million yuan (US$375,000) on the magazine. Book
Town was abandoned again, but merely one month later it received new investment
from four large enterprises in Beijing.
After struggling for another
year, the magazine announced it would stop publishing again last December.
Shanghai Jiu Jiu Reading Co Ltd provided funding in May to allow it to start up
again.
The new investor wants the magazine to take on a fashionable look.
On the editorial committee, popular writers have replaced college professors,
and Yu Qiuyu, a well-known author, became the honorary
editor-in-chief.
The new issue presented in June comprises mainly
introductions to novels and other new books that are expected to become
bestsellers, and also articles about the joys of life such as the mellow aroma
of East China yellow rice wine.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
| Most Popular Stories in 48 Hours |
|
|
|
|
