One more newspaper down: Are print media doomed?   

新媒体时代多家纸媒休刊 传统报业未来引关注

A homepage of News Times. [Photo /www.xwwb.com]

Beijing (ECNS) – More newspapers in China are losing ground in the digital age.

On Thursday, 15-year-old News Times declared that it's slated for closure on May 1. News Times is a morning newspaper with a circulation of over 500,000 under the Shanghai Media Group.

In January, the Shanghai Evening Post shut down, becoming the first newspaper to stop publication since the establishment of Shanghai United Media Group. The Evening Post had a daily circulation of over 750,000.

A Beijing-based weekly newspaper called The First also declared termination from April 25. The First was created in 2004 as a propaganda vehicle for the Beijing Olympic Games. Its circulation began to slump after the Games, and in 2009 the newspaper trimmed its 220 reporter team to only 50. 

Some people have been moaning over the demise of traditional newspapers, saying it's an inevitable trend as technology renders newspapers obsolete.

Others are more optimistic.

Media expert Xu Shengguo said the demise of a few newspapers doesn't mean the demise of print news, as the demand for news never diminishes.

What traditional media should do, Xu said, is to keep focusing on providing quality content while proactively adjusting to readers' changing habits.

At the New Media Summit hosted by China News Service this week, Internet expert Fang Xingdong said traditional media could collaborate with Internet companies to explore new business models.

What nearly everyone agreed on is that traditional media must either adapt, or die.

By Qian Ruisha