Overview
China Daily was established in June 1981 and has the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in the country (over 500,000 copies per issue, of which a third are abroad). The editorial office is in the Chaoyang District of Beijing, and the newspaper has branch offices in most major cities of China as well as several major foreign cities including New York City, Washington, D.C., and London. The paper is published by satellite in the United States, Hong Kong, and Europe.
Published Monday to Saturday, it is regarded as the English-language "window into China" and is often used as a guide to official policies. It claims to serve an increasing number of foreigners in China, as well as Chinese who wish to improve their English. The editorial policies differ in being slightly more liberal than run-of-the-mill Chinese-language newspapers. The stated goals of the newspaper are the objective presentation of "China and China's news to a unique group of readers and providing services and entertainment specially suited to those readers." Of all mainland Chinese newspapers, China Daily's reporting is claimed to most resemble Western journalism, but it is still clearly more controlled than most international media. On its first publication on June 1, 1981, most of its journalists were Chinese nationals, some of whom had trained in Western institutions. Most of the paper's editorial staff are still Chinese, whose English reports are 'polished' by a small group of expatriate editors employed on short-term contracts.
Unlike newspapers outside of mainland China, like the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, which has its own set of laws and customs regarding press freedom, expatriates hold no senior editorial or management positions in China Daily.
China Daily faced no international competition until the English-language Global Times started in 2009. It specifically targets an international audience, and is often given out for free in hotels. It is also intended to be read by foreign diplomats and tourists as it translates major Chinese media articles in its editorials. The paper also offers programme guides to Radio Beijing and television, daily exchange rates, local entertainment schedules and national and world news.
For the most part, the paper portrays the official policy of the PRC. The editor of the paper has told foreign editors that the paper's editorial policy was to back the Party line and criticize the authorities only if there was deviation from party policy. Despite this, a number of editorials intend to give serious critical comments on both domestic and international issues.
Foreign editors at the paper have been told that like most other state-owned enterprises, China Daily will no longer receive subsidies and the publication group is expected to steadily improve profit margins. The paper has thus adopted a more commercial approach and its editorial content is being pitched increasingly towards a wider range of readers so as to attract more advertising revenue. Much of the publishing group's revenue comes from real estate investments.
The online website of China Daily, located at Chinadaily.com.cn, was established in December 1995, becoming one of the first major Chinese newspapers to have an online presence. It has editions in three languages; Chinese, English, and French. The English language edition contains one of China's largest English language forums, which provides a medium of discussion for topics politics, economics, entertainment, and English lessons. However, the forum has moderators that limits posts critical of government policies and others deemed violations of posting guidelines.
Read more about this topic: China Daily