Sinosight Editor-in-chief Xie Weilie

　　New Media: China’s Media Strategy Embraces Subversive Innovation

　　Sinosight Editor-in-chief Xie Weilie

　　Report on Development of China's Media Industry (2010) by the Media Economics and Management center of Tsinghua University reveals that the total output of China's media industry grew by 16.3 percent to RMB 490.796 billion in 2009 and is expected to grow 14.5 percent year on year to RMB 562 billion in 2010. The growth engine comes from the new media, for which there is no standard definition yet. In a broad sense, it means digitized traditional media, including value-added electronic publications, digital newspaper and magazine, and touch media extended from print media; digital audio & video broadcast, digital TV & on-board TV. Of course new media also include mobile media like IPTV, cyber video, animation, WAP, mobile TV, SMS, and micro blog &internet. The subversion of China’s media strategy has been triggered by exponential growth of mobile media. China now has 404 m netizens and a 28.9% internet penetration, which for the first time has overtaken the world’s average 22%. About 233 m netizens in the country surge the internet via their mobile phones, a number larger than that of the EU. The market capacity of the internet economy has surged to RMB 74.3 b.

　　Further data show currently 92% of China’s villages and 99.1% of its towns have internet access. In terms of network infrastructure for mobile media, China has completed “overtaking on a bend” in macro communication strategy and the communication platform of interactive information with the international community has taken its shape, which means that the strategic room of the traditional media has been squeezed to a turning point that an institutional package must be carried out. Challenges from new media will indirectly affect the transformation accuracy of strategic layout of the nation’s soft power and directly affect the transformation mode from a vast media country to a strong media country. China has developed 1,943 newspapers, 9,468 periodicals, and 296 TV stations in over 60 years, printing 2,000 b copies of newspapers. In contrast, the number of the websites of new media has risen sharply to 3.23 m in eight years. The output of China’s media industry has doubled since 2004, the biggest contribution coming from new media (mobile media) that account for 31% of the total output. Although merely about one third, given the short period of five years, I believe that no one will doubt about the complete subversion of China’s media industry by the increment of new media-they will likely account for 70% plus. Consequently, the audiences of new media will surpass that of the traditional newspapers, magazines, and radio and TV stations and accurate seamless communication of civil society will prevail. I hope China will present the international community a harmonious, better-off society that is sounder economically and more democratic politically.

　　China’s media strategy cannot wait for innovation largely because of the inertia resulting from long-term superstable nonlinear movement. Nevertheless, owing to the policies on integration of three networks and information industry, especially the presence of multiple regulators, there are signs that the original strategy system is falling apart. Therefore, we should be prescient and preempt 4G beyond 3G while breaking the monopoly of regional media in the new regulatory context. Then we should undermine the information monopoly of the conventional media using new media and reshuffle. These two moves are like keeping alive eyes in the go game.

　　China’s media strategy needs badly a complete change because if we fail to secure a position in the context of global digital communication, we will find ourselves have no say again in technical standards and communication influence alike. Secondly, once the time window for innovation in cloud computing, Smarter Planet, and other technical trends is closed, China’s media industry, especially the new media sector, will be strategically adversely positioned how to seek breakthroughs in the regulatory system of a variety of departments without the support of policy resources, increase the increment of derivative contents (products), enhance value addition of brand resources through marginal utility, boost operation performance, generate derivative content using relatively scarce technologies in the intersection of the new and old media are questions the media industry must answer. But the value chain is rather fragile. Without revolutionizing the existing media strategy, the new media will become a one-trick pony.

　　Look at how the media is doing around the globe. In the UK, 70% of local newspapers have been closed and 15% of the USA’s media employees have “retired” in the past two years. Regional newspapers like The Christian Science Monitor and TV Weekly have shifted from hard copy to network edition. In contrast, across China’s media industry only China Journalists News was washed out last year. The “hypernormal” state indicates how difficult the communication institutional transform can be. I cannot predict what else will come along after the numbness brought about by the super-stability of the traditional media. But new media will grow explosively in fighting back. During the transit from Web2.0 to 3.0, you will find the advent of SNS and micro blog has shifted information communication from traditional mass media to personal “media”, from reactive release to active discovery, and from predefined distribution to customized sharing! Revolutionary features such as the high enrichment, fragmentation, and randomness brought about by micro blog, in particular, has dried the last drop of dignity of China’s entrenched media industry. The Internet of Things after the internet, 4G after 3G, three screen integration (computer, TV set, and mobile phone) after three net integration (telecom, cable, and internet), and omnimedia after multimedia, all of which are innovative musts for radically changing China’s media strategy. The keywords of the Internet of Things, 4G, three screen integration, and omnimedia will be the very nodes in overcoming the policy and institutional defects in the next five years.

　　As one of the explorers of the business model of new media in China, I have witnessed my “China auto information broadcast” has upgraded to “China Network Financial Review”. I think that in terms of innovation for niche market where broadcast and TV are integrated cyber content providers, Sinosight has arguably built a prescient “microcirculation” strategic platform an omnimedia platform led by personal brand, with omnimedia portfolio consisting of the best media resources: “My car” of The Travel Channel, Lao Xie auto talk of CNR China Business Radio, “financial view”, Auto Weekly of China Quality Daily & China Consumer News, the auto& finance channel of ten portal websites (blog& mobile micro blog). The audience from Monday through Sunday reaches over 100 m person times. We’ve extended our focus beyond the auto industry to a lot of other areas of finance (excluding stock market& financial planning, and sports industry) and become the most universal player with the biggest audience stickiness in the “microcirculation” of China’s media industry. Even at 2010 China-US Business Summit held in Los Angeles, my introduction of personal omnimedia platform left a deep impression on attendants including representatives from the International Trade Administration, California State senators, and US entrepreneurs. The local media executives arranged 1:1 confidential meetings through the organizing committee to let the US media know more about the innovation from China! I personally think in a sense the omnimedia platform I have invented rivals or outshines the US’s major media in mechanism, operation, and especially performance.

　　You'll agree when you look at three things: the path of communication, the influence, and the investment and output ratio. Recently I talked with the president of a world-class 4A company and was surprised to learn that my RIO was three times as much as that of a lot of others’ teams! This has proved my three original points of view which I emphasize at every “China Auto Net Media Forum”: the principle of being profession for its own sake, the idea of segment market and niche services, and the strategy of “unrestricted asymmetry” (smart power) communication. It’s this frame that gives me the say at 2010 China-US Business Summit to talk face-to-face with western US financial and media. It’s hard to imagine the anxious look on the US entrepreneurs queuing up to talk with me One on One if you have not seen it! I told Mr. Steven Shen, the Chairman of 2010 China-US Business Summit frankly: “As my country has given me the opportunity to create omnimedia, I feel dignified to be invited to 2010 China-US Business Summit because of my strength”. My belief was intensified when I heard him say “I’ve little expected that China’s media can have such a platform of personal influence that is not found in the US where the communication industry is very developed. You know, even the Oprah’s talk show is backed by teams and companies of over a hundred and you are alone?！”

　　Kim Holland, Representative for California Governor's Office and Co-Chair of China-US Business Summit and Xie Weilie, producer & anchorman of China Network Financial Review co-host the closing ceremony of the summit.

　　Maybe Yahoo Finance Director Mao Yue was right when he said my personal omnimedia platform is merely a special case. But in a broader sense, it is a microcosm of the diverse operation innovation required to meet differing requirements of the subversion by new media. It shows that in the backdrop of interaction between process reengineering of socialized media resources and institutional transformation, whatever one person can achieve, one team, medium, or company can too. When the dedicated personal efforts are brought into full play, you will have an Archimedes’ pivot in expertise in a niche market! Innovation and subversion are interweaved here. This is true for personal strategy and even more so for group and society strategy.

　　I have presented higher strategic targets according to my smart power strategy: all walks of life, all viewing angles (360°) personal macro strategy that attracts attention of omnimedia; and at the same time define personal micro media strategy as “zoom in or zoom out”, which is actually the mobile micro blog strategy appeal of my personal omnimedia platform without Twitter, Myspace, and Facebook, it is still possible to achieve 1:1 audience sticky communication when we fit well with local circumstances in China! For this reason, I really understand and support Sina auto channel editor-in-chief Su Yunong’s endorsement of micro blog in his keynote speech and the concept based on SNS emphasized by Mop auto channel editor-in-chief Song Le.

　　As Confucius argued there could not be construction without destruction. For China media industry strategy to innovate, it has to be changed fundamentally. In particular, it cannot neglect corporate or even individual social responsibilities, which is also the clue I used when setting the theme for the “8th China Auto Net Media Forum” as “responsibilities in post-financial crisis era”. As I mentioned in the preface, “China auto public good initiative” created by me and elites from China’s major auto net media” contains a media strategy featuring public good. As one of the originators, I consider the creation and acceptance of “China auto public good chart board” four years ago marked the start of China’s auto industry in public welfare. Today we can see that corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a strategic direction of a harmonious society followed by numerous auto companies. I think if the innovation in industry media strategy can cover other areas like financial economy and industry economy in a broad sense, we’ll have real subversion and real innovation! In my omnimedia platform strategy, public good is the vital hinge of our spiritual& moral standard. The gratefulness and influence thus generated provide source for my innovation in micro media strategy. I believe China’s media strategy innovation should be based on people-oriented Scientific Outlook on Development and public good forms the basis of macro media strategy.

　　I have learned from personal experience in subversive innovation in China media strategy that any technology, model, or content will have a place in China’s media industry strategy. Some things are not moved at first in the process of innovation, until finally all is replaced by the new media. And personal omnimedia platform is merely a very small portion in social system reengineering.

　　Nine years ago when I left veryauto started by soft bank risk investment, I told Mr. Zhou Zhixiong, the representative of the risk investment management, “I believe my proposal about multimedia (there was no concept of omnimedia) operation based on my understanding of China’s media will eventually make profits…” Now, nine years later, I'd like to say thanks, I’m making profits without risk investment and every cent is my own! Thank-you again for soft bank for allowing me to put the strategic construction into practice and giving me the chance to make a speech at 2010 China-US Business Summit about the Chinese spirit that rivals the America spirit-that is, risk taking, independence, persistence, optimism, and realizing dreams!! And that’s the way it is (as Walter Cronkite puts it).

　　I’d like to give this speech to my mother, who is very sick now and thank her for giving me life and vigor.

　　Exclusive interview of Congresswoman Judy Chu by Xie Weilie, producer &anchorman of China Network Financial Review