China Business News reports that a new licensing rule for online magazines is on the agenda of China’s administration of press and publication, which will require online magazines to obtain license from the government before publishing.
Online magazines have gained popularity in China in recent years, and it is estimated that there are now a few hundred with a readership of nearly 40 million. Currently the most successful release of an online magazine is that of popular movie star Ms. Xu Jinglei.
The magazine is called Kai La online and mainly deals with areas of entertainment, current affairs, literature and economy. It does not miss a trick for making a yuan here, a yuan there. You can buy her handwriting as a font for a small fee.
Many renowned Chinese writers like Wang Shuo, Han Han and Gu Xiaobai contributed articles to the first issue of the online magazine. At a press conference in Beijing, Lao Xu (which is the other name she goes under when she is not Xu Jinglei) said that being an editor of a magazine has long been one of her ambitions.
According to reports the maiden issue’s income from ads pulled in over RMB 1 million although it included only four commercial advertisements. Sources also predict that advertisements are expected to bring about over RMB20 million for the e-magazine this year.
Most of China’s current online magazines did not have to obtain publication permits from authorities before making the content available online. But things will change after the new regulation is set up. No specific date when it might be implemented, however, was indicated by officials from the press and publishing administration, and there was no word about whether the new stipulation will affect other online publications such as blogs. And how will you decide what is a blog and what is a magazine?
Source: English East.day.com and China in Transition