China Daily awarded 'benchmark brand'

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-15 07:10

China Daily was awarded the "Chinese benchmark brand" of the media industry at the World Media Summit 2008 Monday in Beijing.

Awarded by the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) Chinese, China Daily was one of 98 awardees selected from more than 2,000 newspapers, 9,000 magazines and journals, and 9,000 programs produced by over 300 TV stations nationwide.

"Chinese benchmark brands" mean those that are the most influential in China's media industry, CJR Chinese said.

Only a handful of national newspapers were listed among the 98 by the CJR, which belongs to the Columbia University - the awarding body of the Pulitzer Prizes. Other major awarded newspapers included the People's Daily and the China Youth Daily.

Professor Victor Navasky with the Columbia University and chairman of CJR said Chinese people's English paper could play a "very important" role in bridging China and the world.

"I think you help interpret two cultures to each other," Navasky told China Daily.

"There are surprises in the paper when reading for American people who have not been in China before," he added, noting himself is a frequent reader of China Daily.

Besides giving out the honor of "benchmark brand" in Chinese media, Monday's summit also unveiled the winners of the World's 500 Most Influential Brands of 2008.

Harvard University topped the list of the winners, selected by the World Brand Lab, which is chaired by Nobel Prize Winner Robert Mundell.