Beijing newspapers to raise prices

By Hu Yuanyuan (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-09-12 07:27

When 52-year-old Liu Xiang bought a copy of the Beijing Times Thursday, he was told the 0.5 yuan cover price will double to 1 yuan from Sept 22.

Another four Beijing newspapers plan to raise their prices by 0.5 yuan, following the lead of print media in Shanghai, Nanjing, Chengdu and Wuhan. A number of print publications have upped cover prices by 50 to 100 percent this year.

"Skyrocketing newsprint costs are the major reason for the price jump," said Li Zhaoxiang, head of strategic planning at Beijing Youth Daily, one of the five papers that will raise their prices.

Newsprint cost 6,100 yuan per ton on Aug 1, up about 26 percent over January and its highest price in five years.

"The price hike may affect some of our readers, but its influence will be limited," Li said, adding the price jump is unlikely to drive away the newspaper's target readers.

Asking newspapers to keep the same price for years is unreasonable, Li said, given that the cost of other goods continues to rise.

Newsprint costs account for 60 to 70 percent of newspapers' overall expenditure. Higher newsprint prices and fewer ads are squeezing newspaper groups' cash flow.

Costs will rise by 100 million yuan this year at Shenzhen Press Group and Shanghai-based Jiefang Daily Group, for instance, on higher newsprint prices, according to a report by China News and Print Newspaper.

Wang Jun, general manager of Beijing Daily Group's distribution arm, said the newspaper will try to improve quality after it raises the cover price.

But such promises do little to placate customers being stung by the price increases.

"(Over a year) I will have to pay 182 yuan more for my newspaper - that's not small change for me," Liu said, adding that he may change his daily newspaper habit when the price rises on Sept 22.

Some print media outlets won't raise their cover prices just yet. Instead, they're trying to bring in more advertisers to offset the higher newsprint costs.