A Beijing newsstand featuring some Chinese magazines and Chinese editions of foreign magazines. [Photo/Agencies]

Media bosses see potential for expansion despite competition

BEIJING - Ask Thomas Gorman, the chairman and editor-in-chief of Fortune China magazine, which article he's most proud of and he'll say the cover story of the December 2010 issue.

It was an exclusive interview with Jim Collins, the acclaimed business guru and writer, who spoke to Chinese chief executive officers about leadership.

Released in 2001, Collins' business book entitled Good to Great was a hot item around the world, including its Chinese language edition.

Since the launch of the book, Gorman noted the number of Chinese mainland companies on the Fortune Global 500 list has increased from 10 to 42, in addition to an estimated 60 percent growth to 2,000 of Chinese companies listed on China's stock exchanges.

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"Aside from distinguishing best practices to Chinese CEOs, we see such a story as engaging our readers and being relevant," he said.

Fortune China is circulated to senior managers in Chinese and international businesses and selected government officials in trade, finance and investment.

Engaging readers and being relevant seem more essential especially in an attractive market such as China, where the marketplace for magazines has grown exponentially.

Recalling when Fortune China was launched in 1996, Gorman said there were three business magazines then. "Today there are 150 (business) magazines."

Insights and depth

Thomas Gorman, the chairman and editor-in-chief of Fortune China magazine

But Fortune China is not perturbed. Why?

"Breaking news and market data are going to be owned online but magazines offer a particular niche in evolving business news. The tempo is different," he said.

From articles about General Electric, Siemens, or Nokia in the earlier issues of Fortune China, Chinese readers these days will find that the magazine content has included management stories about leading Chinese companies.

"If you're standing still, you're going to fall behind. We're constantly aware of changes and that keeps us reformatting our offerings on what consumers need," said Gorman.

Fortune China has a robust online version that doesn't require subscription, targeted at a younger audience.

Published 18 times a year, Gorman said Fortune and Fortune China magazines cannot be news magazines. "We have traditionally excelled in long-form business journalism, and we will continue to do so," he said.

In the media industry, Fortune journalists are known for spending two to three months to produce insights and depth along with great photos such as its April 2009 story on how Bernard Madoff pulled off his massive swindle worldwide. Telling photos of Madoff's rich and infamous lifestyle including his double life strengthened readers' visual understanding of the story.

The strong and attractive global brand of Fortune magazine helps too. Localizing the magazine without straying from its editorial core values and mission also set Fortune China apart from its competitors.

Every year for 15 years, Fortune China has managed to increase its circulation with audited figures reaching 182,000 this year from 50,000 copies during its first year in China.

"Overall, there is a strong demand for foreign as well as local business magazines in China, and I don't see this changing," Gorman said.

In 2010, the revenue growth rate of magazines reached 19 percent at $2.37 billion, according to Beijing-based research firm CTR Market Research.

China's total advertising expenditure in 2010 rose 13 percent from a year ago. Although the increase of consumer price inflation may put pressure on the country's overall economic development in 2011, CTR said it is cautiously optimistic in forecasting that China's advertising market this year will continue to outpace gross domestic product growth at a rate of 15 percent.

There is room for further growth as advertising expenditure in the magazines accounted for a mere 3 percent last year. However, the magazine business operates in a hyper-competitive market where advertising rates are being slashed indiscriminately.