Transformation Challenges for China’s Traditional Newspaper Groups in the Context of Media Convergence

Abstract

Against the backdrop of the development of informationisation in Chinese society, traditional newspaper groups are facing profound changes brought about by media convergence. With the rapid development of mobile Internet and new media, the traditional advertising revenue model and the circulation of paper newspapers have declined sharply, forcing newspaper groups to accelerate digital transformation. Taking Henan Daily Newspaper Group as an example, this study, based on semi-structured interviews, provides an in-depth analysis of the three core challenges faced by traditional newspaper groups in the context of media convergence, namely, the loss of readers, the decline in advertising revenue and the plight of outdated organisational structure. The results of the study show that the traditional newspaper industry has greater difficulties in technological integration, especially in the construction of digital platforms, the application of content production tools and the shortage of technological talents. The rigidity of organisational structure and the lack of cross-departmental collaboration also severely constrain the efficiency of innovation and the pace of transformation. In addition, with the decline of traditional advertising revenues, newspaper groups have made slow progress in content payment, IP realisation and diversified revenue exploration. To address these challenges, the study proposes strategies to enhance the competitiveness of traditional newspaper groups through technological innovation, organisational structure optimisation and the establishment of diversified revenue models. In the future, newspaper groups need to accelerate the pace of technological innovation, implement more flexible organisational management models, and actively explore new revenue sources in order to maintain sustainable development in the new media environment.