Digital, international growth are the way forward as South China Morning Post weathers shifting media landscape
The newspaper, founded in Hong Kong in 1903, is now read more by Americans, other international readers curious to learn about China.
Right from its inception in 1903, South China Morning Post has been serving a truly international audience.
Even before it had its own printing press, the paper was the proud owner of a steam launch from which it used to sell print copies directly to ships in Victoria Harbour – cover price HK$3 a month – and thus it began life delivering news to visiting seamen and passengers from around the globe.
More than a century on, the Post is now more widely read digitally than it is in print and its largest audience is Americans, rather than Hong Kong residents.
Instead of news dominated by shipping, the newspaper acquired by the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group in 2016 is focused on providing the world a window into ever-growing China.
The growing importance of building a digital readership mirrors an ongoing trend in the newspaper industry globally where print circulations decline and the rise of less expensive online advertisements have cut into media company profits.
Today, of course, rather than ships bobbing in the harbour, news is being read on mobile phones, tablets and laptops, and the Post has refocused its operations towards a digital-first strategy.
