Today's Shanghai Daily(one of the English mouth pieces for the Chinese Government) has illustrated the ultimate in free speech. They've done what I believe no newspaper has ever done in the Western world. They sold their ACTUAL front cover to Mercedes Benz. This is not a wrap around - it is the front page. Talk about the rise of capitalism - this is over the top and then some. Imagine the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal giving up their front page for an advertiser. Rest assured Mao is turning over in his grave and calling on all the Chinese spirits to come rescue his lost flock.
In most countries and for most newspapers, the front page is off bounds - no ifs ands or buts. Any suggestion to an editorial team that this might generate gobs of money would be scoffed at and turned down. Newsprint has fallen on hard times so I guess the Chinese are at the forefront of rewriting the rule book.
I would like to say that innovation is coming to China, but they're not the first to do this. The Helsingin Sanomat, Finland's daily newspaper, has been doing this for decades. The idea is that since most of HS's circulation comes from subscriptions, there is little need to generate readership at the newsstand with catchy headlines. Maybe this means that the Finnish contribution to China now consists of more than just the sauna.
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