CHINA is planning to bring more honesty and transparency in reporting newspaper circulation data as it launches an inspection on the circulation figures in newspapers from 11 cities, Xinhua news agency reported.
These cities include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing and Chengdu, said a circular released ahead of the 2007 newspaper circulation season by the General Administration of Press and Publications and another three central departments.
The Sino Publication Audit Center, the sole NGO in China's press and publishing field, is entrusted by the government to conduct the inspection.
"Currently, due to fierce competition, many newspapers produce false circulation data and the publishers are making unscrupulously gains in advertising" by exaggerating their sales, said the circular.
China's newspaper market has grown rapidly during the recent years, with more than 1,900 newspapers and 9,500 periodicals published.
With stiff competition from television, the Internet and even mobile phones, newspapers are illegally exaggerating their circulation.
To rule out illegal practices, the circular bans newspapers from promoting their sales by paying customers.
The circular also regulates that newspaper publishers set fixed publishing dates, retail prices and advertising prices to ensure a healthy market order.
