All periodical publications like magazines need to obtain a kanhao (刊號) or publishing registration number (PRN) from the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP). It is an open secret in the publishing industry that a new PRN is near impossible to get through application, and that those interested in setting up new publications usually buy or lease existing PRN from defunct publishers at a fee agreeable to both parties.
However, in-house publications are exempt from such regulation. Instead, they come under the jurisdiction of the 1998 Internal Publications Management Regulation, which lists two main requirements: no paid advertisements in the publication and free distribution. As a result, it is relatively easier to establish an in-house publication.
Chen says companies wishing to have in-house publication are told to voluntarily register for a printing permit. He adds that the CPRC, through verbal enquiries, found that most companies in Beijing ignored the rule while those in Shenzhen usually abided. So far, the authorities have yet to come knocking to press the issue with any in-house publications, mainly because the content is non-controversial and usually business-centered.
In the past, some reputed in-house publications with large circulation had also compiled selective issues and print them into books for sale in the market. In that case, the companies concerned would contact a publisher and obtain a shuhao (書號),or book registration number. One such example is Vanke Holdings, compiling its in-house weekly into two thick volume of "The White Collar: 1999" .
Some suggest that some in-house magazines are exploring social issues because of limited press freedom in the mainstream media, but Zhang Yiwu of Beijing University disagreed.
Zhang, who researches on popular culture and cultural theories, laments that in-house magazines stay away from hard hitting and critical viewpoints. He adds that these magazines only tap social issues to take advantage of lifestyle concerns among the elites in the corporate sector and the middle class, whose mentalities and value systems the magazines strive to reflect. He labels these groups as non-confrontational.
"Corporations see no benefits at all in being controversial," he stresses, adding, however, that corporations would come under pressure to present a good social image when faced with increasingly sophisticated consumers.
Zhang points out that these consumers are young and well educated, and sometimes base their consumption choices on moral grounds, by assessing if a company is socially responsible or environmentally friendly. He adds that this trend is taking hold as western value systems and globalization become more dominant.
"Corporations want to gain more brand points by building an image that reflects social responsibility. This is a strategy of business survival through public relations, and in-house publication is a tool to achieve that," he says.
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