Guangzhou Daily
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Guangzhou Daily
February 3, 2010

How does a stodgy party organ compete against commercial newspapers that cater to readers' desire for scandal and gossip?

The Guangzhou Daily has adopted the strategy of hiding its boring front page, which follows the boring propaganda-first model hewed to by party dailies across the country, inside a flashy wrapper, making it look like an ordinary commercial tabloid.

Here are the stories featured on the wrapper:

• "Third session of the Eleventh Provincial People's Congress closes";
• "Zhu Xiaodan: Housing prices should not make sharp or sudden movements";
• "Wen Qiang in court; husband and wife accuse each other": further developments in the Chongqing anti-corruption campaign as former police chief appears in court;
• "Li Zhuang confesses": Lawyer for Chongqing mob boss admits he fabricated evidence;
• "Nina Wang's 'feng-shui master' loses lawsuit over estate": latest developments in the wrangling over the Hong Kong tycoon's fortune;
• "Guangdong to eliminate or consolidate 25 expressway tollbooth plazas within the year";
• "Guangzhou man takes out advert in this paper to distribute money to poor areas";
• "Tianhe flower market restricts traffic for the first time this year";
• "Passenger falls to death when bus fails to close door";
• "Low-cost housing property rights: held jointly by government and occupant to prevent fraud and speculation";
• "An extra month's wait for housing loans from banks";
• "Berlusconi wants a divorce";
• "Iraqi bomber kills herself and forty-one others";
• "Spring festival gala program listing";
• "Coca-Cola responds to 'mercury-poisoned Sprite'";
• "Strong words from Wei Di": the new Chinese Football Association chief vows to clean up corruption;
• "Official 'dies in the line of duty' while attending hospitality function": Huang He, director of the Wenzhou Development and Reform Commission, died after a banquet on January 30;

Here are the headlines from the actual front page:

• "Third session of the Eleventh Provincial People's Congress closes";
• "Construction of affordable housing should accelerate this year";
• "SMS service suspended for 900,000 mobile phone numbers in Guangdong";
• "'Four soldiers' installed at Military Museum": a sculpture based on a photograph taken by a Guangzhou Daily journalist of soldiers assisting in the 2008 snowstorm relief effort;
• "First estimates of the year: Yuexiu District at the top again";
• "Zhu Xiaodan: Housing prices should not make sharp or sudden movements";
• "Improve outward promotion for the Asian Games to boost the international image of Guangzhou";
• "Migrant workers with work injuries can get a pension of 2,357 yuan per month".
• "I hope the Dalai Lama will make the correct choice within his lifetime" (in the top right corner)