At the SPJ northeast regional conference in Philadelphia this past weekend, I attended several workshops alongside a writer for theEpoch Times, an online/offline publication that bills itself as “an independent voice in print and on the Web.” Privately funded, it currently publishes online in English, Chinese, Swedish and half a dozen other languages and boasts offices worldwide in 30 countries. The Chinese-language version is promoted as the largest Chinese newspaper published outside China and Taiwan.
While the site makes bold claims of independence, a distinct lack of information about who, precisely, funds the operation, despite the fact that they seem to have quite a bit of money at their disposal, makes their actual agenda difficult to pinpoint. Editorials receive prime placement above the fold on the homepage, but without any clear labeling identifying them as such.
The site’s appearance is professional throughout, with a clean, well-organized design and horizontal nav bar. Photos are plentiful – the homepage features a photo gallery showcasing top stories – but other multimedia seems to be absent. Direct comments are not allowed, and readers wishing to leave feedback must do so by e-mail.
The total readership is hard to estimate, but Web traffic estimates from Quantcast indicate nearly 100,000 monthly visitors to the Chinese-language site and about half as many to the English-language version.
