Around the Net

Chinese Authorities Shut Down Rolling Stone After Inaugural Issue

Just weeks following the splashy, successful debut of the Chinese-language edition of Rolling Stone magazine in China, local authorities have shut it down.  They say the publication violated too many regulations, that it failed to ask for certain approvals where approvals were required.  Analysts, however, say RS's greatest transgression was that it leaped into the China market with too much flair.  Instead of starting small, or perhaps linking with a low-profile local publishing partner, as other U.S. magazines have done, it produced a fat, controversial inaugural issue and then promoted it heavily. Although RS' staff in China insists the second issue will be out shortly, government officials say that's just not so. The L.A. Times:  "'They didn't go through the proper procedure,' said Chen Li, director of the newspaper and magazine department of the Shanghai Press and Publishing Administration, where Rolling Stone was published, under the guise of an existing Chinese magazine. 'There will be no future Rolling Stone content in this magazine. There's no such thing as Rolling Stone.'"  The L.A. Times piece details the entire sad brouhaha, even identifying the stories that most perturbed Chinese authorities.  For example, running a piece about a rock star associated with the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests was not such a smart idea, as it turns out. Nor was a story by a blogger who wrote about her sex life.    

advertisement

advertisement

 

 

 

Read the whole story at L.A. Times »

Next story loading loading..