The nation’s last evening newspaper closed after publishing its final edition yesterday.
The Chinese-language United Evening News said in a statement that it decided to end publication due to the “changing habits of readers, development of digital media and the COVID-19 outbreak.”
“The decision to cease publication starting [today] was finalized this [yesterday] morning, but we had been evaluating that option over the past few years,” managing editor Wang Mao-chen (王茂臻) said.
Photo: CNA
Wang said that the newspaper’s circulation had been declining annually, as have other print media in the nation.
“However, we cannot break even anymore with the circulation we have at the moment,” he said.
It said it would offer subscribers a refund or allow them to transfer their subscription to another United Daily News Group (UDN) publication, and it would retain all of its reporters.
The front page of its final edition featured images of its 11,783 front pages published over the past 32 years and three months with the text “thank you” in Mandarin in large font.
UDN founder Wang Tiwu (王惕吾) established the newspaper on Feb. 22, 1988, shortly after the government on Jan. 1, 1988, lifted a newspaper ban.
It was the nation’s first Chinese-language paper to print in landscape orientation.
“As the only evening newspaper in the nation, the United Evening News has accomplished its purpose in the nation’s history of development. We thank our readers for their support, which has helped sustain us for more than 10,000 days,” it said.
In February, Chinese-language weekly tabloid Next Magazine folded its online publication after ending its print edition in 2018.
In addition to the United Evening News, the nation previously had two other evening newspapers: China Times Express and Independent Evening Post, founded in 1988 and 1947 respectively.
The China Times Express ended publication on Oct. 31, 2005, due to shortfalls in advertising revenue as 24-hour cable TV news rose in popularity.
It also experienced a sharp decline of subscribers following an economic slump, the rising influence of online news and the Taiwan Stock Exchange’s decision to extend trading until 1:30pm.
Its management tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a merger with United Evening News.
The Independent Evening Post distinguished itself as unaffiliated with political parties.
It ceased publication on Oct. 2, 2001, after years of financial losses and management changes.
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