About the paper
- Why the name Epoch?
- How often is it published?
- Where does your content come from?
- Who owns it?
- Who is behind it?
- Why is there only one ad per page?
- How is it funded?
- How long has The Epoch Times been around?
- How are the papers distributed?
- What is the paper’s shelf life?
- Who is your target market? What demographic does the paper appeal to?
- What kind of person reads The Epoch Times?
- Where are you based?
- Are you a Falun Gong newspaper?
- What is Falun Gong?
- Why are your international editions and theepochtimes.com website so heavily dominated by Chinese content?
- Is the paper politically motivated?
- Is it religious?
- If you are not political then why is your global network providing a platform for people to register their withdrawals from a political party?
- How can I find out more about The Epoch Times?
About the business
- Do you have audited circulation figures?
- Do you pay media commissions and how much?
- What are the credit terms?
- Can I get a discount?
- What does it cost to have an advertisement built?
- How can you compete with existing newspapers?
- What strategy do you have to ensure people actually read the paper?
Why the name Epoch?
“Epoch” literally means an era of time. As a direct translation from Dajiyuan (Grand Epoch) and with its establishment in the year 2000, The Epoch Times refers to a new era of news reporting. Much like the term “Epoch”, our newspaper transcends all borders and nationalities.
"Epoch" is also a term used by mathematicians a great deal in describing a "steady state". It is a very important concept in modelling as it brings things back to the beginning or new start. Typically used in simulation modelling/queuing theory and among other things when the queue length returns to zero.
How often is it published?
The Epoch Times is delivered fortnightly and will ultimately increase to weekly.
Where does your content come from?
With over 60 news bureaus around the world, we utilise an extensive network of journalists for all our editions globally. We also select articles from reliable newswires such as Reuters. You can find a source for each article clearly printed on every page.
Who owns it?
The Epoch Times is a privately owned company by local business people. It is currently registered for not-for-profit status, meaning that although it is a commercial entity – profits are withheld for company growth rather than the shareholders’ gain. The day-to-day running is handled by the management team. Every newspaper is run like a franchise and is controlled from management level in each state with the guiding principles of the founding edition.
Who is behind it?
The Epoch Times was originally founded by a group of Falun Gong practitioners inspired by the lack of information about the persecution of Falun Gong. The Epoch Times has since grown and diversified, and is now run by a large international staff that align themselves to the values in which the paper was founded.
How is it funded?
Beyond initial establishment The Epoch Times is funded entirely by advertising content.
Why is there only one ad per page?
In order to appeal to as many people as possible, a larger editorial content is necessary. By minimising the amount of advertising, we aim to maintain a healthy balance between readership value and advertising impact. With 66 per cent editorial per page, the reader spends much more time on each page, which equates to increased exposure for the advertiser. Targeted distribution unites with increased advertising impact to provide a powerful advertising formula.
How long has The Epoch Times been around?
The English-language edition has been on the market in Australia since late 2004 mostly in the eastern states. As a company, the Australian division of The Epoch Times was established in 2001, the year our Chinese-language print edition was launched. Earlier establishment in other countries goes back to 2000.
How are the papers distributed?
Using a national strategic partner, The Epoch Times is hand delivered to specific households in metro areas recognised for their interest in international news. Further papers will be distributed in the CBD, major business districts and major shopping centres by hand and newsstands.
What is the paper’s shelf life?
Because articles and features found in The Epoch Times are less time-sensitive and are not available in other publications, reader feedback has suggested that readers keep the paper on hand, on average, for one week and are still satisfied with the content even 2 weeks after the print date. In order to maintain an original and fresh approach, the paper is created with a two-week readership in mind. This, combined with a larger editorial to advertising ratio, The Epoch Times provides each advertiser with a far greater opportunity for absorption.
Who is your target market? What demographic does the paper appeal to?
By using the very latest in demographic modelling technology and reader feedback data in Australia, we have carefully modelled the distribution to achieve the highest possible readership. The Epoch Times has a range of features tailored to the public’s interests.
What kind of person reads The Epoch Times?
This paper is written to inform a global audience, rather than entertain. As such, our experience has shown that our most loyal readers are worldly people who are active information seekers and interested in more than just headlines. They are inquisitive and educated.
Where are you based?
All Australian editions of The Epoch Times are produced and printed locally in each city. Our Oceanic headquarters is based in Sydney NSW. Our global headquarters is in the heart of New York, USA.
Are you a Falun Gong newspaper?
We at the Epoch Times are proud of the fact that we were founded by Falun Gong practitioners. This beginning by individuals whose families and friends have suffered severe persecution helps give our staff a strong sense of responsibility.
But the fact that Falun Gong practitioners began our paper does not mean we are a “Falun Gong paper.” No one says that because The New York Times was founded by people of the Jewish faith that it is a “Jewish newspaper.” We employ people of all sorts of backgrounds and walks of life without discrimination.
One of our strengths is independent China news, so it makes sense to us that we report on the largest human rights concerns of our day as well as the growing social unrest within China.
Reader feedback has demonstrated that news about Falun Gong is both topical and appreciated, and we will continue to print news on the subject for this reason.
What is Falun Gong?
Falun Gong is a self improvement practice (also known as qigong) for refining the body and mind through exercises and meditation. Unlike other qigong practices, Falun Gong also emphasises improving one’s moral character through living by the principles of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance. Approximately 1.5 per cent of the world’s population practice Falun Gong.
Human rights lawyer David Matas describes: “Falun Gong is not an organisation. It has no leadership. It has no funding. It has no membership. It is rather just a set of exercises with a spiritual dimension. The people who engage in Falun Gong exercises have as much or as little cohesion, planning, coordination and organisation as people who engage in running or swimming or any other form of exercise.
“Because Falun Gong has a spiritual dimension, one can think of it as a religion. But it is a religion without congregations or priests or preachers or churches. The writings of Li Hongzhi, which inspired Falun Gong are all publicly available through the internet.”
David Matas is also a co-author of investigative reporting into the harvesting of organs from Falun Gong practitioners in China.
Why are your international editions and theepochtimes.com website so heavily dominated by Chinese content?
The Epoch Times is renowned internationally for its strength in independent China content, backed by the success of our founding Chinese-language edition. With the world's eyes on China, and Australia's extensive economic ties to the country, our research has found that China news is very topical in mainstream society. China is the most populous country and we all use their products every day.
What is often not known by the broader community is that most news coming out of China is first filtered for public release by a state owned agency called The United Front Works Propaganda Department thatŐs sole job is to censor information that may be considered damaging to the public perception of the ruling regime.
The Epoch Times franchises outside of Australia have adopted an alternative business model by specialising in bypassing this department and publishing information that would otherwise remain filtered from the public arena.
The Epoch Times is in the best position to cover this content. The country that plays such a significant role in our economic affairs has, to a large degree, remained a secret to us. After years of trying to decipher doctored news items from China we now have a source of information that is independent of political control.
As such, The Epoch Times has been responsible for ground-breaking reporting on SARS; regular publication of original articles by China’s leading dissidents, including Gao Zhisheng, Hu Jia, Wang Zhaojun, and Jia Jia; breaking stories about high-level defections from China; breaking stories about the activities of Chinese spies in the West; breaking stories about the harvesting of organs from Falun Gong practitioners.
Much of our Chinese content seeks to help educate the public of the beautiful and ancient traditions of China such as the arts, health, cuisine etc. The depth of reporting in these areas can be attributed to our research into the traditions of China prior to the cultural revolution when so much of this information was removed and remains unknown even to modern day Chinese.
Is the paper politically motivated?
No. The ideals of the founding Epoch Times can still be found in every edition worldwide – where you will find articles about human rights abuses – particularly those found in China. We accept that a number of people may see human rights issues and other news content as political, but the goal of the paper is to present news in an open manner, so if this is perceived as political so be it – the paper is what it is.
Is it religious?
No, there is no affiliation with any religion and thus we do not carry religious doctrines.
If you are not political then why is your global network providing a platform for people to register their withdrawals from a political party?
We understand how this assumption can be made. However, there is a difference between providing a voice for people and campaigning for political power. What we found is that after providing an open source of information for the people of China – effectively showing them the facts that have been hidden from them for decades – facts that the Western world has been much more aware of, their natural instinct was to express their dissatisfaction with the controlling regime by severing their association with it. Thus the withdrawal service was built to allow the people of China an avenue to speak for themselves.
Because of the great risk the regime imposes on the lives of those that oppose the incumbent regime, and to circumvent this issue, we chose not to put anyone in any danger as a result of this service. Hence welcomed people to register their withdrawals using aliases. This has allowed the outside world to witness the scale of demand within China for help and the support for open information. For those within China, it has provided encouragement and hope for renewing the basic human rights that they have been starved of for decades.
That is what journalism is to us – providing information in an open manner so as to allow the people to come to their own conclusion.
How can I find out more about The Epoch Times?
The best way to understand more about it is to read the newspaper. The essence of the company is in the publication. If you have more questions that arise please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Can you explain the success of this paper for other advertisers? Can you give specific examples of previous businesses that have been successful advertising in this paper? What types of businesses have been advertising in the past? This particular model is simple, far reaching, and unprecedented. No other paper has done anything like this. With every single household matched to your demographic receiving a copy of our paper, if your advertisement is designed and written well then your opportunity for success is unmatched. Successes from our previous advertisers are based on different distribution models.
Our previous model has attracted such advertisers as: Commonwealth Bank, BMW, Telstra, Select TV, Monterverde, WWF, Red Cross, Salvation Army and WSPA to name a few.
Do you have audited circulation figures?
As this new distribution model unfolds, audited distribution figures will be provided.
Do you pay media commissions and how much?
Advertising agents recognised by The Epoch Times will receive a 10 per cent commission on all advertising, providing accounts are paid in accordance with the rules and regulations governing The Epoch Times terms and conditions. The total amount shown on the invoice must be paid in full by the stated date to qualify for commission.
What are the credit terms?
Successful credit applicants will be issued credit terms of 14 days from publication date to finalise the invoice. No statements will be issued.
Can I get a discount?
Is there a discount for being the first advertisers? Is there a loyalty discount for repeat advertising? A loyalty programme is outlined on our Adverting Rates. No other discounts are available. Charities and non-profit organisations excepted.
What does it cost to have an advertisement built?
First time advertisers are given 3 hours of design as a complimentary service. Design work outside of this will be charged at $135 per hour.
How can you compete with existing newspapers?
Our goal is not to compete with established media, but to establish a new category within the industry. This is an unprecedented distribution model and totally unique product. Comparing us with other media options currently in the market, either on a community or national level, would be far too simplistic.
The Epoch Times is exposing you to the population of Australia using a cutting edge international news platform, so it is unlike anything available in Australia.
What strategy do you have to ensure people actually read the paper?
There are two elements to this question. One is pre-brand awareness, which relies heavily on visual cues to motivate the reader into differentiating this newspaper from anything else they receive in the letterbox.
The tabloid size, title, full-colour graphics, modern layout, professional photography and international flavour all help The Epoch Times stand out from any competing direct mail material. In addition, an ongoing PR campaign will be initiated leading up to the distribution of the paper, bolstering product awareness and brand recognition.
As the brand becomes more established, it is the product itself that will build value for every reader so as to ensure it gets treated with significant respect in comparison to community newspapers, advertising leaflets and even mainstream weekend newspapers.
