Free Chinese weekly to hit the streets today
(Bernama) – A new Chinese weekly, “Red Tomato”, is set to hit the streets today, bringing the concept of free newspaper to the Chinese reader market in the Klang Valley.
Red Tomato, owned and published by Talent Plus Sdn Bhd, is a 32-page tabloid with a target circulation of over 160,000 copies, targeting the urban Chinese population in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya.
Its managing director Gan Chin Kew said although the free newspaper concept was not new in European countries, Hong Kong and Singapore, there was still no free Chinese tabloid in the country.
“The English-language ‘The Sun’ is the only free newspaper in the country at the moment. However, nobody has tapped into the Chinese reader market segment and we are trying out this concept now.
“In fact, we have been toying with this idea for many years but it only materialised a few months back,” he told Bernama here today.
Gan said the initial plan was to publish 100,000 copies but following a survey by a media specialist agency, it was found that readers were positive about the concept, prompting the company to increase the circulation to 160,000 copies.
“Eighty per cent of the copies will be delivered free to homes in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, while the other 20 per cent will be available at selected pick-up points such as commercial centres and LRT stations in KL and PJ.
“The first edition will be distributed tomorrow morning,” he said, adding that the tabloid would hit the streets every Friday as it catered for the weekend while a media specialist agency had been appointed to handle the distribution.
“It caters more for relaxed weekend reading, with light content such as information on what to do over the weekend, on lifestyle and some indepth analyses on socio-economic issues,” said Gan.
The staff comprises mostly experienced executives from the Chinese press, including Gan, who was formerly executive director and chief executive officer of Sin Chew Daily before joining Nanyang Press Holdings as managing director.
He left Nanyang in 2007 to join property developer Mah Sing Properties as group director before quitting in May this year.
Gan, together with an anonymous investor, later set up Talent Plus to publish “Red Tomato”.
The editor-in-chief is Goh Ah Chin, who has worked in China Press and Business World Daily, a magazine published by Sin Chew Daily.
Prior to joining Talent Plus, Goh was heading Sin Chew Daily’s commercial section.
Gan said they chose “Red Tomato” as the name for the tabloid as the red tomato “is the most popular vegetable for the Chinese”.
“Moreover, we want to depart from the norm of using names such as Moon, Sun, Malaysia or China for the newspaper. We want to be different … we hope the people will like our newspaper, just like they love the red tomato,” he said.
