Newtalk News

Newtalk News
Native name
Newtalk新聞
TypeNews website
Owner(s)Tu Yao-ren
(Sole director since 2024)
FounderSu Tzen-ping [zh]
PublisherVanguard Media Co., Ltd.
PresidentSu Tzen-ping
EditorZhang Zheng-lin
FoundedSeptember 1, 2009; 17 years ago (2009-09-01)
Political alignment
Pan-Green
LanguageTraditional Chinese
HeadquartersNo. 39, Lane 141, Hang'ai Road, Neihu District, Taipei, Taiwan
Websitenewtalk.tw
Vanguard Media Co., Ltd.
TypePrivate company
Unlisted
IndustryNews publishing
FoundedJuly 24, 2009; 17 years ago (2009-07-24)
HeadquartersNo. 39, Lane 141, Hang'ai Road, Neihu District, Taipei, Taiwan
Key peopleTu Yao-ren (Chairman)
ProductsChinese-language online media
Total equityNT$50,000,000
Websitenewtalk.tw

Newtalk News (Chinese: Newtalk新聞) or formerly Newtalk (Chinese: 新頭殼; pinyin: Xīntóuké; Wade–Giles: Hsin1-t'ou2-k'o2) is an online news platform operated by Vanguard Media Co., Ltd. in Taiwan, launched on September 1, 2009.

History

Founding period

On July 24, 2009, Vanguard Media Co., Ltd. was registered and established as a news publishing enterprise. Its initial founding team mainly consisted of former employees of Taiwan Daily during the tenure of its last chairman, Yen Wen-shuan. The founder and first chairman was Su Tzen-ping, former chief editorial writer of Taiwan Daily; the first chief producer was Chuang Feng-chia, former editor-in-chief of Taiwan Daily; and the first political reporter was Lin Chao-yi, former deputy director of the political center at Taiwan Daily and head of the "Taiwan Daily Employees' Self-Help Association" (who held strong Taiwanese consciousness).

On September 1, 2009, coinciding with Taiwan's Journalists' Day, Newtalk was officially launched.

Crisis

In 2015, Chuang Feng-chia announced his resignation from Newtalk on Facebook.

On November 30, 2016, former chief consultant Hu Yuan-hui confirmed that a shareholders' meeting held the previous week had decided to cease operations. Hu stated that the shutdown was not due to running out of capital, as rumored, but rather the inability to find a sustainable business model for independent online media in Taiwan, where advertising revenue alone could not support operations despite efforts to diversify income sources. On December 1, 2016, Mirror Media reported that founder and chairman Su Tzen-ping stated the board and shareholders had decided to close at the end of the year due to expectations that the media environment would not improve.

On December 15, 2016, Newtalk issued an announcement stating that although the team had originally decided to cease operations due to insurmountable bottlenecks, several local entrepreneurs in central Taiwan expressed willingness to provide capital and technology following the news. After negotiations, a consensus was reached to retain the existing editorial team and continue operations, with an official handover planned for February 2017. Su Tzen-ping stated that although he had originally planned to retire, he would remain to assist the new management.

Change of ownership

On March 28, 2017, Up Media revealed that Jinfeng International, the company taking over Newtalk, was chaired by Chao I-kuei, an esports entrepreneur who imported Lamborghini supercars and worked closely with mobile game developer Wanin International. Although the new team requested the original management to stay, Su Tzen-ping declined, transforming Newtalk from a social enterprise into a sole proprietorship. Board members previously representing figures like Chen Chi-cheng and Mu Tse Social Enterprise (chaired by Shen Hsueh-jung, husband of former Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun) were completely replaced by legal representatives from Jinfeng International.

In October 2017, Newtalk launched a mobile application.

In January 2024, Tu Yao-ren succeeded as chairman of Jinfeng International. In July, the board members stepped down, leaving Tu Yao-ren as the sole shareholder of Vanguard Media.

Founding members

During its initial founding period, Newtalk's key management team included:

Business model

Social enterprise
Founder Su Tzen-ping argued that common Taiwanese media models—commercial and government-funded public media—each had drawbacks. Newtalk operated as a social enterprise, focusing on issue-centered reporting and empowering readers through citizen journalism while rejecting advertorials and product placement.
Transparent newsroom
During its period as a social enterprise, reporting formats included traditional text, photographs, audio-visual content, live streaming, and submissions from citizen journalists. It introduced two innovative mechanisms: an "Open Newsroom" allowing readers to inspect and participate in editorial discussions, and an ombudsman system inviting academics to review complaints. However, both systems were suspended shortly after implementation due to underperformance.
Focus on civic organizations
As a social enterprise, Newtalk emphasized international news and civic engagement, hosting a video broadcast program, Happiness Gas Station, for civic groups to host. During this period, Newtalk gained attention for notable reports, including early coverage of WikiLeaks cables related to Taiwan and the resignation of China Times editor-in-chief Xia Zhen after referring to Chen Yunlin as a "C-tier" figure.

References

  1. ↑ 關於我們 (About Us) Archived 2013-01-15 at the Wayback Machine, 新頭殼
  2. ↑ 陳宛茜 (2016-11-30). 新頭殼確定熄燈！ 胡元輝：對網路獨立媒體不悲觀. United Daily News. Archived from the original on 2017-11-02. Retrieved 2017-05-27.
  3. ↑ 賴志仇 (2016-12-01). 《新頭殼》年底熄燈 員工：在網路這條路走得太艱辛了. ETtoday. Archived from the original on 2016-12-04. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  4. ↑ 莊智勝 (2016-12-15). 本土企業家接手！《新頭殼》不熄燈 董事蘇正平：2月交接. ETtoday. Archived from the original on 2016-12-15. Retrieved 2016-12-15.
  5. ↑ 何醒邦 (2017-03-28). 【獨家】府方關切網媒熄燈 電競新貴入主《新頭殼》 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 上報. Archived from the original on 2017-04-16. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  6. ↑ 呂苡湧 (2017-04-17). 媒體寒冬，地方記者只能為五斗米折腰？ (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Initium Media. Archived from the original on 2017-06-13. Retrieved 2017-05-28.
  7. ↑ 常見問題. Archived from the original on 2015-10-18. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  8. ↑ 李唐峰 (2012-08-02). 新頭殼 建立非主流媒體影響力. 《看雜誌》第118期. Archived from the original on 2012-12-30. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  9. 1 2 黃慧敏 (2010-07-04). NewTalk 鍛鍊公民勇健頭殼. Central News Agency. Taipei. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  10. ↑ 王盈勛 (2012-05-04). 【Meet創業之星】重塑社會企業媒體定位－新頭殼新聞網. 《數位時代》2012年3月號. 巨思文化. Archived from the original on 2012-12-13.