News portals face change as founding fathers step down

Chen Tong, executive vice president and editor-in-chief of Sina Corp, announced his resignation on his Twitter-like Sina Weibo account on Wednesday.

The move sent a ripple across the industry and could be a landmark for the development of news web portals in China.

Chen worked at Sina Corp, China's leading online media company, for 17 years during which time the number of Chinese net users grew from zero to nearly 600 million. Similarly the website has grown to become one of the most popular and influential in the country.

Sina News, under Chen, set the benchmark for Chinese Internet journalism. He turned a set of complicated and meticulous editing procedures and rules for news web portals into the first of its kind in China. This is his legacy to the entire industry.

With the arrival of mobile Internet and social media, the traditional pattern of a news portal has been sidelined. These popular websites will no longer depend on individual talents and will evolve into mobile social media that will increasingly rely on collective wisdom.

Web portals can no longer be satisfied with feeding net users selected and edited information, they must create an interactive platform with self-generated content.

In August, Liu Ying, editor-in-chief of Netease Corp stepped down and Liu Chun, editor-in-chief of Sohu Corp left his post in October last year. The two portals, together with Sina Corp, are among the most influential in China.

In the new era, innovative young talents will increasingly emerge. That's the charm of the Internet age.