 | |
| Editor-in-chief | Ting Wu |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Shanghai United Media Group |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Based in | Shanghai, China |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
Sixth Tone (Chinese:第六声;pinyin:Dì liù shēng) is a Chinesestate-owned English-language online magazine published byShanghai United Media Group.[1][2]
Sixth Tone's name relates to the number oftones inMandarin Chinese, but also is stated to carry more metaphorical meaning as well. Mandarin Chinese has four active tones and a fifth dropped tone that has less prominence than the other four. Because of the language's five tones, the publication's name refers to an ideal of expanding beyond traditionally-reported items inAnglophone media, making it the "sixth tone".[3]
The online magazine began publication on April 6, 2016, with an investment of US$4.5 million from the Shanghai United Media Group.[1] It is a sister publication ofThe Paper.[2] Wei Xing was its first editor-in-chief until May 30, 2016, when he left the magazine to launch astart-up. His successor, Zhang Jun, became the new editor-in-chief that year.[1]
By 2018, Western media began to citeSixth Tone in news reports.[3] Vincent Ni, in an essay published inWestminster Papers in Communication and Culture, stated that, "For foreign journalists, it has also shown a diverse and authentic side of China that rarely received much attention elsewhere" and that the publication "has proved far more effective than the hundreds of millions of dollars invested in English-language news programs by the state broadcasterXinhua,CCTV, andCRI."[3]
In 2022, following the sudden lifting of China's prolongedzero-COVID measures,Sixth Tone published a year-in-review feature highlighting key terms like "baby bust," "housing crisis," "gender violence," and "COVID".[4][5] This feature, deemed as being critical to the country's COVID policy, faced criticism from China nationalists who accused the outlet of having an editorial bias akin to Western media, citing its frequent reception of international awards from The Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) as proof. In response, Shanghai authorities requested senior editors to engage in self-reflection. Consequently, the outlet stopped submitting entries for international awards like SOPA due to fear of repercussions.[5]
In 2023, the publication had new management installed following repeated attacks by nationalists onWeibo.[6]
Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, writing forForeign Policy, stated thatSixth Tone has a less staid and "saccharine" tone compared to many other English-language publications from China.[1] She stated, "If webby U.S. media startupVox were acquired by theChinese Communist Party, it might resembleSixth Tone".[1]
In a 2016 interview withThe New York Times, the then-editor-in-chief, Wei Xing, sought to differentiate his magazine from other Chinese English-language publications. Wei stated that compared to other government-owned news publications,Sixth Tone would have an easier time growing since it "lacks a politics-saturated bureaucracy because it is a start-up".[2]