At Telum Media's year-end webinar on 14^th December, we spoke with Dr. Lu Gang, Founder and CEO at TechNode, on the media’s structure and editorial process. Joined by corporate PRs from East and Southeast Asia, Dr. Lu deconstructed tech buzzwords used in Mainland China and overseas and discussed how to redefine tech media and expand the boundaries of tech media coverage during the pandemic.

About the editorial team
Launched in 2012, TechNode is the first bilingual media outlet in Mainland China to cover China’s technology innovation. It was formerly a personal technology blog run by Dr. Lu. Comprised of three main editorial teams - one Chinese and two English - internationalisation is the most important editorial feature. To maintain neutrality in reporting, the editorial teams at TechNode operate independently of its commercial team.

About the coverage
In addition to continuously expanding its tech media coverage, TechNode also focuses on:

• Traditional topics: BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent), large tech companies (e.g., Huawei, Xiaomi, etc.) and consumer electronics.
• Emerging areas in artificial intelligence and new energy vehicles.
• Tech-intensive sectors: healthcare, life sciences, agricultural technology and carbon.

The requirement for technical expertise in the tech-intensive fields is higher than that of traditional technology reporting, which is a challenge for journalists and tech media. So compared to vertical media coverage that digs deeper into specific tech sectors, TechNode focuses on showing the application of technology in various fields from the business angle.

Overseas Technology Market
Looking at the foreign markets, the Southeast Asian region displays a similar development pattern to that of Mainland China from a decade ago, while exhibiting its own unique characteristics. Meanwhile, compared to a few years back, Hong Kong is more focused on the Mainland Chinese market. Along with its technological advantages and international background, it is becoming increasingly integrated into the Mainland Chinese market.

Tips for PRs

• Companies and PRs can send relevant information through TechNode’s official website form, where entries get sent to all journalists at the publication. The Managing Editor will go through potential topics and assign reporting tasks at editorial meetings.
• When pitching stories, it is important that companies highlight their unique characteristics and news values and learn more about the media outlets' traits and the journalists' beats.
• When approaching foreign media, it is imperative to build trust regularly in addition to connecting at events. It is also important to present the company’s information and product characteristics properly through referencing comparable products that are well known in overseas markets.

TechNode in 2023

• The Chinese edition will focus on four major sectors: consumer technology, life sciences, sustainability and tech firms going abroad.
• Development of emerging tech areas such as carbon issues and sustainable development concepts giving rise to new products and services.
• The upcoming year may be critical for the new energy vehicle industry.
• In May 2023, TechNode will host the 3^rd Beyond Expo in Macau, aiming to create an Asian version of the CES.

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