New entrants face wrath of media old guard

Clashes between traditional and new media are set to intensify further in China with the established players looking to counter the unbridled growth of online news apps through a slew of measures, including legal action.

The latest offensive in the standoff between the old and new guard surfaced during the weekend, when several leading portals and media giants asked Toutiao.com, an online reading app, to stop unauthorized news links, reproductions and forwards.

The news came close on the heels of Toutiao's announcement on Wednesday that it had won a third round of financing of $100 million, which boosted its market value to an estimated $500 million.