The Epoch Times CFO on the Price of Telling the Truth, No Matter Who It Upsets

What does it cost to run a news organization that answers to no shareholders, no government, and no big advertisers? In this episode of Silicon Valley Front Row, Steve Ispas and David sit down with William Chung, CFO of The Epoch Times, to talk about the price of staying independent and telling the truth, no matter who it upsets.

William explains how a nonprofit media company funds itself, with about 90 percent of revenue coming from reader subscriptions, and why The Epoch Times keeps advertising to a minimum and avoids donations from industries it reports on, such as big pharma. He describes what it is like to run a newsroom that receives frequent bomb threats by email, and what he says happens when the FBI cannot trace threats that come from overseas. He also shares how, since 2020, the company has faced restrictions on Facebook ads, lower visibility on Google search, and YouTube demonetization that he says took monthly revenue from six figures to zero overnight.

William also tells his own story: growing up in a small village in China with one television channel, moving to Hong Kong at seven, joining the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests as a middle school student, and leaving for the United States at 18. We talk about how that experience shaped his belief in independent journalism, the company’s move into health content and documentaries, its international expansion, and where he sees The Epoch Times in the next ten years.

Two questions for you: What do you think about big tech platforms shaping what speech gets seen in America? And when you want the news, do you go to social media and aggregators, or straight to the source?

Silicon Valley Front Row brings you conversations with the people shaping business, media, and culture in the Bay Area and beyond.