Shen Bao
Along with journalists from the Shanghai newspaper "Shibao" ("Eastern Times"), by 1909 "the most widely circulated newspaper in the Shanghai region," Shi was a regular visitor to "an association known as the Xilou (Resting Place), which "Shibao" sponsored and where several items of the late-Qing reformist agenda were argued and shaped." When he took over "Shen Bao" in 1912, he furthered its liberal orientation; he also began a career as a press magnate, and from 1927, he bought up most of the stock of "Shishi" and "Xinwen" newspapers. He also expanded his range of business interests, with investments in cotton textiles.