Media in China (стр. 1 из 2)
Moscow State University
Faculty of Journalism
MEDIA IN CHINA
Term paper by English language
made by third-year student of 304 group
Basina Maria Victorovna
Moscow, 2005
CONTENT
Introduction. Chinese media and government
China's media network: Xinhua and People’s Daily
China Youth Daily
China Youth Online
Beijing Today
Subsidiary Newspapers and Magazines
Internet
Internet censorship in China
SOHU.COM
Television
China Central Television
Talk Radio
Cable TV and satellites
The role of “internal” media
Market competition
Sources of information
INRODUCTION. CHINESE MEDIA AND GOVERNMENT
Within the People’s Republic of China there is heavy government involvement in the media, with many of the largest media organizations (namely CCTV, the People’s Daily, and Xinhua) being agencies of the Chinese government. There are certain taboos and red lines in the Chinese media, such as a taboo against questioning the legitimacy of the Communist Party of China. Yet within those restrictions, there is a vibrance and diversity of the media and fairly open discussion of social issues and policy options within the parameters set by the Party.
Much of the surprising diversity in the Chinese media is attributable to the fact that most state media outlets no longer receive large government subsidies and are expected to largely pay for themselves through commercial advertising. As a result, they can no longer serve solely as mouthpieces for the government but must also produce programming that people find attractive and interested so that money can be generated through advertising revenue. In addition, while the government does issue directives defining what can and cannot be published, it does not prevent, and in fact actively encourages state media outlets to compete with each other for viewers and commercial advertising.
Government control of information can also be ineffective in other ways. Despite government restrictions, much information is gathered either at the local level or from foreign sources and passed on through personal conversations and text messaging. The withdrawal of government media subsidies has caused many newspapers (including some owned by the Communist Party) in tabloids to take bold editorial stands critical of the government, as the necessity to attract readers and avoid bankruptcy has been a more pressing fear than government repression.
In addition, the traditional means of media control have proven extremely ineffective against newer forms of communication, most notably text messaging.
Although the government can and does use laws against state secrets to censor press reports about social and political conditions, these laws have not prevented the press from all discussion of Chinese social issues. Chinese newspapers have been particularly affected by the loss of government subsidies, and have been especially active at gaining readership though must engaging in hard hitting investigative reporting and muckraking. As a result even papers which are nominally owned by the Communist Party are sometimes very bold at reporting social issues. However both commercial pressures and government restrictions have tended to cause newspapers to focus on lurid scandals often involving local officials who have relatively little political cover, and Chinese newspapers tend to lack in depth analysis of political events as this tends to be more political sensitive.
Among social issues first reported in the Chinese press include the AIDS epidemic in Henan province, the unsafe state of Chinese mines. In addition, the SARS coverup was first revealed by a fax to CCTV which was forwarded to Western news media.
CHINA’S MEDIA NETWORK: XINHUA AND PEOPLE’S DAILY
Xinhua (the New China News Agency) and People's Daily, the two most important print media, have status as separate government ministries; their directors sit on the party's Central Committee. Just below, hierarchically, are the two national newspapers under the control of the Propaganda Department — the Guangming Daily and the English-language China Daily. These entities have the rank of vice ministries, as does the State Council-controlled Economic Daily. The National Propaganda Department appoints publishers, chief editors, and other key officials of the above-mentioned newspapers — plus a few others — while provincial and local party leaders make similar appointments for party papers in their jurisdictions.
In many ways, Xinhua is the fuel propelling China's print media. Perhaps unique in the world because of its role, size, and reach, Xinhua reports directly to the party's Propaganda Department; employs more than 10,000 people — as compared to about 1,300 for the UK's Reuters, for example; has 107 bureaus worldwide both collecting information on other countries and dispensing information about China; and maintains 31 bureaus in China — one for each province plus a military bureau. In as much as most of the newspapers in China cannot afford to station correspondents abroad — or even in every Chinese province — they rely on Xinhua feeds to fill their pages. People's Daily, for example, uses Xinhua material for approximately 25 percent of its stories.
Xinhua is a publisher as well as a news agency — it owns more than 20 newspapers and a dozen magazines, and it prints in Chinese, English, and four other languages.
Like other government entities, Xinhua is feeling the pinch of reduced State financial subsidies. Beijing has been cutting funding to the news agency by an average of seven percent per year over the past three years, and State funds currently cover only about 40 percent of Xinhua's costs. As a result, the agency is raising revenues through involvement in public relations, construction, and information service businesses.
In the past, Xinhua was able to attract the top young journalists emerging from the universities or otherwise newly entering the field, but it can no longer do so as easily because of the appeal and resources of other newspapers and periodicals and the greater glamour of television and radio jobs. For example, midlevel reporters for the Xinmin Evening News often are given an apartment, whereas at Xinhua and People's Daily this benefit is reserved for the most senior journalists.
Like many other media organizations, Xinhua struggled to find the "right line" to use in covering the Tiananmen Square events of April-June 1989. Although more cautious than People's Daily in its treatment of sensitive topics during that period — such as how to commemorate reformist Communist Party leader Hu Yaobang's April 1989 death, the then ongoing demonstrations in Beijing and elsewhere, and basic questions of press freedom and individual rights — Xinhua gave some favorable coverage to demonstrators and intellectuals who were questioning top party leaders. Even so, many Xinhua reporters were angry with top editors for not going far enough and for suppressing stories about the Tiananmen Square crackdown. For several days after the violence on 4 June, almost no one at Xinhua did any work, and journalists demonstrated inside the Agency's Beijing compound
CHINA YOUTH DAILY
The China Youth Daily is one of the most important daily official newspapers and is the first independently operated central government news media portal in the China. It is operated by the Communist Youth League since 1951. The chief editor is Li Xueqian.
China Youth Daily was established in 1951, six years before the Chinese Socialist Youth League decided to change its name to Communist Youth League of China (CYL).
China Youth Daily resolutely supports the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) due to its subordination to the CYL. As the mission of CYL at the present stage is to unite and lead the young people in the country, hoping to tranfuse new blood to the CPC and bringing about young personnel for the country, China Youth Daily also tries to bring news, ideas and informations through the nationwide circulations which follow the CYL principles. Thus, China Youth Daily has in fact given advantages to the CPC to project their voice to a wider public in China. In another perspective, the content of the paper is to some extent regulated by the CPC.
Although China youth Daily is run by the CYL, it is also the first marketized official paper in China. The profit enables the paper to support its own running and it also welcomes individuals and companies to advertise in the paper.
Administrative structure of China Youth Daily can be divided into two parts. First, it is the upper part and the main power of the hierarchy which includes the president and the chief editor. Second, there are the vice president, the vice chief editor and the secretary. But like all other papers with a CPC background, China Youth Daily is ultimately directed by the Propaganda Department of the CPC. Although it does not mean that the Propaganda Department often affects the direction and the content of the paper, it is authorized and has the right to do so.
Apart from the central hierarchy, there are six other departments which help the daily running of the paper, they include the office, editorial board, management department, business developmental department, human resources department and the party office. Yet, under the editorial board, management department and business developmental department, many branchs are developed to handle the daily work.
People working for the paper are required to have a good understanding of the CPC and all the concepts involved such as Dengxaoping's theories, Communism, Socialism, etc. Most of the employees, including journalists working for the paper are the members of the Communist Party.
The paper has a circulation of around 500,000 a day. As it is an integrated nationwide newspaper which targets the young generation in China, it covers political, social, and economic news which particularly concerns both the young personnel of the country and the CPC.
Following its goal, China Youth Daily is able to attract a primary readership among professionals between the age of 21 to 48. And to maintain such readership, the paper has established an online version of the paper in 2000, the China Youth Online (CYOL).
During approximately 3 years of establishment, CYOL has generated 31 different channels to increase diversity to different users. Both China Youth Daily and CYOL are now besides having the hardcore political, social and economic news, also include news for public examinations, overseas study opportunities, career planning, fashion, entertainment, etc.
As it is the first marketized official newspaper in China, it welcomes advertisements from individuals, local and foreign companies. In order to multiply the number of advertisements, CYOL provide an easy assess to users especially for the users overseas.
According to an official research conducted by China Youth Daily and CYOL, readers of the newspaper and online users are within the age of 18 to 48. The majority of readers are of the age of 19-25 (50%)and 26-35 (32%). Around 75% of the readers are male and around only 25% of them are female. Most readers attain a tertiary education background and more than 60% of them have an income of 1000RMB or less.
Although the paper is circulated nationwide, it gains more popularity in the east(31%), the central part(18%) and the north(16%) comparatively to the other parts of China.
Two online versions of China Youth Daily is established since 2000. The first one is CYOL, the Chinese version of China Youth Daily Online and Beijing Today, the English of CYOL. As mentioned before, websites are established for different reasons and needs, for examples, it is to attract and maintain readership and to make it more asseccible to foreign users.
CHINA YOUTH ONLINE
China Youth Online is China's first independently operated central government news media website which has started its operation since 15th February, 2000. The portal is targeted towards the youth community in Mainland China. It offers the online version of China Youth Daily and distributes content, souvenirs, books and magazines published by China Youth Daily.
Like China Youth Daily, CYOL basically channels for education, people, military, networks, life, and service information.
During early 2004, China Youth Daily together with CYOL have a daily circulation of 2 million in China, CYOL has successfully created new readership and profit since its establishment.
BEIJING TODAY
Beijing Today is the first English newspaper of Beijing. It is supported by the Information Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China and the State Press and Publication Administration. It is a 16-page chromatic weekly off press in four parts: Beijing News, Beijing View, Capital Culture and Capital Service. It aims to introduce Beijing's modernization construction, new success, developments, and changes made through reform and opening up in recent years.
Subsidiary Newspapers and Magazines
Few newspapers and magazines are produced under the leading of the China Youth Daily. These subsidiary newspapers and magazines are designed to suit the taste of special users and to provide news for current hot topics.
Elite Reference (http://qnck.cyol.com/gb/qnck/2004-02/18/node_109.htm)
Sports Youth Weekly (http://qnty.cyol.com/gb/qnty/2003-07/29/node_111.htm)
It covers sports news in China and worldwide. It reports the news of many kinds of ball games (mainly soccer), the hot topics of the sports field, and provides leisure and health information.
Its primary readers are college students, officers and professionals, aged between 18-35, who are interested in sports.
The chief editor is Hua Xidung who is an experienced sports reporter and soccer critic.
It is distributed on Mondays, via retail outlets and subscription.
Digital Youth
Digital Youth is a daily paper which concerns with IT, providing knowledge and news about IT (Information Technology).
It provides information of IT services, the activities of the IT field and the IT experts.
But it also concerns about youth problem and hot social issues.
It is established for about 50 years.
The distribution is about 1 million, mainly in Beijing.
Its distribution is Beijing is around 100,000, attached in China Youth Daily, which mainly go to the government units, education departments and the army.
Some of them can be found in news stand, and some are freely distributed to few IT companies etc.
Youth Times (http://www.cyol.net/gb/qnsx/2003-01/02/node_110.htm)
Youth Times is a leisure weekly with city youth entertainment.
"Entertainment is a power in the new century" is what the paper believes in.
Topics include visual and international news, creativity, sales, health, travel, fashion, studying abroad, tastes and home. It is distributed on Thursdays.
INTERNET
Widening Chinese use of the Internet also is undercutting government efforts to control the flow of information. More than 90,000,000 people in China now have Internet access, and the figure is likely to surpass one billion within four years, according to a Chinese specialist on the subject.
Through the Internet, residents of China can get uncensored news from the Chinese News Digest, an on-line service created by Chinese volunteers in the United States and Australia. This service carries information on such issues as trials of prominent dissidents, developments in Taiwan, and divisions among the party's top leaders. A Western specialist on Internet in China has noted that about one-fifth of the more than 500,000 personal computers sold there in 1994 were designated for installation in residences, where it is especially difficult for the State to limit Internet use.
Since the beginning of 1996, the State has suspended all new applications from Internet service providers seeking to commence operations in China; moved to put all existing Internet services under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Electronics Industry, and the State Education Commission; and attempted — without much success — to establish firewalls, limit the contents of home pages, and block access to certain Internet sites through routing filters. Government officials are worried that, as the number of Chinese homes with telephone lines grows from the present level of less than four percent, the State will become totally unable to monitor Internet access at residences.
INTERNET CENSORSHIP IN CHINA
The government of the People's Republic of China has set up a system of Internet censorship in mainland China. This system is not applied in Hong Kong and Macau; some Hong Kong websites are in fact blocked or filtered from within mainland China.
One part of this system is known outside mainland China as the Great Firewall of China (in reference both to its role as a network firewall and to the ancient Great Wall of China). The system blocks content by preventing IP addresses from being routed through and consists of standard firewall and proxy servers at the Internet gateways. The system also selectively engages in DNS poisoning when particularly objectionable sites (such as the BBC) are requested. The government does not appear to be systematically examining Internet content, as this appears to be technically impractical.