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Lecture notes Media and Power in Politics
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Lecture notes on the Chinese media and it’s evolution to contemporary times.
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CHINESE MEDIA AND ITS TRANSFORMATIONChina’s media paradox
In theory China is the last communist giant now that the Soviet Union has broken up.
Some may argue China is not communist – number of multimillionaires/multibillionaires
Has worked to the extent that it has lifted many people out of extreme poverty
However due to a break with the Soviet Union in the 70s, and under pressure from the USA, they’ve
increasingly moved away from the typical communist model.
Many would now describe them as authoritarian and practising state capitalism (rather than
totalitarian).
What this means is rigid control over what can be broadcast and printed, but also an attempt to copy
the content seen in the global media.
This has especially become the case since the 1990s with China joining the WTO and the increased
attention following the Beijing Olympics
As a result China now has a huge media scene to cater for its 1 billion inhabitants.
Audiences have increasingly different perspectives – Historically China was one of the first countries
to be a unitary state whereas now this has begun to break down.
More messages and more messengers
Information overload – fed irrelevant information that distracts from topics such as democracy (i.e.
celebrity magazines)
Some evidence that the audience is becoming less trusting of those who deliver the media
An increasingly diverse audience
Increasingly empowered audience
China suffers from a variety of issues
Fractured society and interest groups in conflicts
“One nation” with diverse social strata.
“One nation” with fractured social structure between the affluent and the poor, the urban
center and the rural peripheries, as well as the developed East coastal areas and the
underdeveloped West and hinterland .
“One nation” with a variety of interest groups.
Chinese media
Media in China are not companies, but government-affiliated organisations
Chinese media are state-owned organisations, but financially supported by advertising
Ratings and circulations are the critical factors for all media in China.
The Chinese media are not network-structured in the traditional sense.
The central paradox
The dual-role of Chinese media and regulatory uncertainties
, Profit making and ideological management?
Media
Political
Market
concerns
The Chinese media revolution
The media scene in China today is the outcome of the reforms introduced after the landmark
December 1978, 3rd Plenum of the 11th CPC Central Committee under the influence of Deng
Xiaoping.
Decisions were made here to push China towards a more market orientated economy.
Three stages in the transition of Chinese media institution
– Marketization since 1978
• Advertising — financially independent
• Gov. subsidies: 10.7% of total income (2004)
– Conglomeration since 1995
• 2004, Total income of entire broadcasting sector:
• RMB 82.472 Billion (app. US 10 Billion)
– Capitalisation: since 2003
• Non-state investment from stock-market and elsewhere (Western
investment limited)
Result of these reforms – press
• From 69 in 1979, the number of newspapers today is about 2000; magazines 9000.
• Emergence of commercial media as a result of change in policies and processes (without any
significant change in structures), as e.g. relaxation of controls to permit:
– Freer expression (hence more lively style of present day newspapers and journals).
– Raising of revenues through advertising, alongside withdrawal of budgetary support
from Govt. (resulting in their catering to audience tastes in news content and style).
– Retention of profits, if any (resulting in a rise in circulation, despite removal of
mandatory subscriptions by Govt. Departments since 2003).
– PLA daily is an exception to the above-mentioned trends.
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