I swear, I could maintain a separate blog devoted to Edward Cody and his coverage of developments in China. The
Washington Post journalist frequently reports on media-related issues in China, giving me
lots of fodder for further analysis and commentary.
His latest dispatch is no exception. He examines how, in an age of rapid change and increased openness in Chinese media, old-guard propagandists are faring. It turns out not so well, at least in some regards. Cody's article states that propaganda chief
Li Changchun (李長春) was recently slapped down by President Hu Jintao after suggesting that an anti-CCP article be suppressed. The article also suggests that the credibility of the government propaganda apparatus is very low.
Nonetheless, the central government maintains a great deal of control over the type and tone of coverage appearing in mainstream news outlets, particularly in the runup to the 2008 Olympics and the 17th Party Congress this fall:
After a meeting of top Beijing propaganda officials, for instance, the capital's newspaper editors and television news directors last week were handed a list of newly off-limits subjects, Beijing journalists reported. The list included food safety as well as riots, fires, deadly auto accidents and bloody murder cases, they said.
The
rest of the article is an interesting read. It discusses the rise of sensationalism in Chinese mass media and the spread of anti-Hu Jintao dissent on the Internet.
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