Media in China

History

The media in the People’s Republic of China is known for being heavily monitored by the government. Social issues and open discussions are highly controlled by the government’s regulatory agencies. There are currently four agencies, which regulate all types of media and communication. Any diversity between broadcasting stations after censorship is due to competition through advertisement. Government funding does not cover most broadcasting; therefore companies are focused to gain their own profits by attracting viewers or selling products.

Although censorship has remained strong through the years, it is becoming ineffective through new mobile communication methods such as text messaging. These methods are extremely hard to regulate due to speed and size. Newspapers have begun to show more involvement in political headlines, but still lack depth when speaking about the issues at hand.

Internet

Due to China’s rapid expansion, the use of the Internet is only increasing. The vast amount of information with ease of accessibility is opening new independent doors to Chinese citizens. Currently, 250 million Chinese citizens have Internet access. Beginning in 1996, all Internet service provider applications were not allowed to update programs or applications. The Internet still remains under control of one of the four regulatory agencies. The agency attempted to place firewalls on their networks, but due to size, they seemed to be ineffective. The current firewall of China blocks sites and even chat sessions, but can be easily rerouted by the use of proxies.

Media Network

China currently has two media outlets that control the news, The Chinese News Network and the People’s Daily. Any positions of these outlets are appointed by the Propaganda Department. Due to decreased funding of the media outlets, the media networks have not been able to hire journalists from top universities, leaving a decreased quality in reporting and articles. Currently, China is ranked on a “very serious” media presentation level, meaning that much of the information given to the public is extremely censored.

Outside sources have been monitoring the situation and fear riots may break out in the future. With the increasing use of radio and the Internet, the possibilities of media coverage are increasing for Chinese citizens. The idea of control for the Communist party through censorship may have to be rethought according to some critics and outside officials.