The Transformation of Political Communication in China

Zhang (contemporary Chinese studies, Nottingham U., UK) examines how marketization, globalization, and new media technologies have driven the transformation of China's media industry and the relationship to its political system and ideology. He describes how the media was a propaganda tool during the Maoist period and has grown with the economic growth of the past three decades, making the media more commercialized, pluralized, and liberalized and providing the government with the means to shape public opinions, while the media has also gained more bargaining power with the state. He contends that this change is due to commercialization and the resultant pluralization, the new global and regional structure and environment, China's interactions with the outside world, and new information and communication technologies. He also discusses debates on the implications of different forces on the development of Chinese media which affect the development of political reform in China, how the state adjusts to the new communication realities through a mix of consensus and coercion, the negotiation and renegotiation between the government and the media, and examples: the current affairs program "Focus," the Spring Festive Gala Party, and CCTV News. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)