Austin Ramzy: How Much Will Global News Outlets Bet on China?

Xinhua_News_AgencyFrom the Time Magazine:

As China marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the PRC and the 30th anniversary of Deng Xiaoping’s reform and opening policies, there are countless examples of how the country has changed over the decades. In the sphere of foreign media coverage, perhaps the most obvious came last week, when 300 news executives arrived in Beijing for the country’s first World Media Summit, held Oct. 8 through Oct. 10. President Hu Jintao addressed the gathering, saying China would “safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of foreign news organizations and reporters and facilitate foreign media coverage of China in accordance with China’s laws and regulations.” He noted the growth in the foreign media’s coverage of the country and called on the foreign press to “deepen the world’s understanding of China.”

… While the summit was billed as a nongovernmental event, David Bandurski of Hong Kong University’s China Media Project noted on the project’s website that Li was formerly the deputy chief of the CCP’s propaganda department. The summit, Bandurski wrote, is “a naked ploy by the CCP to enhance China’s global influence over media agendas,” and the foreign media representatives “an audience at court.”

Plays for access are an inevitable part of the media game. But with China’s growing clout and economic status, foreign players take on greater risk to their professional integrity. Murdoch himself has been accused of dropping BBC News from Star TV satellite packages and axing a critical book by Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong. At a time when media are still reeling from the economic downturn and the Internet-led destruction of traditional advertising and subscription models, China has money to spend and offers new markets for foreign media. The risks are high. Not only could Western media players miss out on a big deal in China, they could sell their soul to win one.

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