From Radio Free Asia, written for the Web in English by Luisetta Mudie and edited by Sarah Jackson-Han:
China’s information explosion was once expected to blow traditional government media controls wide apart. But the Communist Party’s powerful Central Propaganda Department still wields decisive influence over what gets published, media professionals throughout China say.
“Newspapers, radio stations, and TV stations all have credibility problems, as they have many limitations,” a magazine editor in the southeastern coastal province of Fujian said.
“They are run by the propaganda departments of the party and have to report positive news,” he said.
Webmaster Li Xinde, of the Web site Watchdog Net for Citizens and Public Opinion, agreed: “Print media are under the strict control of the propaganda department of the Party,” he told reporter Wu Jing.
“Every media outlet is under the control of a ‘mother-in-law.’ Though it is independent as a corporation, it has to face very strict censorship,” Li said. [Full Text]
