The Guardian looks ahead to possible developments in the media environment in China in 2010:
Last year, a new English-language paper and Arabic and Russian TV channels were launched; this year, experts say, there could be not one but two international channels – a 24-hour English news service and one providing Chinese business coverage – in an attempt to pull off the tricky feat of creating “a Chinese CNN”.
Yu Guoming, a professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at Renmin University, predicts 2010 may also see programme-making separated from broadcasting, encouraging the production of non-news programmes by a wider range of entities. Meanwhile, Chinese users will increasingly access news and entertainment via the internet, with the online population, already the largest in the world at around 360 million, continuing to rocket.
But some warn of financial troubles on the horizon, and struggles with propaganda officials could intensify.
