The future of media in China – from the grassroots to the professional – has been a big topic at Hong Kong U over the past couple of weeks, Isaac Mao and Michael Anti talked about it. From RConversation:
Key points of Isaac’s talk:
* There are blockages to free thinking in China, due to various things: educational system, propaganda, and also “Stockholm syndrome” (in which the prisoner identifies with and sympathizes with the captors).
* Blogging is a learning tool. “Learning is about sharing.” As people keep blogging they become more connected and develop trust between one another – something that has been badly lacking in Chinese society…
Key points of Anti’s talk :
* Professionalism, and fact-based “American style” journalism is the best hope for Chinese journalists. Traditional Chinese journalism has been more “European style,” which mixes facts, feeling, and opinion. But the latter is more likely to get mixed up with propaganda, or to be perceived as dangerously political if it diverges too much from the line…
* Blogging and journalism: For professional journalists, we’re starting to see a division of the medium. They do their fact-based professional work for their news organizations, then put their opinions on their blogs…
Read the Full Post and watch the google video.
