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press system centred on Party newspapers (Zhongguo Xinwen Nianjian, 1987; 3),
TABLE 3. Excerpts From the Statistics of the Chinese Newspaper Industry in 1986*
Types Issues Copies distributed Party papers 369 2,868+ 926,945+ Total 2,151 15,990+ 2,380,300+ Proportion of party papers against total 17.15% 17.94% 38.94%*Source: Zhongguo Xinwen Nianjian 1987 (p 381) +numbers are shown in 10,000s
The statistics of newspaper industry in China provided in the same Issue also confirms this overriding power if not control (Table 2). In the figure shown, party papers do not form a majority in the number of the types of newspapers nor of the issues produced in China. But, in terms of distribution, these party papers are influential as they account for more than one-third of the total copies distributed.
Even though a large proportion of papers are not referred to as Party papers, they are mostly run by the Central Government, the provincial governments, or indirectly under the central control through government monitored committees, companies etc. This can be seen in the brief notes on the management of each of the papers in Zhongguo Xinwen Nianjian (1987: 340-349). On the other hand, media personnel are government employees (Terrell, 1984: 147). Party membership and politico-ideological background as recruitment criteria are put before everything else. Even there may be some non-party cadres, or who are not at first so much ideologically devoted to the party line, they are bound to be of after working in the media for some time. As a result, it can be expected that all the papers, from the national ones down to the county ones, deliver more or less the same messages.
27
press system centred on Party newspapers (Zhongguo Xinwen Nianjian, 1987; 3),
TABLE 3. Excerpts From the Statistics of the Chineses Newspaper Industry in 1986*
Types
Issues
Copies distributed
Party papers
369
2,868+
926,945+
Total
2,151
15,990+
2,380,300+
Proportion of
party papers
17.15%
17,94%
38.94%
against total
*Source: Zhongguo Xinwen Nianjian 1987 (p 381) +numbers are shown in 10,000s
The statistics of newspaper industry in China provided in the same Issue also confirms this overriding power if not control (Table 2). In the figure shown, party papers do not form a majority in the number of the types of newspapers nor of the issues produced in China. But, in terms of distribution, these party papers are influential as they account for more than one-third of the total copies distributed.
Even though a large proportion of papers are not referred to as Party papers, they are mostly run by the Central Government, the provincial governments, or indirectly under the central control through government monitored committees, companies etc. This can be seen in the brief notes on the management of each of the papers in Zhongguo Xinwen Nianjian (1987: 340-349). On the other hand, media personnel are government employees (Terrell, 1984: 147). Party membership and politico- ideological background as recruitment criteria are put before everything else. Even there may be some non-party cardres, or who are not at first so much ideologically devoted to the party line, they are bound to be of after working in the media for some time. As a result, it can be expected that all the papers, from the national ones down to the county ones, deliver more or less the same messages.
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