Full Description
It is widely recognised that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses the media to set the agenda for political discourse, propagate official policies, monitor public opinion, and rally regime support. State agencies in China control the full spectrum of media programming, either through ownership or the power to regulate.
Political Communication in China examines the two factors which have contributed to the rapid development of media infrastructure in China: technology and commercialization. Economic development led to technological advancement, which in turn brought about the rapid modernization of all forms of communication, from 'old' media such as television to the Internet, cell phones, and satellite communications. This volume examines how these recent developments have affected the relationship between the CCP and the mass media as well as the implications of this evolving relationship for understanding Chinese citizens' media use, political attitudes, and behaviour.
The chapters in this book represent a diverse range of research methods, from surveys, content analysis, and field interviews to the manipulation of aggregate statistical data. The result is a lively debate which creates many opportunities for future research into the fundamental question of convergence between political and media regimes.
This book was originally published as a special issue of the journal Political Communication.
Contents
1. The Emerging Media System in China: Implications for Regime Change Wenfang Tang and Shanto Iyengar 2. Race to the Bottom: Media Marketization and Increasing Negativity Toward the United States in China Daniela Stockmann 3. The Political Consequences of the Rise of the Internet: Political Beliefs and Practices of Chinese Netizens Ya-Wen Lei 4. Political Communications in Democratic Taiwan: The Relationship Between Politicians and Journalists Gary Rawnsley and Qian Gong 5. Predicting Political Discussion in a Censored Virtual Environment Yi Mou, David Atkin and Hanlong Fu 6. Bifurcated Images of the U.S. in Urban China and the Impact of Media Environment Tianjian Shi, Jie Lu and John Aldrich 7. From the World's Largest Propaganda Machine to a Multipurposed Global News Agency: Factors in and Implications of Xinhua's Transformation Since 1978 Junhao Hong
