2016-02-22

Narrative Control in China

Xinhua: Xi underscores CPC's leadership in news reporting
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday ordered news media run by the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government to strictly follow the Party's leadership and focus on "positive reporting."

Speaking in a symposium Friday afternoon after touring China's three leading news providers, the People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television, Xi, also General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, called Party- and government-run news outlets the "publicity fronts" of the party and the government.

All news media run by the Party must work to speak for the Party's will and its propositions and protect the Party's authority and unity, Xi said.
If only China was like the West, where reporters don't have to be told to hide stories that deviate from the official Narrative and play up those that push the Narrative. The difference is there are few true believers in Beijing, but many in Washington and New York.

As for actual effects, I don't expect the order will have much effect on economic reporting beyond the major headlines for public consumption, but we'll see.

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