Regulatory Structure of
Chinese Media
2009 Annenberg/Oxford Summer
Institute
Min Jiang (Ph.D.)
Assistant Professor of Communication
UNC Charlotte
mjiang3@uncc.edu

CCTV News Broadcast – Main Melody
Photos courtesy of http://www.dzwww.com and http://news.youth.cn

Great Wall: Now and Then

Development of Modern Chinese Media
1949-1966 party propaganda
1966-1976 cultural revolution
1978-2001 opening and reform
2001-now global expansion

Party Propaganda
Images courtesy of http://www.junshijia.com and http://www.5maiya.com

Cultural Revolution
Images courtesy of http://www.hiyoo.cn and http://www.stnn.cc

Opening and Reform
Images courtesy of http://www.sznews.com, http://finance.qq.com, and http://adcn.blog.sohu.com

Global Expansion

Government
Media
Market Public

Major Regulatory Bodies
CCP
State Council
State Council
Information
Office
Publicity Dept. GAPP Ministry of Ministry of
SARFT
Of CPC NCAC Industry & IT Culture
Press & Radio Literature & Arts;
Industrial
Propaganda Publications; Film Cultural Industry;
Development; IT
Copyright Television Live Performance

Legal Foundations
Constitution
Laws
Criminal Law
Civil Law
Administrative regulations
State Council
Administrative rules
Various ministries
Local regulations

Constitution – State’s Role
Article 22 The state promotes the
development of art and literature, the press,
radio and television broadcasting, publishing
and distribution services… that serve the
people and socialism…

Constitution – Civil Rights 1
Article 35 Citizens of the People's Republic
of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the
press, of assembly, of association, of
procession and of demonstration.
Article 47 Citizens of the People's Republic
of China have the freedom to engage in
scientific research, literary and artistic
creation and other cultural pursuits…

Constitution – Civil Rights 2
Article 38 The personal dignity of citizens
of the People's Republic of China is
inviolable. Insult, libel, false accusation or
false incrimination directed against citizens
by any means is prohibited.
Article 41 Citizens who have suffered
losses as a result of infringement of their
civic rights by any state organ or functionary
have the right to compensation in
accordance with the law.

Press Regulation – Print Media in 2006
Number Revenue U.S .
of (billion USD) (billion USD)
Newspapers 1,938 9.7 45.3
Magazines 9,368 4.7 11
Books 233,971 8.3 24.2
Note: Based on the exchange rate of 1 USD = 7.8 RMB
Source: AAP, PPG, Wu, M. (2008), Government regulation of media. China Film Publishing.

Press Regulation
Clash of philosophies
Free press vs. Party leadership over the press
Press law for all vs. Journalistic self discipline
Proprietorship of legal person vs. Party control
Anti-censorship vs. Party censorship
Media watchdog vs. Media supervision
Laws and regulations
Copyright Law (1991)
Regulations on the Administration of Publication
(2001)

Press Regulation – Next Media
Jimmy Lai

Broadcast Regulation (SARFT)
Number of 2008 Revenue
(billion USD)
TV Stations 296*
207
Radio
303*
Stations
Film Studios 30* 6.1
Note: Based on the exchange rate of 1 USD = 7 RMB
Source: *The Annals of SARFT (2007), CNetNews. A lot more TV stations at city and county levels (> 1000), not counting
cable TV stations, or those in HK, Macao, Taiwan.

Broadcast Regulation - Competition

Broadcast Regulation – Story of a Bun

New Media Regulation
Major regulations pertaining to new
media
Administration of Internet Publishing Tentative
Provisions (MIIT, 2002)
Administration of Internet Culture Tentative
Provisions (MC, 2003)
Provisions on the Administration of Internet
News and Information (2005)
Internet Information Communication Rights
Provisions (2006)
Regulations on the Disclosure of Government
Information (2007)

New Media Regulation – Blogging

New Media - Green Dam, Damned

The Four Unchangeables
Party’s control of the media
Party’s control of top media personnel
Party’s control over the ideological
direction
Party’s control over the asset
structure of media
Long Xinmin
Vice Secretary of Beijing Party Committee
2001

Future Trends
Continued Party domination
“Double governance”
Increasing commercialization
Gov organizations to gov enterprises
Absorption of private investment
Globalization
Exporting of Chinese media, cultural
products, values