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Q: is the media in China much different to other countries?
yeah yeah China government runs the media and only tell what it wants you to know .
however are western countries any different
for example it was reported that Trump wanted to ban all Muslims .
now i know the guy is a goose however he actually said stop Muslims till a better way to screen them can be worked out
media in the west is owned by private individuals largely and by government in China
both report what will benefit themselves.
note this is my view and may differ from yours so dont crack a sad if it does
8 years 7 weeks ago in Web & Technology - China
Like media in every country on earth every story is told with whatever spin is required to generate the necessary emotion, outrage or support for the climate of the moment.
The main difference here is that this is done in a less slick and sophisticated manner than is the norm in western media. But the end result is no different.
expatlife26:
Agreed. Plus in the west the media, though biased of course is biased towards more than one perspective.
Fox is always going to tell the story from the conservative side, huffington post from the progressive side etc. Others in places in between.
Here though it's just one side, the party line.
I really don't know a hell of a lot about it but I don't have a lot of faith in any media.
They all have their owners, and I'm sure those owners all have their best interests in mind, and people they need to answer to.
China may be a more extreme example though.
Same answer as Stiggs really.
Western news is too commercial. They are in the ratings game, so don't do the journalism they should. They fawn over political people they are interviewing because they are so grateful to have them on the "show".
I will say the BBC are better than most when it comes to UK politics, but they could still do better.
After all, it's supposed to be the job of the news to hold elected officials to account. I don't see much of that on either side of the great firewall. Erm... Elected and non elected officials I mean 
.
I prefer the media on YouTube for opinion and analysis.
Oh... Gotta say though, Rachel Maddow on MSNBC is pretty good. The work she done on the Flint water crisis was first class journalism and reporting.
philbravery:
do you think some media blatantly distort the facts to get the headlines?
ScotsAlan:
I think distort is too strong. Miss out key points perhaps. Don't ask the questions they should.
For example. Trump, saying on TV news that he had donated to politicians in the past and "buying" them. The next question should be " Why did you do that? What did you gain?".
Nobody has asked them that. He openly admits to paying politicians.
Or Clinton. Earning millions from doing speeches for bankers. Not one mainstream journalist has asked if she will release transcripts. Not one mainstream journalist has asked "How can we trust you to control Wall Street if you and your husband are in their pay?"
They won't ask these questions because they want their guest to come back. Put up the advert slot price and all that.
Stiggs:
Distort the facts... well, let's say word the facts in such a way that leads the reader to a certain opinion, or leave out certain facts that might lead the reader to form a different opinion.
A lot of people reading a newspaper probably only read the headline and first few paragraphs and make their mind up what to believe from there. That headline is usually worded to get your attention, the first few paragraphs will tell you the basic facts then, unless you're really interested you move on. I think a lot of people believe what they see in the headlines and first few paragraphs, and that would be where the propaganda comes in.
It obviously depends on the newspaper too. One or two I read most days are full of obvious bullshit but their readers don't have access to other sources so they don't know the difference.
Shining_brow:
I'm not sure that's true, Scots - about journalists asking those questions.
I suspect they do - but the editors do their job of editing, and so the answer never gets published.
It would be a really tough job to be a damn good journalist, only to have someone higher up cut it all to ribbons - or not even bother to print/run it. Good way to burn out.
Like media in every country on earth every story is told with whatever spin is required to generate the necessary emotion, outrage or support for the climate of the moment.
The main difference here is that this is done in a less slick and sophisticated manner than is the norm in western media. But the end result is no different.
expatlife26:
Agreed. Plus in the west the media, though biased of course is biased towards more than one perspective.
Fox is always going to tell the story from the conservative side, huffington post from the progressive side etc. Others in places in between.
Here though it's just one side, the party line.
At least in the west, you have free and unfettered access to other viewpoints and opinions.
Yes, the mainstream media is, well, mainstream. But an inquisitive and educated person (or at least someone with Internet savvy) can read alternate viewpoints, see videos, read unadulterated accounts and decide for themselves.
China makes no apologies for suppressing alternate viewpoints, accounts and certainly discourages seeking out balanced viewpoints.
Papa Xi saying that "all media must support the party" (exact translation, "You're f**ked if you displease Me.") pretty much sums it up.
Today's media is heavily monetized (hence Yahoo! and its clickbait "news"). China's media is 100% political and is reverting to mostly propagandist diatribe that the average Zhou doesn't believe but at least knows what he/she is supposed to/ allowed to spew in public.
Shining_brow:
I think you should have linked 2 of your ideas there a bit stronger... yes, it's available, but you need to be a lot more "internet savvy" to find it. Using most search engines, you'll only find what the engines want you to find - so you really need to find other ways (use other search engines) to get the good stuff.
ScotsAlan:
Surely, if a person in a western country has to do a bit of hunting to get alternatives to the mainstream, the same could be said for people in China.
Shining_brow:
Not quite Scots - in China you need special software. Outside of China (although, in also other countries), you only need to be a bit more savvy.
So, in China those sites are completely blocked (and for ego-maniac and paranoid reasons) - outside, they can just be harder to find.
Well how many countries have put dozens of journalists in prison? I'd say the media is much different. When was the last time a French Journalist got deported from the US for hurting the feelings of the American people?
ScotsAlan:
Not the same, but similar:
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/19/us/ferguson-journalists-arrested/index.html
And more recently, there was the scuffle between a secret service agent and a Time photographer at a Trump rally.
Shining_brow:
The fact that journalists DO get arrested and imprisoned - and harrassed, and constantly stopped by immigration/border protection - is a similarity. it happens in many parts of the world - the US is no exception. You should read the info on reporters who try to help whistle-blowers, or attack (expose) government corruption and cover-ups.Eg, Poitras & Greenwald who first published Snowden's materials.
It probably won't be long before they start disappearing, using Patriot Act laws.
Another thing to consider when comparing Chinese media to western media.
Does freedom of the press make that press more legitimate and believable than Government controlled press?
For example, when I worked in the UK, a work mate used to come in every morning with his Daily Mail newspaper (right wing), sit down with his cup of tea, and tell us all about the days stories. Normally stuff about the invading migrants, mad socialist politicians and the latest jihidi terror stuff. Faux news style reporting. He would froth at the mouth at stories about asylum seekers being giving rent free housing
Because western press is free, he totally 100% believed everything he would read. Press freedom gives that newspaper legitimacy to its right wing bias.
How many people do you know in China who buy Chinese newspapers and believe every word that is written?
Western media tends to be believed more, by more of the people, and not questioned. We just accept it as fact. They tell us themselves that their reporting is fair and balanced. They tell us they are the best.
And most people believe them, without question. The same can't be said for Chinese media.
So what media has the biggest subliminal affect on our thought process? The Chinese media that we dismiss offhand, or the western media that we trust?
RiriRiri:
Yay, let's have state controlled press we can all distrust together! Genius! I wonder if you can top your justifying of being a murderering thug on the basis one can eventually become a cute granny. That was your moment of shine.
I still can't decide whether you are genuinely dishonest or just plain stupid.
ScotsAlan:
@Riri. I did not actually say I trust either. I am just making an observation.
What I think is stupid, is blindly trusting the news because the news says you can trust them.
Another thing to think of : where is the line between the news creating events to fill their airtime, and actual reporting.
The Ferguson protests last year, for example. Some people said a heavy media presense added fuel to the fire.
coineineagh:
Scots makes a good point. Low trust is a boon when the newsmedia is concerned. You won't believe the opinions I've heard from people who believe everything a man in a suit on the evening news told them. Apparrently, scientists are less trustworthy than bankers or politicians, imagine that. There's a big motivation to propagate a climate change myth, because it makes them money! So, it is all a hoax, and average Joe has sussed it out with the help of the news reports!
I only trust what I read in this forum and on the ECC frontpage. And the interwebs, but that goes without saying
A quarter of those jailed globally are in China, the world’s worst offender for the second year in a row; the 49 journalists in prison there are a record for that country. As President Xi Jinping continues his crackdown on corruption and as the country’s economic growth slows and its markets become more volatile, reporting on financial issues has taken on new sensitivity. Wang Xiaolu, a reporter for the Beijing-based business magazine Caijing, was arrested on August 25 on suspicion of “colluding with others and fabricating and spreading false information about securities and futures trading” after he reported that a regulator was examining ways for securities companies to withdraw funds from the stock market. He later appeared on state television saying that he regretted writing the story and pleading for leniency, even as it was unclear whether he had been formally charged with a crime. As CPJ has documented, televised confessions are a tactic repeatedly deployed by Chinese authorities for dealing with journalists who cover sensitive stories.
https://www.cpj.org/reports/2015/12/china-egypt-imprison-record-numbers-...
ScotsAlan will now explain how this is "just like the west."
ScotsAlan:
Why is it like the west?
My comments above are not saying Chinese media is great and western media bad.
It's about how you interperatate it. See a bad news story from the western media about China and most people automatically assume it is fact. They don't question it.
I read your story and wonder what side is correct . Are they silencing someone, or is he actually corrupt? Maybe it's a combination. I don't automatically assume the western report is 100% true and the Chinese 100% wrong
Of course, balancing the probabilities , the chances are the western story is true. But that might not always be the case.
Is it possible a journalist might try to manipulate share prices with the news he publishes? It's not impossible.
Janosik:
Also saying 1/4 in jail does not sound tat bad. Sounds pretty OK in relation to popukation :-)
Shining_brow:
J - you have misread that statistic.... it said, of ALL the journalists in the world who are currently in jail, 25% of them are in Chinese jails! 1 country, 25%.. the other 167 or so countries, the other 75%.
It is not an indication of how many journalists are in China in total.
Incidentally, that report does not reference to reporters who have 'disappeared', nor those who have been killed - only those who have been confirmed to be alive and in a prison (and the local authorities have admitted it).
It also doesn't give statistics for how many journalists families or friends are in jail, or being harrassed, etc etc. (that's a common theme here as well - especially if the journalist is outside the country, or has gone in hiding).
Remember Miss Canada, who wasn't allowed into the country for the Miss Universe pageant because of her Falun Gong connections... her father was basically telling her to shut up about it, because they were getting hassled by the local police/security.
Janosik:
@Shining
Yes, I think I understood the statistics correctly.
China population makes it for about 1/5 to 1/4 of the whole world population.
I sake of comparison I simply assumed that all professions are represented in all countries homogeneously with respect to population.
That would mean that all Chinese journalist would make it for about 20-25% of the whole world journalists.
The jailed journalist in China would also make for about 20-25% of those jailed globally.
This all is of course big simplification ...
newspapers are full of articules that say nothing or half truths
