The People’s Republic of China, governed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has arguably one of the most restrictive media systems in the world. The government censors all venues of media to maintain its monopoly on power and information while pushing ambitious economic modernization reforms.
The media system in China is very different, but not totally different from the systems in all other countries in the world.
The media system in China is a combination of different media philosophies and the result of the long history of Chinese civilization. In this system, the Chinese Communist Party, government, private enterprises, media professionals, public individuals and Chinese culture play different roles and provide different forces from
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Driving forces of the media system in China
There are at least six existing forces influencing Chinese media synchronously through different organisational or social channels, which could be designated the Party Force, Governmental Force, Capital Force, Professional Force, Individual Force and Cultural Force.
Party Force could be defined as the control and influence from the CPC, which is overall directed through the Central Propaganda Department.
Governmental Force is the power generated from the central government and embedded in organisations in and regulations from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, coming all the way through the mechanism of multiple layers of administrational bureaus under the central government, from the provincial, municipal or prefectural levels to the county level. When scholars examine the Party Force and Governmental Force together and observe their combined contribution to the media system in China, they tend to label it as the Party-State model or authoritarianism
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It devotes vast energy and resources to control information as a way to maintain social stability and assert political control. The Chinese government’s sophisticated instruments of censorship and control aim to prevent all potential sources of independent reporting. The comprehensive management consists of three main categories: legal, political, and economic.
Legal methods create an environment that is unfriendly to press freedom through restrictive laws and regulations, including the structure of official media regulatory
The government in North Korea restricts and censors the media of all types ranging from the internet to newspapers and radios to televisions. Countrystudies.us says that “No external media are allowed free access to North Korea” It shows that the control of the government of North Korea reaches to every little thing that could put a unique political thought in your head. “Government control extends to artistic and academic circles, and visitors report that the primary function of plays, movies, books, and the performing arts is to contribute to the cult of personality surrounding Kim Il Sung.” Just as Hitler and his SS army monitored and restricted the Jew’s every choice, North Korea bans and censors any information against the government and controls everything so that it puts the government in the best possible light. In both North Korea and concentration camps, everyone’s information, media, and even personal choices are closely monitored and
In fact, the mere control of information is a characteristic of debauchery. All along the political spectrum different types of governments utilize different levels of control and “even democratic governments tend to use this kind of power to silence opponents and shut down speech they don’t like” (Rose and Mchangama 1). Democratic governments are founded on the idea of popular sovereignty - that the power of the government comes from the consent of the governed. However, Flemming Rose and Jacob Mchangama illustrate that this type of government does not outcast the possibility of a crooked government. By shutting down speech the government does not like, these political superiors are not leading a country toward prosperity, but toward unquestionable collapse.
The rise of Google and other platforms forces people everywhere to wonder what's more important: protection of information through censorship, or the freedom
Freedom of the press is a crucial component for a free and democratic society. The press serves as a “watchdog” for government and other powerful institutions, providing information to the public while holding those in positions of authority accountable. Without the ability to report on government actions and policies, citizens would be left in the dark about the workings of their democracy. One of the most significant lessons that can be learned from movies and current events about the importance of a free press is the role that the press plays in exposing corruption and abuse of power.
Many people consider the repressive capability of an authoritarian regime as the most serious factor as to why these regimes remains durable. They are able to some what manipulate and establish their rule as almost a norm in society. It is obvious that repression is very much present in china in a number of different ways for example in relation to internet censorship. Internet censorship being the great firewall of china a surveillance project controlled and operated by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) division of the Chinese government. Internet censorship breaches the right to freedom of expression and the surveillance of it also breaches the right to privacy (Morozov,2011).
The media will pick and choose which topics to discuss according to the viewer’s ratings. The news media represent the news in a manner that will leave people coming back for more. They choose carefully what they want to report and by doing so they do not spread lies within the articles but what they choose not to tell the audience. The media shares what the people
understand the 'hidden face' of power as in Steven Lukes' (1974) “three faces of power” it is necessary to explore beyond what initially appears from a policy decision or political standpoint. The realms in which the media operate can be quite complex, gauging an understanding to these is essential when trying to understand the various sources of power that the media controls and hence can manipulate. There have been numerous theories and theorists which have been introduced throughout this course regarding various conceptions of power, the 'two faces' view of Bachrach and Baratz (1970) provided the framework for the view on power. However, it was not until Lukes (1974) “three faces of power” theory which expanded on the work of Bachrach and
Media in Japan is where one can clearly see the relationship between government and society, with the press acting as a middleman. Postwar Japan media played a large role in elections, (Gunther). The 1993 election campaign was called the television election, (Gunther). Gunther explains the metaphor that the press acts like a “watch dog,” a “guard dog,” a “guide dog,” and a “lap dog,” (Gunther 273). “Watch dog” meaning that the press can alert society to any problems in government such as corruption, (Gunther 273).
On the other hand, media censorship is also used for wrong motives, mostly by the government who is trying to protect themselves from anti-politics ideas or any other movement against them. Censorship became at some point a weapon apply to keep citizens ignorant, by denying the entry or spread of sensitive information inside the country, authorities assure the status quo remaining, prohibiting to their nation the opportunity to learn more and to think differently, all because this could cause the loss of their power. Media censorship is a delicate matter where there is not a perfect position about it. As is known, media is one of the most important instruments use to communicate opinions in a short period of time to a big part of the world, this makes it a very power device with the capacity to change everything just with one word and give to the society great benefits, but it can also be used in negative ways, affecting directly the good relationship between communities, all critical aspects that make you think it is imperative to establish rational basic rules and boundaries to avoid the media become a dangerous threat to
A media source which ignores or censors important issues and events severely damages freedom of information. Many modern tabloids, twenty four hour news channels and other mainstream media sources have increasingly been criticized for not conforming to general standards of journalistic integrity. In nations described as authoritarian by most international think-tanks and NGOs media ownership is generally something very close to the complete state control over information in direct or indirect ways. Undesirable consequences which occur due to media imperialism are: • Commercially driven ultra-powerful mass market media is primarily loyal to sponsors i.e. advertisers and government rather than to the public interest.
Keeping valued information, or keeping the outside world from the public is called censorship. Censorship varies on the levels of helpful to harmful. From keeping kids away from bad influences to the government not telling citizens where troops are located, censorship will continue affecting generations to come. Censorship, used by those in power to protect or control a society or group, leads to removing potential trauma to children, threatens anyone who opposes, and takes away rights. Censorship can be used to protect others like when a parent doesn 't let their children watch or read something.
A free internet is not one that is unregulated nor is one that is strictly regulated. There exists an elusive measure existing the spectrum that must be fulfilled without tainting the uniqueness of the internet. Two key features of a free internet, net neutrality and online freedom of speech, must be maintained throughout. The internet, as it is now, has paved a new path for communication in the modern era.
3. Mass Media Relations (the Press) with the Government Press and government are interdependent with each other. The press and society are the same. The press is impossible to live and thrive in an area without any government and society. Because the territory without regulatory power and so-called government, will tend to be a jungle for the human wolves that inhabit it.
Furthermore, in many developing countries or in those with oppressive regimes, government actions are more important than the Internet in defining how information is produced and consumed, and by whom. There are so many counties that use strict censorship in their media. “Present-day examples include Russia as a territorially shrunken successor state to the former USSR, China and North Korea” (Höchli, 2010). Censorship in North Korea is known to be the most intense among the world. With a government such as theirs, they are able to take strict control over communications.
The Role of Media in the feminist movement The term media refers to several different types of methods used to communicate and educate society for a socially aware nation (Pradesh, 2014). It is regarded collectively as ‘mass media’, which includes broadcast media (television, cinema and radio), print media (newspapers, magazines, and journals) and Internet based-web sites (“Role of Media in Social Awareness”, 2013; Pradesh, 2014). Through its different marketing segments, media is a fundamental source for information and idea exchanging.