The Growth and Diversification of China's Mass Media
After entering the 1980s, with the news reform, China’s mass media entered a period of vigorous development, with unprecedented development in both quantity and mode. Today’s mass media has penetrated into every corner of society and the family. It has a profound impact on individuals in society through popular culture and their respective media. Today, with the development of science and technology, the unprecedented intensity of the mass media has changed all aspects of human social life. At present, China’s mass media, centered on newspapers, radio and television, still occupy a large share of the contemporary social media economy. At the same time, the mass media also relies on its huge share to start experimenting with different business models boldly. The land has made some adjustments through the capital market rules and management rules required by the market economy. Since the 21st century, the information industry has developed rapidly and the mass media has entered the era of “information superhighway”.
With the economic development that started in the 1980s, Chinese media have become more diversified as they extend their reach throughout China through multiple transmission, including satellites, wireless and wired systems. Today, there are over 2,000 newspapers, over 8,000 magazines, 282 radio stations and 374 TV stations in China.
Prominent News Agencies in China
- Xinhua News Agency
Headquartered in Beijing, Xinhua News Agency is China’s official news agency, as well as one of the world’s major international news agencies with more than 100 branches in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Latin America, Africa and other regions. In 2003, its subordinate, Xinhua Financial Network Ltd, formed an international alliance with Agence France-Presse (AFP) Finance. Xinhua Financial Network Ltd. purchased the news agencies of AFP Asian Finance in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and eight other Asian countries and regions, which has expanded the coverage of Xinhua News Agency’s international network. With its head office also in Beijing, China News Service mainly supplies news to overseas Chinese, foreign citizens of Chinese origin, and compatriots in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region, and Taiwan.
Xinhua News Agency is an important publicity department and public opinion institution established by the Communist Party of China in the early days. Since its birth, it has been under the direct leadership of the Party Central Committee, shouldering the political mission endowed by the party and the people. It plays an important part in China as a publicity channel to unite the nation. It has made important contributions to leading the people of all nationalities in China to achieve major victories in revolution, construction and reform.
Television and Online Media Platforms
- China Central Television (CCTV)
China Central Television or CCTV, formerly known as Beijing Television, was established on May, 1958 and headquartered in Beijing. CCTV is the predominant state television broadcaster in China and has been serving as the main channel for the public to obtain information from the whole country. The organization is considered one of the “big three” media outlets in China, along with the People’s Daily and Xinhua News Agency. CCTV broadcast its first program on September 2, 1958 and launched its first simultaneous satellite broadcasts nationwide in 1972. Starting from 1973, Beijing Television began broadcasting experimentally in color on its second channel, and fully converted to color broadcasting by 1977. The network changed its name to CCTV on 1978.
Up to now, CCTV has a network of 42 TV channels, including 29 open channels and 13 paid channels, with a total of 529 TV programs which cover news, documentary, comedy, entertainment, social education, drama, etc. CCTV’s program production and broadcasting have achieved high-definition and became networked with a total annual broadcast of 338,000 hours. CCTV offers 6 local language services, including Chinese, Mongolian in Mongol Script, Tibetan, Kazakh, Uyghur and Korean, and offers 6 foreign language services, including English, French, Spanish, Russian, Korean and Arabic. The number of CCTV viewers has exceeded 1 billion, with users from more than 210 countries and regions.
CCTV currently has 10 international channels broadcasting around the world, namely CCTV-Entertainment, CCTV-News, CCTV-Chinese Opera International, CCTV-9 Documentary, CCTV-French, CCTV-Spanish, CCTV-Arabic, and CCTV- Russian, CCTV-13 and CCTV-4. All these CCTV channels serve as important windows for China to understand the world and the world to understand China.
- China.com
In May 1999, China.com was established and became one of the earliest portals in China. Today, it is still a multilingual, multi-terminal, and all-media integrated Internet service platform with extensive influence and global coverage. China.com publishes information every day in various forms such as audio, video, graphic, and in many languages including Chinese, English, Russian, Japanese, etc., with “Chinese content, international expression” as the main feature, and “global content, China’s value” as the pursuit of the realm. China.com will do a good job of global communication, comprehensive communication, local communication, and brand communication, which tell the world about Chinese stories, spread Chinese voices, interpret China’s changes, and display China’s image. China.com is divided into 6 channels: News, Video, Travel, Photos, Learn Chinese, and foreign City Guide. Among them, News provides daily social breaking news for Chinese people a round the world and foreign friends interested in Chinese culture. Video is an extension of News Channel.
It uses video and a small amount of text to present news to netizens. There are not only news videos. But also entertainment videos and tutorial videos. But not surprisingly, these videos are mostly related to China. The interface of the Travel is more colorful. This channel is very suitable for people who want to travel to China. You can search for the location of the Panda Base in Sichuan, the Terracotta Warriors in Shaanxi, the Potala Palace in Tibet and how to get there. Of course, the three most famous cities in the world, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong, are at the top of this page. The latest and hottest tourist information in these cities can be found on this channel. The interface of Photos has a variety of photos of course. Most of them are to tell about an event. Netizens can see what is happening in the world through this channel. This is an interface that is very convenient for getting news.
Learn Chinese is prepared for foreign friends who are learning Chinese. The content is very abundant. Beginners and advanced learners can find the resources that are most suitable for them learning Chinese, and can also find some interesting and easy articles to learn. City Guide is very similar to the Travel Channel, but it contains more content. You can see more detailed city information on this channel.
In short, China.com is a good bridge to provide friendly communication between Chinese and foreign friends.
English - Language Publications and International Media
China Daily: An Official English Newspaper
Since its launch in 1981, China Daily has grown to become the nation’s leading English-language newspaper. With a global print circulation of 900,000 and a combined print, and 150 million online and mobile readership, it serves a vital role in telling the world about China, providing a valuable insight into the world’s second-largest economy. For this reason, it is quoted more often by overseas media than any other Chinese publication.
Along with the flagship edition on Chinese mainland, China Daily publishes nine overseas editions— covering North and South America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific and Africa— and various digital platforms.
With 35 provincial and municipal bureaus in China, and 14 bureaus and 34 printing centers overseas, China Daily reports news throughout China and the globe as a whole.
Global Coverage and Targeted Readership
With a circulation of 900,000 copies (600,000 distributed overseas), China Daily covers domestic and world news through nine print editions and digital media worldwide.
China Daily also publishes in Hong Kong, the United States, Canada, European countries, Asia, ASEAN countries, Africa, and Latin America. These editions are distributed to local governments, embassies and consulates, think tanks, universities, financial institutions, transnational corporations, international organizations, hotels and high-income readers.
Beijing Review: A National Weekly News Magazine
Beijing Review is China’s only national English weekly news magazine published in Beijing by China International Publishing Group (CIPG). Launched in March 1958, Beijing Review reports and comments on the country’s social, political, economic and cultural affairs, policy changes and latest developments. It also offers in-depth analysis on major regional and international events and provides consulting and information services.
With a circulation of over 70,000 per issue, Beijing Review is distributed throughout China and has maintained a wide readership covering more than 100 countries on five continents.
China Global Television Network (CGTN)
China Global Television Network, or CGTN, is an international media organization launched by CCTV on December 31, 2016. It is now part of China’s predominant radio and television broadcaster, China Media Group, which has incorporated CCTV, CNR and CRI since March 2018.
As a multi-language and multi-platform media organization, CGTN operates in television and online. It also incorporates a video news agency CCTV+.
Headquartered at the landmark CCTV building in Beijing,
CGTN brings together an professional international team from more than 70 countries and regions, with production centers in Washington, Nairobi, and London. CGTN is a multi-language, multi-platform media grouping. It consists of six TV channels, including a 24-hour English-language news channel, a video content provider and a digital media division. CGTN’s six TV channels, broadcasting English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Russian and Documentary, are available in more than 170 countries and regions worldwide.
CGTN English is the flagship channel. Its strategy, “Mobile first”, aims to fulfill the demands of global viewers and users for easier access to content on different platforms. The main English-language news channel CGTN has been taken over from CCTV NEWS, while other language channels are now CGTN Spanish, French, Arabic and Russian. CGTN Documentary is China’s first state-level English-language documentary channel to broadcast globally.
CGTN, a pioneer of media convergence in China, also delivers content through digital platforms. CGTN Digital is accessible via CGTN.com, CGTN mobile applications, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Weibo and other social media platforms, with over 150 million followers across the globe.
