Public Opinion - a New Factor Influencing the PRC Press

Abstract

Two noteworthy developments fuel the increasing importance of the role public opinion plays in mainland China's press. One is initiated from above: In an effort to
counter corruption, the government has permitted the media to report misbehavior by local officials, which, in turn, has encouraged citizens to increasingly turn to newspapers to let them voice their concerns. Another tendency is triggered from below, as an unintended consequence of press commercialization: Since newspapers now rely on advertisement incomes that demand large readerships, audience interests influence editorial decisions to far greater extent than they did decade ago. Both factors have to be assessed in order to determine, whether these criticism reports are primarily government- or market-induced.