The Impact of Media Commercialization on the Relations Between the Chinese State, the Media, and the Public

...

An explosion of commercial involvement opportunities for the purpose of commercial involvement has been noticed across China. This implies that only rich businesses and government departments will have access to the communication channels. Other small businesses, poor cities, and poor government departments are likely to lack the channels. Therefore, there is the lack of awareness on non-commercial aspects of the society such as the welfare of the society, protection of the environment, and justice. The organizations that promote such aspects have been forced to rely on the goodwill of the media industries to publish their information (Qian & Bandurski, 2011).

The commercialization of media has resulted in an uncritical enthusiasm across the media industries concerning all types of commercialization. Through the commercialization, they have collected revenues, which have been used to expand media services, introduce new sophisticated technologies, and improve the welfare of workers. The media companies, through their focus on revenues, have acted as mouthpieces for both domestic and international businesses. Consequently, the focus on the distribution of news concerning public interest has declined; thus, resulting in the weakening of the relationship between the government and the society (Yoshida, 2008). On their side, the relationship with the government has improved through the increased generation of revenues through taxation.

The state-society relations under the Chinese authoritarian rule have constantly declined based on the exchange and coercion of the economic revenues collected from the media houses. There is an absence of public opinions in the Chinese context. This implies that the commercialization of media has failed to solve the dilemma under the authoritarian rule through the provision of a societal feedback channel. The continued focus on advertising rather than the distribution of information is likely to result in the emergence of dictatorship rule in China (Valcke, Sükösd & Picard, 2010).

The commercialization of media led to the emergence of various institutional mechanisms that have impacted news production through the creation of informal rules on the reporting of news. The media industries have strived to maintain a good relationship with the government to encourage it to implement continuously favorable policies in their favor. Therefore, when the media industries realize that the information demands of consumers are likely to create conflicts with the government, they usually report in a more sensitive manner by changing content to match the demands of consumers while protecting their relationship with the government at the same time (Stockman, 2013).

The other consequence of commercialization is on the credibility of media and its consequences. The non-official newspapers have marketed themselves through various strategies, and this has driven consumers to believe that they are credible. Part of the marketing has been the use of the statement that a certain newspaper or station represents the needs of the ordinary people. Such media houses have boosted the credibility of unofficial media content while undermining the credibility of official ones; thus, promoting the spread of propaganda, which has further distorted the relationship between the government and the society. Readers frequently seek unofficial publications when they want credible information. The official publications are only consulted when people want to learn about government position or when the publications are lowly priced. The consequence of credibility is that official publications are considered mouthpieces as the unofficial ones act as guides to public opinion (Stockman, 2013).

Conclusion

The commercialization of media by the Chinese government in 1978 resulted in media independence and eliminated monopoly in the publication and distribution of information. However, it promoted advertising, which boosted the media business and increased revenue collection. With the increasing economic success in China, businesses have increased their spending on advertisement, which has made media houses to focus less on distributing information that promote the well-being of the society. This has distorted the relationship between the government and the society as media houses seek to maintain lasting relationships with the government.

---------------------------------------------------------------

References

Qian, G., & Bandurski, D. L. (2011). China's emerging public sphere: The impact of media commercialization, professionalism, and the Internet in an era of transition. Changing media, changing China, 38-76.

Stockmann, D. (2013). Media commercialization and authoritarian rule in China. Cambridge University Press.

Valcke, P., Sükösd, M. & Picard, R. G. (2015). Media pluralism and diversity: Concepts, risks and global trends.

Yoshida, M. M. (2008). The Growth of Media in China-its impact on political and economic development in China.

Zhao, Y. (1998). Media, market, and democracy in China: Between the party line and the bottom line. University of Illinois Press.