Be Strong, Advanced and Powerful: Understanding the Logical Changes of Policymaking of Media Convergence in China

• In Event: Chinese Communication Association: Development of New Media: Challenges for Policy and Business in China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan

Abstract

Instead of a market-initiated bottom-up development, media convergence in China is more like a top-down policy-driven process, historically proved by three waves of convergence over the past two decades. Media conglomeration, mainly referring to press and broadcasting, was the first wave launched from 1995. The overarching goal to build China’s giant media conglomerations is to resist the potential “invasion” from their Western-based transnational counterparts after China’s accession to WTO in 2001. The second wave was widely recognized by the release of “Triple Play” policy in 2010, when the State Council decided to promote mutual entry of broadcasting and telecommunications on a basis of nationwide digital transformation and massive penetration of internet. The major concern for this phase is arguably to break monopolistic control and consolidated interests in each market, and furthermore to develop a competitive market environment, which is considered also helpful to the overall Chinese economy in terms of the advancement or upgrading of economic structure. In August 2014, the Central Comprehensive Reform Leading Group (led by President Xi Jinping) passed the guidelines for promoting convergent development of traditional media and new media. Despite the importance of “internet thinking” for media reform highlighted by the guidelines, this up-to-date media convergence is politically purposeful. Strengthening the leading position of mainstream media, especially central media organizations, in both market and ideology is considered crucial for the Party under unprecedented reform to consolidate “the ideological and cultural front”.

In a word, the different priorities of the “Top Design” (Dingceng Sheji) characterized those three phases, which could be simply crystalized by the shifts of concerns from “Be Strong” to “Be Advanced” and finally to “Be Powerful” as the latest version.

Amidst this complex and multifaceted process, this paper provides a temporal analysis of how those priorities shifted overtime and why. Thus, there are three research targets involved: the documents of media convergence policymaking since the middle of 1990s; the policymakers of each phase and their understanding of the changing role of media in transitional Chinese society; and lastly the structural forces outside media sector that had enormous impact on relevant policymaking, for example, the transformation of political system, economic conditions and technological revolutions.

Both text analysis and in-depth interviews will be employed to ponder the questions listed above.

Author

• Zhengrong Hu, Communication U of China