Politicians run the newspapers

The "politicians run the newspapers" (Chinese: 政治家办报; pinyin: Zhèngzhì jiābàn bào) is a policy and slogan of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to emphasize its control over the news media.

History

The slogan was first put forward by Mao Zedong in 1957 during the Anti-Rightist Campaign. Mao said that "the writing of articles, and especially lead editorials, must be responsible to the overall interests of the party, united closely with the political situation," continuing by saying "this is what is meant by politicians running the newspapers".[1][2][3] In 1959, he said "In doing news work, we must have politicians running the newspapers". This method became especially prominent during the Cultural Revolution, with the two newspapers and one journal system. The policy was downplayed in the 1980s during the reform and opening up.[4]

In the 1990s, after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, the term reappeared under the leadership of CCP general secretary Jiang Zemin. During a visit to the People's Liberation Army Daily on 2 January 1996, Jiang said: "Mao Zedong once said that in doing media work we must ensure that the papers are run by politicians. This warning rings true even today."[5] Similar terms were also introduced, such as "politicians running the websites", which came into prominence particularly after the 1999 crackdown on Falun Gong.[4] CCP general secretary Xi Jinping has also emphasized the concept; at the Symposium on News Reporting and Public Opinion in February 2016, he said that "Party media takes the party's last name" and that "news and opinion workers must enhance their awareness of [the concept of] politicians running the newspaper".[4][6][7]

Policy

The policy requires media practitioners to view social events and engage in news work with the perspective of politicians, and to make news propaganda closely follow the domestic line and serve the overall interests of the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Republic of China.[8][9]

See also

References

  1. ^ 郑力 (January 1996). 中国监督学大辞典 上. 北京: 中国财政经济出版社. p. 232. ISBN 7-5005-2668-7.
  2. ^ 郑保卫 (2004-06-08). "郑保卫教授：马克思主义新闻观的发展与创新". 人民网.
  3. ^ 新华社新闻研究所, ed. (August 1987). "陆定一部长在新华社建社二十周年纪念会上的讲话". 新华社文件资料选编 第4辑. p. 120.
  4. ^ a b c "Politicians Run the Newspapers". China Media Project. 2023-07-06. Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  5. ^ 胥亚 (October 2004). 新闻导论 (第2版 ed.). 长沙: 湖南人民出版社. p. 213. ISBN 7-5438-2779-4.
  6. ^ "习近平在党的新闻舆论工作座谈会上强调：坚持正确方向创新方法手段 提高新闻舆论传播力引导力 刘云山出席". People's Daily (in Chinese). 2016-02-20. Archived from the original on 2017-05-20. Retrieved 2017-09-02.
  7. ^ "坚持政治家办报 确保党刊始终姓党". People's Daily (in Chinese). 2017-02-16. Archived from the original on 2017-10-17. Retrieved 2017-09-02.
  8. ^ 郑力 (January 1996). 中国监督学大辞典 上. 北京: 中国财政经济出版社. p. 232. ISBN 7-5005-2668-7.
  9. ^ 程曼丽; 乔云霞 (January 2012). 新闻传播学辞典. 北京: 新华出版社. p. 42. ISBN 978-7-5011-9810-8.
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