The Ruling Party Under The Concept Of Transformation Of The News Media

From the ruling party point of view, if news media is seen as ruling resource and ruling means, its transformation mainly depends on two factors: ruling ideology and environment. In general terms, news media must adapt to the ruling guideline of the party and the need for transformation. According to this understanding, this thesis consists of five parts.First chapter is a review of three media reform that took place in 1942,1956, and 1978. The success of 1942 reform lies in the fact that it fits the special environment of revolution base and the revolutionary goal of the Chinese communist party. The same success, however, deprived news media and journalist of their independence, news media functions solely as a propaganda tool.1956 media reform took place when the nation aimed to focus on economic construction. This time, traditional party newspaper theories were brought under re-evaluation; free discussion in newspaper were encouraged, and innovative ideas such as that newsroom not necessarily represent party stance were introduced. However, it was a time when revolutionary party ideology still ruled the whole nation and a time when planned economy just being initiated and cold war between socialism and capitalism became an international phenomenon. The reform failed.1978 media reform successfully adopted a "from-bottom-to-top" and "fringe-breakthrough" strategy. This accords the party's development strategy of economic construction. and ruling environment. Because of corrective and transitional nature of the economic construction at the time, this media reform mode does not have universal value.Lessons and experience from the three media reforms amply make this clear: news media reform is subjected to the ruling ideology and environment in term of the goal, methodology, and approach of the reform. Failure to adapt to the ruling ideology and environment will lead to instability and hazards to the society.Since the 16^th NCCPC, ruling ideology has undergone deep changes as featuredin the mode of ruling party ideology, ruling environment has changed greatly, including three aspects, namely, establishment of market economy, enhancement of international ties and its result international rule pressure and international ethical responsibility, hierarchical social structure with low degree of conformity. Above-mentioned changes of ruling ideology and environment has brought to news media both opportunities and challenges. News media Transformation becomes imminent.Chapter two initiates the main body of this paper: strategy for media reform. Media reform is a very complicated process. It involves media information idea, media function and institution, media regulation. This chapter will deal the challenges to traditional information idea under new social condition. It argues that information system must change from enclosure to disclosure, from hierarchy to fairness, and from imbalance to justice, therefore establishing open, fair, and justified media information mode.Chapter three talks about the foundation, goal, and detailed approaches for pluralism of media function. Media has always been party organ and has simplistic function. It fails to meet the multi-needs of the people for news media. As a result, media's public function is harmed, and it is unable to grow as a cultural industry. In order to realize functional pluralism, news media must be divided into media for public services and media for private sector.Chapter four analyzes the scientific ways of media regulation, including assorted regulation, institutional regulation, and oriented regulation. According to different nature of media in public sector and private sector, different managerial approaches should be introduced. Since "manage the state according to laws" is the fundamental national policy, media regulation need institutionalization. This required both institutional innovation and supervision during the process. For content regulation, propagandized regulation should be changed to oriented regulation, namely, mainly regulating the media indirectly, orienting them, and punishing after the events.Fifth chapter observes relationship between ruling party and news media in former USSR (now Russia), the United States, and Singapore. In a comparative sense,experience and lessons from other countries will help us understand current media reform that takes place in China. It's easy for us to find out that there are mainly four variants that affect media reform in China. They are international environment, relationship between the state and society, political culture, and stratum structure. After analysis of the abovementioned four variants, the paper argues that current media reform still need to follow proper sequence. A sound media form ought to wait for maturation of the country's middle class who is willing and able to participate in politics.Conclusion part will bring a summary of former chapters.