The Relation Between China Media And Public Power Under The Circumstance Of Crisis

In the setting of globalization, and in the process of social transformation with the old social system coming to an end and the new system coming into being, the chances of the emergence of crises have greatly increased in socialist China. Under the circumstance of speedy flow of information through various channels around the world as a result of the rapid development of mass media, attention of the theory world has turned to such issues as how the pubic power of the government operates in a time of information globalization, how the government can achieve a successful communication with the media, how the government can take advantage of the power of media in tackling crises and emergences. In an era of multi-channel information dissemination, whoever controls the propaganda, he dominates ideology and the cultural battle field. We must have a good understanding of the ecological circle of the mass-media, especially the domineering force (economic power, political power, and social power) behind and around the mass media. The powers come from different sources, being influenced by each other and interacting on each other, keeping a good balance among the forces in the power circle of the media. The relationship between media and political power is at the center of the circle.Through literature review, it is discovered that the study of crises and the governmental management of crises has just begun in the academic community in China and the relationship between the government and the media is constrained by ideology. At present, the study of government-media relationship is of a descriptive and comprehensive nature without distinction of normal situation and emergent situation, thus lacking in comparative and intrinsic study. Furthermore, in the Chinese academic community, the study of crises and governmental management of crises is separated from that of government-media relationship, therefore no systematic theory has been formed on the study of the relationship between public power and mass media under the circumstances of crises. In logic this thesis identifies the study of the relationship between media and public power as the study of the relationship between media and government. After defining such terms as media and media power, government and public power, the thesis puts forth some tentative theoretical hypotheses about the interactive relationship between the media and public power in normal situations and the interactive relationship under emergent situations, then follows an argumentation for these hypothesis. The relationship between public power and media under normal circumstances display a host of characteristics with that of controlling and counter-controlling being most evident.Thus we sum up the relationship between public power and media under normal circumstances as the relationship of control and counter-control. The thesis examines the relationship in the following four aspects: the dependence of media on public power, the control of public power over media, the supervision of media over public power, the coexistence of media and public power.The dependence of media on public power is mainly manifested in the dependence on the official channel of information, a recognition of public power by media. In addition, the media willingly share fears and worries with the public power, offer advice and suggestions to the public power, in order to expand the scope of contact with public power. The public power exercise control over the media by means of regulations, rules and agreements. Under the present-day circumstances, as an independent political force, the media are only able to supervise the public power to a certain extent, thus coming into mild conflict with public power, something described by the BBC as a row within a family. With the slackening of public power's restriction on the media's supervision, the media will enjoy a more effective supervision over public power in a broader scope of activities. The co-existence of public power and the media predetermines the equi...