The Mass Media And Political Criticism In The Field Of Ideology And Culture

To strike back against reactionary bourgeois ideas· attack,Mao Zedong launched thecriticism movement on the Biography of Wu Xun to make it the first political criticism inthe field of ideology and culture.The four-month movement caused a profound influenceon the new government’s progress of ideology and culture.Taking mass media as the thread and following the order of event, the study willattempt to restore the historical context of the movement firstly, and describe the details ofthe vigorous and intricate movement. On this basis, the article will re-reflect on the case inthe perspective of journalism and communication, to sum up the roles and functions ofmass media in the movement, to analyze the cause of the damages of media, and toexplore the profound impact of the movement.The article suggests that the gradually rigorous organization system and frequentpolitical mobilization in the early years of the founding had prepared a basis for themovement. On the other hand, the Communist Party of China·s management of the mediawas still in the stage of exploration and transition. The centralized leadership achieved abreakthrough and government policies tended to encourage the progress of media, but themultiplex pattern of media was false and there were many problems in the newspapercriticism. In brief，mass media had a good start at that time but got a fatal flaw at the sametime. In the movement, the media acted as a organizer, agitator and leader, and their poorperformance was inevitable owing to their core purpose and the rigid management systemwhich took the media as tools for class struggle.What·s more, the criticism model inwhich media could play a role of organization and propaganda and the media·s inertialthinking to depend on politics and obey political figures on their own initiative had seriousand far-reaching influences.