Responding to an Activist Public

Hangzhou Press Office rethinks its role

Bibliographic Data

ID11268397
AuthorsHugo De Burgh (University of Westminster, London, UK, corresponding author), Zeng Rong (University of Westminster, London, UK), Mi Miao (University of Westminster, London, UK), Miao Mi (University of Westminster)
Year2012
Volume34
Issue8
Pages1013-1027
Publication date2012-11-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMedia Culture & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0163-4437 • E-ISSN: 1460-3675
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0163443712455561
OpenAlexW2064733149
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited2

In China as elsewhere, netizens have made new demands upon government and challenged conventional media to respond to popular concerns. Established approaches to controlling the media may be otiose; Party leaders are stressing the value of cooperation rather than confrontation and calling for a new relationship between media and authority. This article examines how the department of a city government traditionally tasked with controlling the media and shaping opinion is seeking to come to terms with the calls from the centre and, in the process, think up a different kind of relationship with the media. From dealings with press officers over four years, the authors identify a reflective and dynamic response to the present challenges. The respondents speculate that arrangements being put in place to deal with the new media environment may change fundamentally the relationships between authority and citizen, and the authors evaluate this

China · Government (linguistics · Media coverage · Media relations · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Public opinion · Public relations · Sociology · Value (mathematics · Hong Kong and Taiwan Politics · Law · Public Administration

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