Beijing review coverage of the democracy movement of Spring 1989
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12409332 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Robert Sullivan (Emerson College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1989 |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 169-177 |
| Publication date | 1989-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Political Communication (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1058-4609 • E-ISSN: 1091-7675 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/10584609.1989.9962871 |
| OpenAlex | W2039917661 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 4 |
The Beijing Review is a major external propaganda organ of the Communist Party of the People's Republic of China. For over 30 years it has acted both as an accurate reflector of the current CPC line and as an exemplar of Maoist journalism's ethics and practices. This article examines how the Review’s coverage of the democracy movement of 1989 revealed discontinuities in Chinese politics and journalism. Benchmarks of Maoist journalistic practices are established by examination of the Review’s coverage of the student demonstrations which occurred in the winter of 1986–1987. Issues of the Review covering the period between March and September of 1989 are examined. Coverage of the April demonstrations is consistent with previously established norms. Coverage of the May events is radically different, featuring timely, engaged, unmediated, and sympathetic descriptions of events. Coverage subsequent to the repression of the democracy movement is characterized as normative propaganda. Reasons for these continuities and discontinuities are discussed
Beijing · China · Communism · Democracy · Journalism · Media studies · Normative · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Chinese history and philosophy · Law
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |