MCLC: Nanfang zhoumo issues correction (1)

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: Anne Henochowicz <annemh at alumni.upenn.edu>
Subject: Nanfang zhoumo issues correction (1)
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Nanfang Zhoumo's editor-in-chief has also stepped down. See below.

Anne

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Source: South China Morning Post (1/18/13):
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1130523/new-editor-appointed-paper-c
alm-dispute-over-censorship

New editor appointed at paper to calm dispute over censorshipNews›China
By Li Jing and Mimi Lau in Guangzhou

Owners of Southern Weekly make leadership change to resolve dispute
between editorial staff and propaganda officials, which spurred protest

A more open-minded editor-in-chief has stepped in to run the daily
operation of Southern Weekly in the aftermath of the row between its
editorial staff and propaganda officials over interference in editorial
operations.

The newspaper's latest edition yesterday included a correction for
blunders that appeared in the introductory message in the paper's New Year
edition, the first formal response since the censorship row.

Meanwhile, the new provincial party boss told cadres yesterday that the
authorities should firmly maintain the initiative in "ideological works".

A source close to Guangdong's provincial government said Wang Genghui, a
deputy editor-in-chief of Nanfang Media Group, which owns the newspaper,
had taken over from Huang Can, Southern Weekly's editor-in-chief since
2009. Huang had been sidelined and was likely to be transferred to another
post in the group.

"Wang has a rather popular image as he is more willing to listen to
editors and journalists," the source said. "But this is likely to be a
transitional role to restore normal operation at the newspaper as soon as
possible."

This week's newspaper included a veiled protest saying that editorial
procedures should be respected and made corrections - a typographical
error, the erroneous numbering of the edition and a factual flaw that said
flood control work by "Yu the Great" happened 2,000 years ago, instead of
4,000 years ago.

A comment below the corrections, signed by editorial staff, read:
"Newspaper mistakes are always in black and white. In every link of
editing and publishing a newspaper, its standard processes should always
be respected and followed. We have never been more keenly aware of this."

A member of the paper's marketing staff said editors and journalists used
the comment to protest against the last-minute changes, ordered by
censors. "They tried to print the corrections in last week's issue, but
were rebuffed by censors."

Speaking at a Guangdong provincial party plenary yesterday, the new
provincial party secretary Hu Chunhua said the reform-minded province
faced more "complicated" public opinion. "[Guangdong] has to tightly grip
the initiative in ideology works," China News Service quoted Hu as saying.

Hu personally helped broker a deal between newspaper staff and the
authorities, but details remain sketchy.

Dr Peng Peng , a researcher with the Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences,
said the rare show of defiance by the journalists could herald a wind of
change, with Hu trying to work out new ways to manage the media. "Hu is
not likely to be high handed with journalists," he said. "Meanwhile, the
authorities will not be hands off either."