MCLC: tv industry essay

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: Niedenführ Matthias <matthias.niedenfuehr at uni-tuebingen.de>
Subject: TV industry essay
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Attached you find a link to my recent article in the inaugural edition of
the new journal Political Economy of Communication (www.polecom.org
<http://www.polecom.org/>) which is open access (both html and pdf) and
started by the Political Economy Section of International Association of
Media Communication Research (IAMCR).

Matthias

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Source: Political Economy of Communication no. 1 (2013);
http://www.polecom.org/index.php/polecom/article/view/14/129

The Tug-of-War between Regulatory Interventions and Market Demands in the
Chinese Television Industry
Matthias Niedenführ, European Centre for Chinese Studies (ECCS), Peking
University/University of Tübingen
Keywords: Chinese television; media censorship; history drama; regulatory
institutions; TV program production; review regulations

Abstract

In the People’s Republic of China, the media industry has become
increasingly commercialized over the past three decades, but like many
other areas of the economy, it remains subject to the tensions between
state and market priorities. In some aspects, market interests may seem to
be in the ascendancy. Many programs and program formats, which for various
political and social reasons would have been taboo just 20 years ago, have
been produced to meet market-led objectives. Nevertheless, through the
State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the authorities
monitor and regulate media products to ensure that they do not stray
beyond the parameters of acceptable political discourse. The state,
therefore, remains the ultimate arbiter of what content reaches the
audience.

This article examines the relationship between state and market priorities
in the case of television drama. Historical dramas in particular provide
an explicit example of a program format which is popular with audiences
(and therefore revenue generating), but which is also profoundly affected
by the political requirement to protect the past and present legitimacy of
the Communist Party. The authorities adopt an adaptive–reactive approach,
which combines formal regulation with ad hoc interventions to create an
atmosphere of uncertainty and self-censorship among media producers. The
analysis connects debates over controversial programs to the various rules
and regulations which have been issued in response, which in turn shape
the production of new content. The institutional dynamics through which
conflicting political and economic objectives have been negotiated in the
media industry are reflective of a wider tug-of-war between state and
market forces in China.

Read the full article
<http://www.polecom.org/index.php/polecom/article/view/14/129>