China's media industry: past, present and future
- Source: Global Times
- [18:21 September 29 2009]
- Comments
China’s media goes global
Along with the economic development in China, more foreigners from all over the world came to China. In 1981, with Hu Yaobang’s strong support, the Ministry of Publicity decided to launch an official English-language newspaper, aiming at foreigners who visit, live, and work in China.
A group of outstanding journalists were chosen to establish the China Daily, including those who survived the persecution a decade earlier. Jiang Muyue and Liu Zunqi were appointed publisher and editor-in-chief respectively.
Yu You was China Daily’s vice editor-in-chief since its establishment to 1989. Although he was already 63-years-old at the time, he was so dedicated to the young paper that he worked as the head of night shift for years. He told the Global Times the most challenging task for the China Daily’s founders was to meet foreign readers’ high level demands, not only in language skill but also content.
“The goal of China’s media industry at that time was to emancipate everybody’s minds, to free people’s minds from old and out-of-date ideas,” Yu said.
Journalists were sent to other countries to learn how to run a newspaper. They learn every subject from journalism to marketing, from how to organize the page to operation and management.
“The goal of newspaper is to communicate with its reader, to let everyone hear what you say,” Yu said. “So, the more popular you make it, the better.”
