Zs. Guo, To each according to its niche: Analyzing the political and economic origins for a structural segregation in Chinese press, J MEDIA ECO, 14(1), 2001, pp. 15-29
This article analyzes an emerging structural transformation in China's prin
t media with a special emphasis on tensions between ideology and marketizat
ion. Through comparisons of old and new political and economic forces actin
g on the country's newspapers, it argues that party newspapers and mass-app
eal tabloids are locked in a divergent development under new monopolistical
ly competitive market conditions. In the process, the former moves toward g
reater reliance on political resources whereas the latter cashes in on circ
ulation and advertising revenue. The end result is that each media group ha
s secured its own niche among readers. The new trend finds most acute manif
estations in rapidly enlarging revenue gaps between newspapers relying on p
olitical power and those relying on market popularity.