On August 16, 2013, the Chinese Communist Party's flagship magazine, Seeking Truth, published an editorial entitled "Take Up the Cause of Insisting on a Marxist Approach to News" (自觉坚持马克思主义新闻观). Some excerpts:
Why is it not possible for China to implement a Western news system? The answer is very simple: China is a socialist country, and its political and economic systems are completely different from the West. So how could its news system be the same?
. . . .
One major aspect of Western criticisms of China's news system is that China has no independent media.
. . . .
Westerners often say that, when the media is owned by the State, there is a power monopoly. As we see it, when the private sector operates the media, there can only be a capital monopoly, a money monopoly. Socialist countries will not permit the news media to be privatized, and this is a fundamental difference with capitalist news system. In China, each political Party, civic organization, and social group operates a separate news organization, and is integrated with a readership of a specific scope, and together they serve the people and socialism, dividing the work, cooperating, competing, and broadly reflecting every aspect of social discourse. . . . The Party will never allow itself to become a representative of some interest group, will never allow itself to become a representative of some minority, will never allow it to have its own special interests. Therefore, for the Party to manage the media is in the best interests of safeguarding the interests of the country and the people.
. . . .
Perhaps the degree of freedom enjoyed by China's traditional media is slightly less than that enjoyed by the media in developed Western countries, in particular the reporting by the Party's newspapers, magazines, radio, and television outlets. But the reason for this has nothing to do with the concept of news or the news system, but rather with issues facing the nation at this stage of its development.
. . . .
The security and stability risks facing China clearly more numerous and significant than those facing the United States. The past 30 years of opening and development have created a miracle of historic proportions, but the process of rapid social change and transformation has also led to the accumulation of a large amount of social contradictions and problems, and these contradictions and problems have become increasingly pronounced in recent years.
. . . .
At its current stage, China could not endure the consequences of losing control over public opinion. . . . The overall quality of government agency administration and the ranks of Party officials is not high enough, and they are finding it very difficult to adapt to the challenges posed by excessively open public opinion. Excessively critical public opinion will damage popular trust in government and jeopardize government administration. Enemy forces at home and abroad are wreaking havoc in China, and there has been no change in the schemes to Westernize and divide China. Given this situation, if left alone to become excessively open, public opinion will inevitably bring about dire consequences.
. . . .
Why should our media focus on positive propaganda? Because pro-active and positive matters represent what is mainstream in our society, and passive and negative things are the tributaries. Only by insisting on positive propaganda do we truly reflect our society's basic character and show a complete picture. This is our approach to news, and it is an approach that seeks truth from the facts.
. . . .
Without the mainstream media's unrelenting positive propaganda, our society would not be able to preserve its stability.
自觉坚持马克思主义新闻观
中国为什么不能实行西方的新闻体制？答案其实很简单：中国是社会主义国家，政治制度、经济制度都和西方不同，新闻体制又怎么会一样？
. . . .
西方批评中国的新闻体制，很重要的一点就是批评中国没有独立媒体。
. . . .
西方人常说，媒体属于国家所有，就是权力垄断；在我们看来，私人办媒体，只能是资本垄断、金钱垄断。社会主义国家不会允许新闻媒体私有化，这是与资本主义新闻体制的根本区别。在我们国家，各个政党、人民团体和其他社会组织举办不同的新闻机构，各自联系一定范围的群众，既有分工，又有合作，也有竞争，广泛反映各方面社会舆论，共同为人民服务、为社会主义服务。. . . .党不允许成为某些利益集团的代表，不允许成为少数人的代表，不允许有自己的特殊利益。所以，党管媒体更有利于媒体维护国家和人民利益。
. . . .
也许，现在中国的传统媒体，主要是党报党刊、电台电视台报道的自由度，要比西方发达国家媒体的自由度小一些。造成这种状况的原因，并不在于新闻理念、新闻体制，而在于国家所处的发展阶段和所面临的问题。
. . . .
中国面临的安全、稳定方面的风险显然要比美国多、比美国大。中国30多年的改革开放，在创造了世界发展史上奇迹的同时，也经历了急剧的社会变革和转型，积累了大量社会矛盾和问题，这些矛盾和问题近年来正集中地凸现出来。
. . . .
现阶段的中国，承受不了舆论失控的后果。. . . . 各级政府机关的管理水平和干部队伍的整体素质还不高，很难适应舆论过度开放带来的挑战，舆论的过度批评会损害政府威信、妨害政府施政；境内外敌对势力搞乱中国、西化分化中国的图谋始终没有改变。在这样的情况下，如果放任舆论环境过度开放，将不可避免地带来严重后果。
. . . .
为什么我们的媒体要以正面宣传为主？那是因为，积极、正面的事物是我们社会的主流，消极、负面的东西是支流，坚持正面宣传为主才能真实反映我们这个社会的本质和全貌。这就是我们的新闻观，是一种实事求是的新闻观。
. . . .
没有主流媒体坚持不懈的正面宣传，我国社会大局不可能保持稳定。
Why is it not possible for China to implement a Western news system? The answer is very simple: China is a socialist country, and its political and economic systems are completely different from the West. So how could its news system be the same?
. . . .
One major aspect of Western criticisms of China's news system is that China has no independent media.
. . . .
Westerners often say that, when the media is owned by the State, there is a power monopoly. As we see it, when the private sector operates the media, there can only be a capital monopoly, a money monopoly. Socialist countries will not permit the news media to be privatized, and this is a fundamental difference with capitalist news system. In China, each political Party, civic organization, and social group operates a separate news organization, and is integrated with a readership of a specific scope, and together they serve the people and socialism, dividing the work, cooperating, competing, and broadly reflecting every aspect of social discourse. . . . The Party will never allow itself to become a representative of some interest group, will never allow itself to become a representative of some minority, will never allow it to have its own special interests. Therefore, for the Party to manage the media is in the best interests of safeguarding the interests of the country and the people.
. . . .
Perhaps the degree of freedom enjoyed by China's traditional media is slightly less than that enjoyed by the media in developed Western countries, in particular the reporting by the Party's newspapers, magazines, radio, and television outlets. But the reason for this has nothing to do with the concept of news or the news system, but rather with issues facing the nation at this stage of its development.
. . . .
The security and stability risks facing China clearly more numerous and significant than those facing the United States. The past 30 years of opening and development have created a miracle of historic proportions, but the process of rapid social change and transformation has also led to the accumulation of a large amount of social contradictions and problems, and these contradictions and problems have become increasingly pronounced in recent years.
. . . .
At its current stage, China could not endure the consequences of losing control over public opinion. . . . The overall quality of government agency administration and the ranks of Party officials is not high enough, and they are finding it very difficult to adapt to the challenges posed by excessively open public opinion. Excessively critical public opinion will damage popular trust in government and jeopardize government administration. Enemy forces at home and abroad are wreaking havoc in China, and there has been no change in the schemes to Westernize and divide China. Given this situation, if left alone to become excessively open, public opinion will inevitably bring about dire consequences.
. . . .
Why should our media focus on positive propaganda? Because pro-active and positive matters represent what is mainstream in our society, and passive and negative things are the tributaries. Only by insisting on positive propaganda do we truly reflect our society's basic character and show a complete picture. This is our approach to news, and it is an approach that seeks truth from the facts.
. . . .
Without the mainstream media's unrelenting positive propaganda, our society would not be able to preserve its stability.
自觉坚持马克思主义新闻观
中国为什么不能实行西方的新闻体制？答案其实很简单：中国是社会主义国家，政治制度、经济制度都和西方不同，新闻体制又怎么会一样？
. . . .
西方批评中国的新闻体制，很重要的一点就是批评中国没有独立媒体。
. . . .
西方人常说，媒体属于国家所有，就是权力垄断；在我们看来，私人办媒体，只能是资本垄断、金钱垄断。社会主义国家不会允许新闻媒体私有化，这是与资本主义新闻体制的根本区别。在我们国家，各个政党、人民团体和其他社会组织举办不同的新闻机构，各自联系一定范围的群众，既有分工，又有合作，也有竞争，广泛反映各方面社会舆论，共同为人民服务、为社会主义服务。. . . .党不允许成为某些利益集团的代表，不允许成为少数人的代表，不允许有自己的特殊利益。所以，党管媒体更有利于媒体维护国家和人民利益。
. . . .
也许，现在中国的传统媒体，主要是党报党刊、电台电视台报道的自由度，要比西方发达国家媒体的自由度小一些。造成这种状况的原因，并不在于新闻理念、新闻体制，而在于国家所处的发展阶段和所面临的问题。
. . . .
中国面临的安全、稳定方面的风险显然要比美国多、比美国大。中国30多年的改革开放，在创造了世界发展史上奇迹的同时，也经历了急剧的社会变革和转型，积累了大量社会矛盾和问题，这些矛盾和问题近年来正集中地凸现出来。
. . . .
现阶段的中国，承受不了舆论失控的后果。. . . . 各级政府机关的管理水平和干部队伍的整体素质还不高，很难适应舆论过度开放带来的挑战，舆论的过度批评会损害政府威信、妨害政府施政；境内外敌对势力搞乱中国、西化分化中国的图谋始终没有改变。在这样的情况下，如果放任舆论环境过度开放，将不可避免地带来严重后果。
. . . .
为什么我们的媒体要以正面宣传为主？那是因为，积极、正面的事物是我们社会的主流，消极、负面的东西是支流，坚持正面宣传为主才能真实反映我们这个社会的本质和全貌。这就是我们的新闻观，是一种实事求是的新闻观。
. . . .
没有主流媒体坚持不懈的正面宣传，我国社会大局不可能保持稳定。
