Media News - Tuesday, April 07, 2009

China to push publishing sector into business age

China will push its lumbering state-run publishers to become bigger and more business-like and give a firmer foothold to smaller private publishing ventures, according to a policy document issued by state media on Tuesday. The policy 'opinion' from the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) stresses that China's Communist Party censors will continue controlling what appears in books and other publications. But the document issued in the People's Daily signals the government wants publishers - until now run more like the bureaucracies to which most are attached - to become more commercial through share offers, mergers, takeovers and controlled private investment. China's censors control what appears in print by issuing limited numbers of approvals for books and magazines, which can be withdrawn if a publisher offends officials. But even under such state control, publishing has become increasingly commercial, with private and foreign investors creeping in with the quiet and unpredictable nod of regulators. The new regulations are likely to accelerate that trend, though they do not specifically mention foreign investors. The rules say small, private publishing agents may be allowed to set up official joint operations with the state-run publishers. Such deals have been widespread over recent years despite past efforts to curtail them. (Reuters)

• Home |
• Seminars  |
• Events |
• Media Landscape |
• Newsroom|
• Media News|
• Resources

Terms of service and Privacy policy.

Copyright © 1992- 2011 European Journalism Centre. All rights reserved.

Valid XHTML and CSS.

European Journalism Centre

Sonneville-lunet 10
6221KT Maastricht
The Netherlands

Tel. : +31 43 325 40 30
Fax : +32 2 400 42 20

E-mail: info[at]ejc.net