The crisis of the centralized media control theory: how local power controls media in China

Chinese media studies has developed a ‘centralized media control ’ theory with regard to the relationship between media and government, which has existed for over half a century since the Central Propaganda Department (CPD) became the headquarters of the Chinese national propaganda system.1 The CPD, in representing the viewpoint of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), oversees the propaganda system that gives instructions for, and moni-tors, cultural production throughout Chinese society (Brady, 2006), with the aim that all societies in China should speak with one voice. The CPD sets the propaganda rules for nationwide media, indicating what news can be covered and the manner of coverage, prioritizing national interests over all other issues (Brady, 2006; He, 2004). Even media marketization has not stopped the ruling CCP from monopolizing media control (Brady, 2006; Liu, 2004; Lynch, 1999). Much evidence in recent years has supported the theory of ‘centralized media control’. A recent prominent case of this was the 2008 milk scandal. A Southern Weekend journalist had already investigated the