Day 4 gave us all a little insight into how the media works in Shanghai. Firstly, we had visited one of the most popular newspapers in Shanghai called the Global Times.
Global Times is a newspaper that highlights what is happening around the world, in addition to what is happening locally in Shanghai and China. Again, I would agree that a lot of our skepticism was dispelled after meeting with the head of the newspaper. The most contentious issue that I would say many people care about in China is whether or not media operates as an autonomous entity. We were told that though Global Times is owned by the state, the content is what the writers want it to be. She stressed to us that nobody is forced to write anything by the central government. From the outside, it is understandable to think such a thing. After all, each country has its own slant or bias when reporting on other countries. I think it is highly important that people should become impartial and not let government actions craft our opinions on the people of other nations, as we probably did before we found out that many of the preconceived stereotypes we had were untrue.
Besides the political side of the meeting there were some universal issues that were addressed, such as whether newspapers are a dying form of media or not. Based off of her opinion and ours, collectively, we agreed that newspapers are in fact a dying form of media. Despite the 1 million people who are subscribers of these newspapers, Global Times has shifted their focus to the internet. In a world where technology is easily accessible to people, it makes sense that businesses and media groups would look to be available to as many customers as they can. They even have versions of their news in English, reinforcing the concept that news outlets want to reach a wider array of audiences. Shortly after the meeting, though, we got a brief tour of the offices where people work on the newspaper and online website. Most people never get this chance so I definitely felt privileged to not only gather so much information about the newspaper from the director of it, but by also being able to have first person access to the “production” of the paper.
Next on the itinerary was to visit the Shanghai Media group or SMG. SMG is a multimedia broadcasting company that has a large influence on the media in Shanghai. When we got to the SMG’s building of operations we had first gotten a tour of the editing room, broadcasting set, and public relations office. Let me tell you, setting foot on the set where news anchors broadcast to millions of people each day is overwhelming.
After the quick tour of the building we met the directors of the SMG in a conference room. They were there to answer all of our questions on the role and responsibilities of news outlets in China and Shanghai. Though it was a bit of a reiteration of the meeting with Global Times, it was satisfying to get to see how other people’s mentalities are developed. At SMG, I got the sense that they were industrious when something relates to their job, in addition to being very fervent about it. They were quick to quell any disbelief we had about the role of media in Shanghai and as a matter of fact, in China. Again, they made sure that we understood that the central state, despite technically “owning” their company, had no role in what was broadcasted over the TV. Also, what seemed to be a serious concern for most of us on this trip, when interviewing people, is the pollution problem here in Shanghai. Unequivocally, most people in the West think in a parallel way to this. It is the collective belief that the government does not allow pollution and environmental concerns to be reported. According to these people, as well as most of the people we talked to, the Chinese government views pollution as an impediment to their goals of growth and as a detriment to people’s health. As a result, they encourage and allow people to highlight these issues by any means of media.
It always is important to take things with a grain of salt. This is exactly what I have done for the most part of this day. Although these people have influence and authority in what they do, it is always wise to question what comes out of their mouths. On the contrary, it is also important to be open minded and impartial to ideas in the world. If we were all close-minded to new ideas and thoughts, then the world would be a much different place, and not in a good way. So while I do still have some reservations and doubts about the handling on environmental issues here in Shanghai and China, at the same time I truly believe something is being done to alleviate the problems associated with it. No country wants to deal with this problem because not only does it affect the population’s health in the short term and long term, but it impacts the economy, something the Chinese government cannot afford.
