China teaches journalists Marxist restrictions--Washington Post

• MLB nevertheless feels comfy doing "business" in this hell-hole:

From the Washington Post, Beijing: "Journalism students at (elite university) Tsinghua are taught not only about Watergate and the rise of the Internet, but also about the restricted role reporters are expected to play under a Marxist government such as China's.

• ....the party's Central Committee in 2001 urged Chinese media and journalism schools to adopt the concept of "Marxist journalism." The term was broadly interpreted to mean journalism that the government views as improving society and taking account of Chinese realities, including censorship under one-party rule. Fan Jingyi, a former editor of People's Daily, the Communist Party's official newspaper, set out at about the same time as the Central Committee edict to supply Tsinghua journalism students with a framework of proper Marxist theory for their studies. Fan, 76, came to Tsinghua and began teaching his course, mostly by inviting editors and government officials to be guest lecturers....

"Reviewing the reality of journalistic education, one finds many inclinations that need attention," he continued. "One is out-of-date textbooks. One is the Westernized concept of journalism. And another is the abstract research approach in which theory and practice do not match. These problems can only be solved by strengthening the Marxist concept of journalism."

• Tsinghua University, one of China's most renowned institutions of learning, would not explain further the center's purpose or mission....

Interviews with students and others associated with the center suggested unease at what the Marxist journalism courses were supposed to impart. Some students said they could not remember what they were taught, or that they paid little attention because they were concentrating on other subjects. None seemed eager to discuss the course.....

• The center's name, implying a mission to keep journalism students on the straight and narrow path of Marxism, was chosen in part to attract support, and perhaps funding, from party officials, he said. "That is important," he added, smiling. "Can you imagine what would happen if you started an institute of capitalist journalism?"

Addressing censorship, Fan told students that the government must "guide public opinion" because many Chinese are not well educated and cannot understand current events well.

• "The situation of our country decided we need to guide public opinion," he said. "We should consider the social effects of every report, thinking if it is good or bad for our country, society and people, especially for the stability and development of the country.""

From Washington Post article by Edward Cody, "For China's Journalism Students, Censorship is a Core Concept," 12/31/07.

• Via Poynter.org/Romenesko

P.S. Definition of a politician: one who trades in favors. Big ones. Including human beings. (sm)

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