adrian monck

China’s Olympic media strategy

Reporters Sans Frontieres has a memo on how the Chinese authorities plan to deal with journalists in the run up to the Olympics. Now it may well have a sinister side, but there are signs of movement in advice like this:

Attitudes must evolve: we must prepare to be totally open to interviews by foreign journalists, to dare to accept interviews by foreign journalists, to disseminate our viewpoint by taking a clear and precise position, and not let ourselves be caught without an answer to important questions.

It concludes:

When receiving journalists from abroad, every interview subject should behave in a friendly and natural way, with neither servility nor arrogance, and should demonstrate the spirit and style of officials and the masses.

And thereby help to promote an opening-up of the towns, foster civilised behaviour by citizens and in general enhance the level of the population.

Nothing about pulling out of Tibet though.

Adrian Monck

4 responses to “China’s Olympic media strategy”

  1. What’s so “sinister” about a Chinese government waking up to the reality of spin doctoring that western governments have been practising for years?

    Do these aims (taken from that link to the RSF website):

    “The introduction explains that the aim of the recommendations is to respond to China’s needs during the holding of the Olympic Games. The public relations plan has six parts: creating an interview strategy, improving the news release system, building a propaganda system for foreign media, creating positive opinion online, controlling opinion in a crisis and training officials in public relations.

    differ in any more particularly “sinister” way to what London or the UK government might be doing in preparation for 2012?

  3. Like the boring (“po-faced”? I’m still not sure I know what that means exactly) American journalist that I am, I don’t know how I feel about reporters donning badges and taking part in a protest while covering the news. Wait, I do know how I feel: bad idea.

    I had the same unease when I attended a Nieman Foundation reunion a few years back and it became clear the foundation’s director had signed on to “help” the Chinese deal with the Western press. Bad idea, and thankfully he backed down.