Speaker: Dr. Bingchun Meng

Date: Thursday 8th March, 2012

Time: 2-3.30pm

Venue: A6.5, Maria Hewlett Building (A Block), Harrow Campus

Chair: Prof Hugo de Burgh

OPEN TO ALL

In this presentation, Dr Bingchun Meng will first lay out some of the theoretical debates as well as methodological challenges regarding the research of mediated citizenship. She will then draw upon my two recently completely projects, one on online spoofs and another on a peer production community on the Chinese Internet, to offer some empirical materials for reflecting on the issue of mediated citizenship. Dr Meng will conclude with a few thoughts on future research agenda.

Biography:

Bingchun Meng is a Lecturer in the department of Media and Communications at London School of Economics and Political Science. Her main research interests lie in communication governance and media production, both of which are examined in the context of globalization and technological shifts. There are three strands in this research: 1) What are the institutional responses to the challenges brought by new communication practices such as disturbance to political control and subversion of the conventional business model; what are some wider ramifications of such responses? 2) How have the institutional arrangements of media production changed in response to the local and global conditions and how the change affects the content being produced. 3) Media production at the grass-root level. How citizens exploit the opportunities afforded by digital technologies to expand their cultural and political participation, which, in different social contexts, may be constrained. These lines of research are connected by a general inquiry into the power dynamics operating at the macro- and micro-levels in communication networks.

Before joining LSE, Dr Bingchun Meng was a post-doc fellow at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, where she worked at the Centre for Global Communication Studies and also taught courses on Chinese media. She obtained her PhD in Mass Communication from the Pennsylvania State University.

If you have any queries about CMC events, please contact Miao Mi at m.mi@my.westminster.ac.uk

CHINESE CHRISTIANITY AND THE PARTY

Speaker: Dr GerdaWielander
Date: Monday 5th March
Time: 2-4pm
Venue: A 6.8 Maria Hewlett Building (A Block) Harrow Campus
Chair: Prof Hugo de Burgh
OPEN TO ALL

This talk asks the question what influence Christian values have had on social and political values in post-socialist China. Christianity, understood as an ideological source of social and political values, informs both official ideology and ‘dissident’ ideology, albeit in different ways and to a different extent, and is an increasingly accepted source of social moral and ethics in contemporary China. I argue that while we tend to think of China as an atheist, secular state, it is in fact vital to understand the importance religion plays in the state’s response to emerging new values in society without giving ground in terms of a more democratic system.

Biography:

Gerda Wielander’s research interest lies in contemporary China’s social and political development. Most recently she has been interested in the way Christian belief is influencing and shaping political discourse in contemporary China. She has published several articles in this field and has been awarded an AHRC Fellowship in 2012 to complete her book on Christian values in Communist China (to be published with Routledge in 2013).

GerdaWielander was educated in Vienna and Beijing. She obtained an M.A. in Chinese Studies in 1990 with a dissertation on Liang Qichao’s historiography, including a first translation into German of Liang’s “XinShixue” (New Historiography). Her PhD (1995) investigated the Malaysian Chinese evaluation of China’s Democracy Movement (1976-1989) as expressed in the region’s vibrant Chinese press.

Gerda is Principal Lecturer in Chinese Studies and Director of the Undergraduate Languages Programme in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Languages. She has taught at a number of British universities including SOAS and Cambridge before coming to Westminster in a full-time capacity.

More about China Media Centre and seminars see http://chinamediacentre.org.

If you have any queries about CMC events, please contact Miao Mi at m.mi@my.westminster.ac.uk

Prof Michel Hockx from SOAS, University of London, Dr. Mei Hong, Assistant Professor from Southwest Jiaotong University and Prof David Gauntlett from University of Westminster, will give a talk with the title ‘China: the New Media Explosion’, You can find more details about the speakers and an abstract of the talk below.

SOAS& CMC 2012 Spring Seminar

CHINA: THE NEW MEDIA EXPLOSION

Speaker: Prof Michel Hockx, Dr. Mei Hong

Interrogator: Prof David Gauntlett

Date: Wednesday 22nd February, 2012

Time: 4-6pm

Venue: C1.04 New Cavendish Campus, University of Westminster,

Chair: Prof Hugo de Burgh

OPEN TO ALL

ABSTRACT:
This lecture introduces the history, development, and widespread popularity of Internet Literature (wangluo wenxue 网络文学) in the People’s Republic of China. The speakers will deal in turn deal with two discrete aspects of the phenomenon, namely the rise of online popular fiction and its impact on other media, and the significance of online practices for the more marginal genre of poetry.

BIOGRAPHY:
Michel Hockx is Professor of Chinese at SOAS, University of London. Born and raised in The Netherlands, he obtained his PhD in 1994 from Leiden University for a thesis on modern Chinese poetry. His later work has dealt with various aspects of the sociology of modern Chinese literature, including the study of early modern literary societies and literary magazines and, more recently, the study of Internet literature. His monograph Internet Literature in China is forthcoming with Columbia University Press.

David Gauntlett is Professor of Media and Communications, and Co-Director of the Communications and Media Research Institute, at the University of Westminster. His teaching and research concerns people’s use of media in their everyday lives, with a particular focus on creative uses of digital media. He is the author of several books, including Creative Explorations (2007) and Making is Connecting: The social meaning of creativity, from DIY and knitting to YouTube and Web 2.0 (2011). He has made several popular YouTube videos, and produces the website about media and identities, Theory.org.uk. He has conducted collaborative research with a number of the world’s leading creative organisations, including the BBC, Lego, and Tate.

Mei Hong is a vice professor of Communication Department of Art and Communication College, Southwest Jiaotong University, China. She obtained her PHD in 2006 from Sichuan University for a thesis on Culture and Communication. She is interested in media and society and has published a book on Internet Literature.

More about China Media Centre and seminars wee: http://chinamediacentre.org/

If you have any queries about CMC events, please contact Miao MI at m.mi@my.westminster.ac.uk

Jeremy Paxman (principal news and current affairs presenter, BBC), Wang Hui (Head of Communications, City of Beijing) in the chair, Bai Yansong (principal news and current affairs presenter, CCTV)

Jeremy Paxman and China’s leading current affairs presenter and writer Bai Yansong joined Paul Jackson and David Morgenstern, from the UK television industry, at the the Future of Public Media workshop organised by the China Media Centre of the University of Westminster and the Communications University of China. The event took place in Beijing, China, on 12 January 2012.

The full-day workshop explored common experiences and challenges facing public media organisations in China and the UK. Contributors came from academic, journalistic, policy and business backgrounds and investigated where common interests and potential partnerships can exist despite real differences in media systems, giving participants the chance to identify areas of common interest and build the foundations for future partnerships.

The four visiting British speakers at the conference, with the Conference Director, Professor Hu Zhengrong. (From left to right: David Morgenstern, Paul Jackson, Professor Hu, Jeremy Paxman and Professor Hugo de Burgh)

Key speakers attending the workshop included:

From the United Kingdom

• Jeremy Paxman, the UK’s leading current affairs presenter.
• Paul Jackson, an outstanding UK TV producer, former executive producer of BBC and ITV’s entertainment departments.
• David Morgenstern, former director of BBC’s entertainment programme development department, currently Director of 10 Star company’s Programme R & D Department.
• Prof Hugo de Burgh, Director of China Media Centre, University of Westminster.

From China:

• Prof Hu Zhengrong, Deputy President of Communications University of China, Chairman of Chinese Media Research Association and the Honorary Doctor of the University of Westminster
• Bai Yansong, China’s leading current affairs presenter and writer.
• Yang Hua, Deputy Director of the CCTV News Centre
• Zhang Haichao, Deputy General Manager of China International Television Corporation (CITVC)
• Ren Xue’an, Deputy Director of CCTV Channel 1

Last month the 4 day annual meeting of the Central Committee took place with the theme of enlivening the ‘cultural system’.

Chinese culture, in the sense of publishing, artworks and the appreciation of historical artefacts is developing very richly without any need of the Central Committee. New schools and universities are being launched while existing ones expand and clone and introduce new ideas and new pedagogy. So what is there for the Central Committee to discuss?

Two things. What significance the ‘culture industries’ have for China’s economic development and what role the very important institution, the Culture Establishment or culture xitong, will play.

The concept of the‘culture industries’ was invented in Britain but has been seized upon by Chinese intellectuals and policy makers (usually with acknowledgments to its parent) to emphasise the importance of the softer industries. Most officials in China will by now know that they are to be judged not just on how many miles of road are built or factories put up under their watch but on the concert halls, artist villages, animation companies, museums and so forth they can initiate.

Whereas money put into universities to work on the creative industries in the UK would doubtless result in the recruitment of more people to write turgid papers which nobody would read except the colleagues judging the writers’ ranking in the next Research Assessment Exercise, Chinese universities seem to be getting stuck in to their own projects with the local communities and individuals, spawning enterprises and workshops. There is a good deal of interest too in how you initiate and incubate creativity. One university plans to bring out some British psychologists and teachers to run a workshop on just that and my own organisation has been briefing broadcast executives on how small British companies are so productive of ideas that the UK is the world’s largest exporter of programme formats.

Some scoff at the Chinese as potential innovators, damning their ‘authoritarian’ political culture and ‘memorising’ schooling as impassable barriers. Like Bill Gates, reported to have said that ‘no-one was ever creative who didn’t have his basic maths and grammar right’, I’m not so sure. Any society whose food is as varied, evolving and imaginative as China’s is innovative in the deepest sense that they can apply their creativity to everyday life. Our summer school students，usually 2nd year undergraduates, astonish British lecturers when they are sent out to direct, shoot and post produce short videos and again when they have to think up ideas for television entertainments and get them judged by British Commissioning Editors. They are nothing if not imaginative and, what’s more, they realise their imaginings with enterprise, energy and the ability to apply themselves and master new skills, both dispositions learnt in a very demanding education system.

In the luxury design side of the culture industries Chinese consumers are buying Hermes and Burberry and Vuitton now because they are the best, but regular visitors to China daily witness new products and new brands which are applying internationally proven methods to their own workmanship. Its just a matter of time and trouble…….. What does this matter to us?

We have to face it that the comforting idea, that where brain and sparkle are needed we Westerners can always stay one step ahead even if all our basic necessities are produced more cheaply and efficiently in China, needs rethinking. Of course most of China’s exports are still made up of things designed by Westerners but this won’t last forever. Little by little Chinese are going to be doing their own conceptualising, research and designing. The government is also determined to reduce the exposure of China’s economy to the influence of the West, by powering the domestic market. If Chinese consumers can be spending enough to marginalise foreign buyers and if the things that Chinese consumers want are mainly to be conceived as well as produced in China then where does that leave the West? Ok, this is a reasonably long-term scenario, but it is one that our political leaders need to be thinking about.

And what about the Chinese government’s ability to realise its policy aspirations? Far from having a dysfunctional political system, as almost every foreign correspondent seems to think, China may have the edge on us institutionally too.

The Culture Xitong – the Administrative Framework for Culture – is led by the Central Propaganda (Information) Department.

There is a presupposition widely adhered to in Chinese society that culture must be supportive of authority and that it is one of the duties of government to use such media as are at its disposal to educate and inform the public as it see fit.

This approach has a number of facets which can seem to outsiders, at least to those from the Anglosphere, remarkable. For example, every city government will have a section responsible for spiritual development and civilised comportment, which will promote cleanliness, courtesy and good behaviour among citizens, through campaigns, competitions and public events. Communist media theory aside, officials who are as attentive to detail as this understandably also regard it as their duty to ensure that opinions are guided and that information that is subversive of interpersonal morality or good administration is excluded from publication. Regulating public communication is tasked, because of the legacy of Communist organization, to the Central Propaganda Department (CPD) of the CCP (MacGregor 2010: ch8).

As an illustration of the power of the CPD it is notable that, in early 2011, when it was widely reported that Prime Minister Wen Jiabao had visited petitioners at the State Bureau of Letters and Calls [国家信访局] to show his concern that petitioners against injustice were not being treated appropriately by many local authorities, Chinese observers reported that the Central Propaganda Department had criticised the Prime Minister for so doing, a surprising but not unprecedented revelation. The year before it had been reported that parts of Wen’s speeches had been censored on ‘at least four occasions in recent months’ (Moore 2010). These incidents give an idea of the authority attributed to the Propaganda Department.

Quoting a Party publication, Shambaugh comments that its definition of the CPD

‘means that virtually every conceivable medium that transmits and conveys information to the people of China falls under the bureaucratic purview of the CCP Propaganda Department. This includes all media organs, all schools and educational institutions, all literary and art organs and all publishing outlets.’ (Shambaugh 2009: 107)

The CPD is responsible for (1) issuing instructions on content, (2) the professional development of content managers (editors, publishers) and for (3) monitoring the content of communications to ensure that they do not transgress the official line on topics that the Party considers important. It has units at every level of administration of which local newspapers and broadcasting channels must take account. The CPD answers for the xitong of information and cultural institutions to the most powerful decision-making body in China, the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CCP.

It guides and supervises the xitong members (Perry 2001: 27-8), which include: the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the State Administration of Press and Publication, the State Council Information Office, the Ministry of Culture, Xinhua News Agency. It shares with the Ministry of Public Security the task of filtering and monitoring the Internet. Each of the organisations will have provincial and local branches. There is in other words a comprehensive structure through which to influence ‘culture’.

While my description above may imply that the powers of the CPD are all negative, all about exercising control, that is not necessarily the case today. New ideas about how culture can be developed both to enrich everyday life and to create new industries are shooting through the xitong; enterprising officials are encouraged and professional development courses and workshops are held to vitalise local committees and stimulate entrepreneurship. While it may be the case that ideology and hierarchy will have a stultifying affect, as China’s critics assume, this is not necessarily so.

The Central Committee believes that officials in Beijing can kick into fast gear a renaissance in culture that creates modern industries and diverts people from admiration for European culture into applying modern technologies and commercial skills to their own. The Central Committee may not be so wrong.

A recent Daily Telegraph cartoon depicts the promotion poster for the new James Bond
film; the smoothie with the gun is poised to save the world in free-fall. But
the new twist was that the face of Bond was the face of Hu Jintao, President of
China.

What a change from 2008 when, despite grudging respect for her economic achievements
and glorious Olympics, the Western political and intellectual elites pretty
well unanimously despised China because of what they perceived as China’s
political and moral failings! This view was based upon prejudices and
ignorance; just as our politicians’ failure to understand other cultures and
countries has got us into trouble in the Muslim world, the same approach to
China may have even worse consequences in the years ahead.

How little we know about how China works is really quite extraordinary, when you consider
that it is generally acknowledged that China is already influencing us and will
do so more and more. There is a whole raft of assumptions about China that my compatriots
carry in their heads – soon expelled by the smart ones when they visit it. As
Director of the China Media Centre I have enjoyed taking various prominent
Brits on their first visits to China – Boris Johnson, David Willetts, Nick
Davies (usually credited with having exposed the NOW hacking scandal), Steve
Hewlett who presents The Media Show and other leading figures from the media.
They would not contradict my saying that they found a society infinitely more
open and diverse and free than they had assumed.

 So my blog will try to show why this is and what we can learn from China. These are some
of the themes I’ll be addressing:

 Who governs China, how they are chosen, what kind of people they are and how they think is
a great interest of mine, since I began to meet officials informally through my
work some five years ago;

 How young people – students, mainly – think about their own country and about ‘the West’.
How modern history is being reinterpreted to diminish the Communist Party,
though by no means to promote ‘Westernisation’;

What’s being said on and done through the internet;

 The media, how they are managed and the roles they play in society. Why many Chinese are
skeptical of Western ‘free’ media, in particular ours;

Immigration-  China’s policies, now being run by a former British deputy Vice Chancellor
and shaped to bring in enterprise and creativity, new models and attitudes;

Education – how the schools are combining traditional disciplines with modern ideas about
learning and developing imagination;

Universities- How they manage to be entrepreneurial and profit making despite state control
which, in our country, seems only to crush initiative;

Officials- and how they are learning to re-think their relationships with the public in a
world in which their misdeeds can be easily exposed on the web, in which public
activism is often intemperate and unforgiving and in which the old
authoritarian model won’t work.

Social movements and what their aims are.

Religion in China and what its new flowering means.

These are some of the areas I want to reflect on. I hope others will join me. But the
proviso is that the perspective be that of an English person – or French, or
Russian or American or whatever – seeing China in relation to his or her
society. This is not, in other words, a blog for China experts or even
international relations specialists but about the impact of China on us, and
what we can learn from China.

As I go to – China 4 or 5 times a year, usually for around 2-3 weeks each time, I pick up
stories and meet very different people around the country; I will try to root
what I write about in those encounters, make them concrete. But as I – and the
others I hope will contribute – also dip into the torrent of academic
literature about China, we will certainly be drawing on that too.

That’s all for day one.

The city is a physical entity, a place of human inhabitation and a center of economy, politics and culture. The city represents a network of interaction and communication, and the indicator of human living conditions and the pattern of their relationships as well.

From the beginning, communication and the city associated with each other, constituting an integral co-structural relationship. The city changes in time and space, which in turn restructures the communicative and interactive relationships. The significant change of interaction and communication pattern, is undoubtedly adjustment and representation of the city and its internal and external relations. In short, the city is the carrier and network of interaction and communication which  is the pattern of the city and its resident’s living. Therefore, the research of the city and its resident cannot go without the perspectives of interaction and communication.

In the current context of globalization, digitalization and informatization, re-assessing the relationship between the city and interaction and communication, is not only a practical and significant subject concerning human existence but the cornerstone of communication theory and practice as well.

The Center for Information and Communication Studies, Fudan University, will focus on “urban communication” in its future research, re-examining the relationship between communication, the city and human beings, in order to fulfill three purposes: On the level of social function, to help build up “communicable city”; on the level of humanity idea, to contemplate human living conditions and problems in modern cities from the perspective of communication; on the level of disciplinary level, to build a new theoretical ground of communication research, connecting humanities and social science based on of communication.

The theme of “Communication and China • Fudan Forum” (2011) is determined as

Interaction and Communication: The City in Transition

“Communication and China • Fudan Forum” (2011) calls for papers from domestic and foreign scholars. In view of the wide scope of the topic, we suggest three dimensions so as to make our discussion more focused and to the point.

1. Interaction and communication as the main function of the city. For example: the relationship between interaction and communication and different urban groups; urban communication and political and economic changes in cities; public crisis communication and urban governance; community communication and neighborhood; information monitoring, public security and civil rights; urban change and building up urban media systems; interaction and communication and urban cultural identity.
2. The city as the network of interaction and communication, for example, urban space presented by interaction and communication; virtual and physical urban space and interaction and communication; transition in ways of communication and relationships and urban change; the expression of ideas in urban architecture; urban lifestyle and cultural heritage in interaction and communication; the relationship between suburban and urban distribution and interaction; political relations in urban interaction and communication; urban markets, commodity exchange and interpersonal interaction.
3. Interaction and communication as the way of city residents’ existence, for example: the transition of interaction and communication and human existential experience; interaction and communication and people’s perception of the city; urban interaction and communication and people’s daily life, urban interaction and communication and manifestation of Renqing, urban interaction and communication and individual subjectivity.

The title of the paper can be decided by the author. One can choose whatever research orientation, methodology and approach one finds appropriate. All submissions must be based on empirical evidence and not purely descriptive narrative. Empty talk should be avoided.

Date: December 28-30, 2011 in Shanghai, China

Deadline: October 31, 2011

Email: cics@fudan.edu.cn

Phone: 86-21-65643743

Fax; 86-21-65643743

Link [Chinese] – http://www.gwnews.net/article-66007.html

China Media Centre (CMC) director Hugo de Burgh discussed the development of the University of Westminster’s summer school programme for Chinese students during a visit to the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS) earlier this month.

The first cohort of GDUFS students visited London in August 2010 as part of a successful summer-long programme of practical journalism courses. Discussions on deepening this educational link took place in Guangzhou with Zhong Weihe, chancellor of the leading Chinese university.

Chancellor Zhong introduced GDUFS’s recent 45^th anniversary celebrations to the visiting delegation, as well as the participation of its students in the Asian Games, beginning in Guangzhou today (Nov.12). Professor de Burgh expressed amazement at the changes that have occurred in the city, and his desire to return to the university to spend longer talking with students and staff. Chancellor Zhong, in turn, invited the CMC director back to deliver a lecture on the public communications, news and broadcast media field, an invitation which was readily accepted

Professor de Burgh and CMC China academic liaison, Zeng Rong, were welcomed to GDUFS by Chancellor Zhong and his colleagues Liang Jie, deputy director of the Office of International Relations, and Hu Wentao, party committee secretary of the School of News and Broadcast Journalism.

• China issues white paper on Internet policy
• Govt shuts down Internet bars before entrance exam
• China Mobile to invest in People’s Daily Online
• Welcome to the i-Party
• Dating show contestant banned for sexy modeling?
• World Cup poses a challenge for studios (world)
• Games are going 3D in wake of Hollywood’s success (world)

China issues white paper on Internet policy

The Chinese government Tuesday published a white paper on its Internet policy, stressing the guarantee of citizens’ freedom of speech on the Internet and more intensive application of it. The white paper, released by the State Council Information Office, introduced facts of the development and use of the Internet in China, and elaborated on the country’s basic policies on the Internet.

The Chinese government actively advocates and supports the development and application of the Internet across the country, it said, stressing the government’s basic Internet policy: active use, scientific development, law-based administration and ensured security. By the end of 2009 the number of netizens in China had reached 384 million, 618 times that of 1997 with an annual increase of 31.95 million users. The Internet had reached 28.9 percent of the total population by the end of 2009, higher than the world average. Its accessibility will be raised to 45 percent of the population in the coming five years, it said. There were 3.23 million websites running in China last year, which was 2,152 times that of 1997.

Of all the netizens, 346 million used broadband and 233 million used mobile phones to access the Internet. They had moved on from dialing the access numbers to broadband and mobile phones. “These statistics make China among the top of the developing countries in developing and popularizing the Internet,” the paper said. The Internet has become an engine promoting the economic development of China. Information technology （IT） including the Internet and its industry has made significant contributions to the rapid growth of the Chinese economy, it said. In the past 16 years, the average growth rate of the added value of Chinese IT industry grew at over 26.6 percent annually, with its proportion in the national economy increasing from less than 1 percent to 10 percent, according to the paper. Meanwhile, the Internet has become an indispensable tool in people’s every-day life, it said.

According to a sample survey, in 2009 alone, about 230 million people in China gathered information using search engines, and 240 million communicated through real-time telecommunications devices. Also, 46 million Chinese people received education with the help of the Internet, 35 million conducted securities trading on the Internet, 15 million sought jobs through the Internet, and 14 million arranged trips via the Internet. The Chinese government is determined to further promote Internet development and application so that more people can benefit from the Internet, the paper said. “Chinese citizens fully enjoy freedom of speech on the Internet,” it said, adding that China’s websites attach great importance to providing netizens with opinion expression services. Over 80 percent of China’s websites provided electronic bulletin service. And there are over 1 million BBSs and some 220 million bloggers in China. According to a sample survey, over 66 percent of Chinese netizens frequently place postings to discuss various topics, and to fully express their opinions and represent their interests. “The Internet’s role in supervision is given full play,” the paper said.

Over the past few years, a great number of the problems reported through the Internet have been resolved. In order to facilitate the public’s reporting of corrupt and degenerate officials and suchlike, the central discipline inspection and supervision authorities, the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate and other relevant bodies have set up informant websites. The informant website of the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Ministry of Supervision, and the website of the National Bureau of Corruption Prevention are playing an important role in preventing and punishing corruption and degeneration among officials. A sample survey found that over 60 percent of netizens had a positive opinion of the fact that the government gives wide scope to the Internet’s role in supervision, and considered it a manifestation of China’s socialist democracy and progress, the paper said. “The Chinese government believes that the Internet is an important infrastructure facility for the nation. Within Chinese territory the Internet is under the jurisdiction of Chinese sovereignty,” it said, stressing that the Internet sovereignty of China should be respected and protected.

According to the paper, computer crimes in China have been on the increase in recent years.

Public security departments dealt with 142 computer crime cases in 1998, 29,000 in 2007, 35,000 in 2008 and 48,000 in 2009. “China is one of the countries suffering most from hacking,” it said.

According to incomplete statistics, more than one million IP addresses in China were controlled from overseas in 2009, 42,000 websites were distorted by hackers. Besides, 18 million Chinese computers are infected by the Conficker virus every month, about 30 percent of the computers infected globally. National situations and cultural traditions differ among countries, and so concern about Internet security also differs, the paper said. “Concerns about Internet security of different countries should be fully respected,” it said.

The Chinese government will constantly adjust relevant policies to better match the inherent law and the objective requirements of the development and administration of the Internet, according to the paper. The 31-page document is divided into six sections: Endeavors to Spur the Development and Application of the Internet, Promoting the Extensive Use of the Internet, Guaranteeing Citizens’ Freedom of Speech on the Internet, Basic Principles and Practices of Internet Administration, Protecting Internet Security, and Active International Exchanges and Cooperation. (Xinhua 08/06/2010)

Govt shuts down Internet bars before entrance exam

The government of Linchuan district in Fuzhou, Jiangxi province, has temporarily closed down all Internet cafes in its jurisdiction in a bid to prevent students from getting distracted ahead of the college entrance examination.

The move implements a document issued by the district’s cultural affairs bureau last year, which stipulates that the business of Internet bars should be suspended during the college entrance exam, which takes place on June 7 and 8 every year, the Jiangxi-based New Legal News reported. Some local Internet cafe owners have been asked to shut down for nearly a month, the report said. A local cafe owner complained on tianya.cn, the country’s biggest online forum: “I will lose 10,000 yuan （$1,460） if my business is suspended for a month, when the cost of running the shop remains the same.” An insider at the Linchuan telecommunications office said Internet bar owners were notified before their web connections were snapped on May 10. A notice from the district government said the compulsory suspension of Internet cafs between May 10 and June 9 was to “protect Linchuan’s image as an education-developed region”.

Linchuan district, known for its outstanding educational tradition, attracts a lot of students from all over the province to go to school there. But Xiong Guanghui, head of Linchuan Internet Bars Plural Executive, denied there was any enforced action to close down Internet cafes. “We’re not authorized to shut down the cafes. Most of the owners suspended their business voluntarily,” he told China Daily on Monday. According to local media reports, the culture affairs bureau of Linchuan has been forcing Internet bar owners to sign an agreement every year since 2005, which claims they voluntarily agree to shut down their business temporarily. Residents of Lincheng county in Shanxi province are faced with a similar situation. Online complaints report that cables in all Internet bars in the county have been unplugged.

Unlike in Linchuan, this is the first time in Lincheng that Internet bars have been shut down ahead of the college entrance exam, said the local authority. Lincheng residents argue that students can also get distracted by karaoke bars, which remain open. A Lincheng government official surnamed He said he was not aware of the issue and refused comment. Although the suspension has triggered some criticism, parents whose children will be sitting for the coming exam are happy with the move. A Fuzhou resident surnamed Wang said he’s always worried his son will be distracted by Internet bars, and considers the government’s move “appropriate and effective”. Yi Shenghua, a lawyer from Beijing Yingke Law Firm, said forcing Internet cafs to shut down is against the law. “Government action should be restricted by law. It is illegal for the government to force the caf owners to suspend business without reaching agreements beforehand.” (China Daily 01/06/2010)

China Mobile to invest in People’s Daily Online

China Mobile will invest 20 million yuan ($2.93 million) to become a strategic investor in the People’s Daily Online, a government-backed online news portal planning a mainland listing, the Wen Wei Po reported on Thursday, citing mainland media reports.

China Mobile spokeswoman Rainie Lei told Reuters that the parent company had not heard of the investment plan, but an official announcement would be made in a timely manner if there was any major investment or acquisition. The People’s Daily Online may restructure its shareholding and speed up its listing process, the Chinese newspaper said, citing sources. People’s Daily Online President He Jiazheng declined to comment on the report but said the company was focusing on restructuring, the newspaper said.

Beijing had selected a number of state-backed online news platforms including Xinhuanet and Eastday.com to list shares to reduce government’s financial burden and to enhance competitiveness, the newspaper said. At least two online news platforms could issue A shares before the end of the year, the paper added. (Reuters 10/06/2010

Welcome to the i-Party

The Communication University of China’s branch of the Communist Party of China has launched a party newspaper for mobile phones. Intended as a way to “effectively harness the university’s professional strengths in the media realm to explore new avenues of party-building work,” the new paper was given a trial publication in 2009 before its formal launch at the beginning of this year.

In Chinese, the paper’s name is fairly straightforward: CUC Institutional Mobile Party Newspaper (中传机关手机党报). In English, the paper is called by the trend-chasing name i-Party. According to the university’s news portal, this name carries multiple levels of meaning. An explanation of “i-Party”: The letter “I” means “me” in English. It is the first letter of words such as “Internet” and “Information,” one of the symbols of the Information Age, a symbol of “me-media” in the New Media era, and is a sound-alike for “love” (爱). The lower-case “i” says that I am a member of the party, and the capitalized “Party” refers to the Communist Party of China in particular. “i-Party” means the party in the age of new media, that our party is keeping pace with the time. It also means that I and the Party are inseparable. Finally, it expresses love for the Party. Twelve issues have been published to date. A total of 3,600 MMS messages have been distributed to an audience that includes not just party members at the school, but students, teachers, and media professionals as well.

The reports on i-Party do not claim that it is the first party newspaper prepared especially for mobile phones. But I’d be willing to bet that it’s the first to put a heart atop an “i” in its nameplate. (ww.Danwei.org 08/06/2010)

Dating show contestant banned for sexy modeling?

If You Are The One (非城勿扰), a dating program on Jiangsu TV, has produced some dodgy contestants, some of whom admitted afterward to pretending on be outrageous characters the show. Now, it is rumored that a Beijing model, Ma Nuo (马诺), who has modeled for Gome Electrical Appliances and for magazines such as Cosmopolitan, has come under fire for her remarks about only dating super rich guys. The rumor making the rounds is that SARFT has banned her appearances on future reality TV shows.

Ma Nuo’s famously said that she’d rather weep in a BMW than go for a ride on the back of a poor contestant’s bicycle. Then － shock! horror! － it emerged yesterday that a set of her ‘revealing’ lingerie photos has been found! The headline precludes that the two (getting banned and the sexy photos) could be related.

The proposed report is from Qingdao news net, via cqnews.com:

Ma Nuo became the center of attention after saying on If   You Are The One that she would rather ‘sit and cry in a BMW’ (宁愿坐在宝马车中哭泣). These sharp words made her more popular than ever, and after she left If You Are The One many TV stations fought after her, including Guizhou TV and Zhejiang TV. It is rumored around town that Anhui TV is proposing a rate usually given to a B-List actress to sign up Ma Nuo, and she is indeed a guest on the new version of Sunday Best (周日我最大) and its dating segment, It Was You (缘来是你). The first series of the successful new version of Sunday Best, together with Ma Nuo’s participation, saw viewing rates and click-through rates on the Internet go up steadily. Just as the production team were making the second series in secret, they were told that they had to halt Ma Nuo’s participation in the production of the programs.

It was also heard that the production crew of Zhejiang TV’s Singing and Dancing (越跳越美丽) will pause the making of episodes that shows Ma Nuo participating. Both Ma Nuo and her assistant claim that they haven’t heard about this, and that whatever comes next, they will arrange their

The most amusing part of this news report, however, is the headline, which reads: “Again Ma Nuo exposes large quantity of pictures taken in her underwear, rumored ban from SARFT” (马诺又曝海量喷血内衣照 传已遭广电总局封杀) The accompanying pictures to the article has no less than 30 pictures of Ma Nuo in underwear. Those who are familiar with online shopping for lingerie know that these are a series of photos she took for Lamiu, a Tokyo brand selling online in the mainland. The first one displayed on the Qingdao news net article is a shot of a Lamiu bra used in plunging dresses often seen on celebrities. Every subsequent photo comes from the Lamiu website, and the variations of

(Anhui TV’s Sunday Best program logo)

her turning around, her back, and the different sets of underwear modeled, which can hardly be constituted as clandestine photos, are reposted on the news website.

(Zhejiang TV’s Singing and Dancing program logo)

(ww.Danwei.org 08/06/2010)

World Cup poses a challenge for studios

The greatest show on turf, the World Cup soccer tournament, kicks off Friday in South Africa for a month of sporting highs and lows. And for recession-dazed Europeans, the event is a welcome dose of free entertainment as government austerity measures sweep across the continent.

The organizers earn more than $3.4 billion from rights fees and sponsorships, while the billions of viewers will boost networks’ advertising revenues. Commercial channel ITV, which is sharing World Cup rights in Britain with the BBC, is forecasting a 25% rise in advertising revenue thanks to the tournament — more if England’s squad does well. The 25% revenue hike could amount to a $100 million windfall. While small-screen providers are caught up in World Cup fever, the U.S. studios view the event as a monthlong headache. The first two weeks of the tournament are the worst, since there will be matches at lunchtime, the afternoon and in primetime across Europe. “It’s a massive distraction, and if the country in question is playing, the business (in theaters) drops like a stone,” said Duncan Clark, Universal Pictures International’s executive vp distribution. “Counterprogramming is something we’ve done in the past because there are four or five other days between the games played. So you can do good business on those days if you’re prepared to accept a couple of down days.”

Female- and family-focused pictures are in favor as a Cup alternative. Disney opens the Kristen Bell romantic comedy “When in Rome” in Italy, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands in the first week of the tournament. (The picture earned just $33 million in North America after opening in January.) Paramount is offering “She’s Out Of My League” (released three months ago in North America to $32 million) in the major territories, including the U.K., Italy and France, and penciling in the European rollout of “Shrek Forever After” during the World Cup‘s quarterfinal stage. “It’s a tough one,” said Andrew Cripps, president of the studio’s international arm. “We certainly felt there’s an opportunity for a family-orientated film to get an audience, but there’s no question it’s a big challenge.” Fox is the only studio taking the Cup head-on by opening its male-oriented action tentpole “The A-Team” this weekend in 34 territories, including markets with teams in the tournament such as the U.K., Australia, Brazil, the Netherlands and Mexico.

To combat the drought in moviegoing, many theater owners have chosen to embrace the beautiful game and will screen matches in theaters. Countries such as Spain and Italy will offer 3D screenings of the games. International distributors will face another challenge after the July 11 World Cup final. The pack of top titles crammed into the first post-soccer weeks, including “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” and “Toy Story 3,” risk creating a blockbuster bottleneck. (Reuters 11/06/2010)

Games are going 3D in wake of Hollywood’s success

With 3D movies boosting both audience experiences and box office coffers, videogame publishers are following Hollywood’s lead and developing 3D games to immerse players more into virtual worlds.

Game makers like Sony Computer Entertainment, Nintendo, Electronic Arts, Capcom, Take-Two Interactive, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will unveil stereoscopic 3D video games at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles next week where over 45,000 game industry professionals check out the big titles of the next year. “Gamers are the early adopters and once they experience games in 3D, they’re not going to want to go back,” said Oscar-winning producer Jon Landau, who worked with Ubisoft last year to release the first 3D console video game, “James Cameron’s Avatar.” Sony Computer Entertainment will publicly unveil its first big 3D PlayStation 3 video game, developer Guerilla Games’ Killzone 3, at E3 which is running from June 15-17. The latest installment in the bestselling science fiction shooter franchise has been developed from the ground up to take advantage of stereo 3D.

Developer Polyphony Digital is enhancing the upcoming “Gran Turismo 5″ PS3 racing game into a 3D experience, which will also be on display at Sony’s booth. “3D is the natural progression of video game technology and it allows us to replicate the experience you have when driving a real car,” said Taku Imasaki, producer of “Gran Turismo 5,” Sony Computer Entertainment America. Anyone who owns a PS3 can download a free firmware upgrade to turn the game console into a 3D machine that will play both 3D video games and Blu-ray 3D movies. “When you play a (2D) video game today, it’s almost like you’re playing with one eye closed,” said David Coombes, platform research manager, Sony Computer Entertainment America.

Sony is practicing synergy across its electronics, video game and home entertainment divisions to get 3D into homes. Consumers who purchase any of the new 3D Bravia TVs, which will be released in the United States next month, will get a copy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” Blu-ray 3D and a voucher for four PS3 games. Gamers can log onto the PlayStation Network Store and download 3D demos of “PAIN” and “MotorStorm: Pacific Rift” and full 3D versions of “WipEout HD” and “Super StarDust HD.” “3D gaming is an immersive experience that adds a new dimension to home entertainment and will help drive adoption of new 3D HDTVs like Sony’s Bravia,” said Mike Abary, senior vice president of Sony’s televisions and home audio video business.

Michael Cai, vice president of research at Interpret, authored a new report called “3D State of Union: Are Consumers Ready?” He found that 3D TV purchase interest among current PS3 and Xbox 360 owners doubles that of the general population. Overall, 13 percent of American households are interested in purchasing a 3D TV over the next 12 months. “Based on consumer data, we anticipate more than 4 million 3D TV sets to be sold in the United States in the next 12 months,” said Cai. When it comes to video games, Cai said big titles in the first-person shooter, racing, and action/adventure genres will drive consumer adoption of 3D gaming, as these genres will provide the most significant enhancements to the gaming experience.

Nintendo will make a big splash at E3 with the unveiling of its Nintendo 3DS portable game device, which will feature autostereoscopic 3D technology that allows viewers to experience 3D games without wearing special glasses. Thanks to its broad spectrum of gamers across all demographics, Cai found that 27 percent of male gamers and 19 percent of female gamers plan on buying a Nintendo 3DS when it comes out this fall. An additional 35 percent of male gamers and 37 percent of female gamers may buy the gaming device.

NVIDIA is another company that has been pushing stereo 3D experiences for PC games through its GeForce 3D Vision technology. The introduction of 3D laptops from companies like Asus and Toshiba has made it easier for gamers to get a 3D experience on the go. NVIDIA’s 3DTV Play, which allows 3D PC content to play on any 3D TV, has helped encourage more game developers to add stereo 3D to their games. “3D is becoming increasingly important in the gaming world, with 3D compatibility a function of all leading titles, and as we move forward content will align with a developing base of 3D-enabled consumer electronics devices,” said Patrik Pfandler, senior market analyst, Futuresource Consulting. (Reuters 10/06/2010)

Edit by Jackie Fang YIN

• Chinese media outlets look set to make IPOs
• China’s culture industry hit 800 billion yuan in 2009
• Integration plan promotes radio, TV and film
• Time to review code on political advertising
• The future of television seen through rose-colored glasses
• Television revolution redux
• 20 jailed for CCTV tower blaze
• CABLESHOW-Cable warns programmers on rush to Web (World)
• Networks unlikely to profit from World Cup (world)

Chinese media outlets look set to make IPOs

Ten Chinese websites are to be listed in the domestic A-share stock market, according to media reports, with Shanghai-based eastday.com hoping to become the first to launch initial public offerings (IPO), analysts said. They include websites of China’s State broadcaster China Central Television, Xinhua News Agency, People’s Daily, Beijing-based qianlong.com, Tianjin-based enorth.com.cn, Shandong-based dzwww.com, Shanghai-based eastday.com and other local online news websites, Shanghai Securities News reported on Sunday, citing an anonymous source. “The Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) are actively pushing the listing of these websites and, at least, one or two websites will make it this year,” the source was quoted as saying. China Daily contacted the CSRC and a spokesperson did not deny the report, but declined to divulge any further details or to comment on the situation,

Xu Yaowen, an analyst with China Galaxy Securities, said that eastday.com has completed share-holding reform and could be the first of the websites to be listed in the A-share market.

“As emerging media outlets, websites will create a breakthrough in the cultural development of China,” said Zhang Xiaoming, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. With accelerated technological change, the new media are gaining increasing influence, he said.

However, analysts pointed out, as some of them belong to government agencies and are not wholly market oriented, they may not be able to receive listing in the capital market like free-market companies. Some commentators also oppose government-supported listing of media websites. Fan Feng, a Beijing-based commentator, said investor interest could be jeopardized, since the performance of these websites is not sound enough to bring the revenue expected by investors. Commercial portals, such as sina.com and sohu.com, have been listed in the overseas market. “The upshot is that competitive websites will receive listing overseas, while domestic listing is encouraged for second-class ones. Then how can domestic investors’ interest be protected?” Fang asked. (China Daily 05/10/2010 page2)

China‘s culture industry hit 800 billion yuan in 2009

The scale of China’s culture industry in the global market hit 800 billion yuan ($117.18 billion) in 2009, according to a report jointly issued by the culture research center of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and Social Sciences Academic Press, chinanews.com reported. The report says the culture industry has become a strategic industry for China.

According to the report, new media has emerged as a major force in the culture industry. Fueled by 3G technology, the number of mobile netizens rose to 233 million in 2009, amounting to 60.8 percent of the total, the website said. The film industry is also poised to grow, according to the report. China produced 456 feature films last year, ranking third in the word, following India and the US, according to the news report. The report also shows that the country’s cable television users increased by 6.1 percent year-on-year to 174 million in 2009, with nearly 62 million of them being digital television users, a 36.94 percent increase from the previous year The domestic market for artistic performance kept a strong momentum last year, and the supply and demand of performances have been growing, the website reported.

According to statistics from the General Administration of Press and Publication, China’s press and publication industry defied the financial crisis and kept growing at a stable rate throughout 2008. The report forecasts that the industry will reform deeper and finalize the systematization of its commercial operations this year, the website reported. (07/50/2010 Chinadaily.com.cn)

Integration plan promotes radio, TV and film

Revenue generated from China’s radio and television products are predicted for the first time to hit 200 billion yuan ($29.29 billion), and as domestic box office sales accumulated 3 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2010, the total revenue from China’s film products this year may surpass 10 billion yuan, the Shanghai Securities News reported. Pang Jingjun, deputy director of the development research center with SARFT, said at a press conference that revenue from China’s television advertising and new media would continue to grow amid the financial crisis.

The Report on Development of China’s Radio, Film and Television 2010 issued by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) on Tuesday said the tri-networks integration plan has promoted the development of radio, film and television industries and new media industries in China even during the financial crisis.

In 2009, the total revenue from China’s radio, film and TV industries reached 195.95 billion yuan, up 17.53 percent from the previous year. Among which, 185.29 billion yuan was generated by radio and TV industries, an increase of 17.06 percent from a year earlier. The revenue included financial subsidies from the government, according to the report. Pang said the film industry revenue surged 26.47 percent year-on-year to reach 10.67 billion yuan and box office sales reached 6.21 billion yuan, up over 25 percent continuously for the sixth year. He also said State-owned traditional media and commercial websites began cooperation, and a standardized pattern where the Internet provides audio-visual programs was established. (19/50/2010 Chinadaily.com.cn)

Time to review code on political advertising

Vice Chairman of the Democratic Party Lau Wai-hing and five young politicians of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) coincidentally paid Commercial Radio for a program to give them time to promote their activities. This triggered a debate in Hong Kong as to whether Commercial Radio shall be allowed to broadcast paid political programs. Whether the propaganda advanced by the two was political advertising and whether it would create a disadvantage for political groups without strong financial support are indeed the core issues of the debate.

According to Section 28 of the Radio Code of Practice on Advertising Standards (Code) formulated by the Broadcasting Authority: “No advertisement of a political nature shall be broadcast except with the prior approval of the Broadcasting Authority.” There is, however, a grey area as to the definition of “advertisement of a political nature”. There are three aspects to consider: “an advertisement of a political nature by a political organization”, “an advertisement of non-political nature by a political organization”, and “an advertisement of a political nature by a non-political organization”. The first case is simple. It obviously goes against the Code, but the second and third situations are not as clear. For example, the DAB’s program intended to raise concern for young night drifters is of the second category. The content of the program itself is not political in nature, but the program hosts and sponsor are all members of a political organization.

After this incident, it is time for the government to review the Code. For example, the government should give a clearer definition to the meaning of “political advertisement”. There is also room to review the existing restrictions on political advertisement. As the political system in Hong Kong is opening up, there is stronger need for adverting by political personalities.

The Hong Kong government should not evade the issue or ignore that demand but there must be the precondition that the message shall be transmitted fairly, justly and openly under proper regulation so as to prevent a monopoly of radio or television channels by a very small number of people.

The following issues may be considered in regulating electronic media’s broadcasting of political advertisements and acceptance of political parties’ sponsorship of programs. First, it has to restrict the time for the broadcast (for example, prime-time broadcasting of such advertisements shall not be allowed); second, there shall be a restriction on the length and duration of such broadcasting; third, there shall be a restriction for the percentage and the proportion of political advertising in comparison to all other programing on radio or television stations; fourth, there shall be a standard rate to ensure different parties or people pay the same charges on such programming. Of course, the above are only some issues, among many, for public discussion.

In line with the review of the Code, it is also to be noted that many of the restrictions in the Election Ordinance (EO) are artificially designed to create many unnecessary obstacles for election campaigners. Many parts of the EO discourage the creativity of campaigning. As a result, most campaigns in Hong Kong are boring and stagnant. It is good time now to revisit this question.

The author is a legislator and associate professor of the School of Law, City University. （13-05-2010 www.chinadaily.com.cn）

The future of television seen through rose-colored glasses

Home entertainment manufacturers are hoping that 3D TV will turn into the next consumer bonanza, but analysts and consumers see many drawbacks, reports Timothy Chui.

Competition is heating up as the entertainment industry scrambles to take hold of what it hopes will be the next big consumer boom, “3D”. Not only is cinema heading into three dimensions, so is television. Analysts in the home entertainment industry however are not so certain that the boom will come about, as several factors may make 3D television less than the “big deal”, the industry anticipates. With the 2010 South Africa World Cup coming in June, purveyors of 3D at the cinema and manufacturers of home entertainment equipment hope to garner major profits from the huge worldwide audience for the event. Golden Harvest and Multiplex Cinemas hope to provide the only full 3D coverage of the games available in Hong Kong. The home entertainment industry is trying to keep up, as it gets ready to roll out its latest generation of 3D-ready TV sets as early as this month. The local television rights holder to the World Cup, Cable TV does not plan to distribute a 3D signal. The best local home viewers will get is a simulated effect with the new sets, providing real-time conversion of traditional 2D signals into an approximation of the full three-dimensional experience. It will not equal the picture quality available in theatres, says associate professor Po Lai Man of City University’s department of electronic engineering. Po, speaking at a recent seminar on the latest developments in 3D display at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair, said, “The 2D images can be converted by making use of depth estimations through measuring an image’s focus and relative motions of on-screen objects.” But he added that viewers “should not expect too much”.

After previewing a few soccer matches on a 3D screen in the company of some colleagues, Anthony Fung, professor of popular culture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said reactions among the group were mixed and only a few said the new technology actually enhanced their experience. Consumers who choose to buy into the new technology will be making a sizeable investment. One can buy Samsung’s latest 3D televisions in Hong Kong today, at under HK$20,000 for the 40-inch model and a little over HK$40,000 for the 55-inch set. The world’s biggest electronics companies are eager to get into the untested waters of 3D television sets. For example, Samsung already has shipped a handful of 3D sets and plans to ship more. Sony doesn’t intend to ship until June or July. Panasonic has one new model on the market. LG is aiming for a May launch, Vizio comes out in August and Sharp plans to begin shipping its 3D sets by the end of the year. The director of Accupix, which manufactures 3D glasses, Lee Rae Hwan said Samsung and Sony are well ahead of the pack in the push to capture the new market. Both companies plan to ship 2 million units each this year. LG, Panasonic and Vizio plan to ship roughly 1 million units each. Companies have been quick to try to capitalize on the latest 3D reincarnation that started with Disney’s 2005 offering, Chicken Little. The rebirth of the technology is best epitomized by the more than HK$8.58 billion box office for Avatar directed by James Cameron.

The technology for home 3D however is still evolving. There’s one battle going on over 3D glasses for example. Probably one would recall the familiar “Buddy Holly-style” polarized lenses. Those sacrifice image quality but they cost only HK$60. Several manufactures are moving toward the heavier, signal interference prone glasses which use liquid crystal lenses powered by a rechargeable lithium ion battery. To achieve that level of 3D experience however costs consumers about HK$400 per pair. The home entertainment market for 3D is so new that content creators are still hammering out the code to be used to store and transmit 3D media. Critics have zeroed in on the current dearth of content but that’s expected to change in the not too distant future. Rapidly improving conversion technology is expected to unlock vast libraries loaded with content, Po said.

In addition to the current lack of content, observes Fung, the timing for introducing the next big step in display technology at home may be a little premature. He notes the fact that the majority of consumers have only recently upgraded to flat-screen LCD, plasma and LED displays.

Other factors may militate against viewers buying in to 3D television on a broad scale. “It would also take some time for consumers to embrace the new technology since it doesn’t fit well into the viewing habits of today’s consumers,” he said. Most households, he noted, keep the television on while people busy themselves at other things. That will be hard to do when wearing 3D television glasses. “Changing viewing habits among younger consumers may be even more difficult since they are shown to prefer to view content online and through their computers monitors. That will lead to even greater fragmentation of the home television market,” he said. “All in all, older viewers would see the new technology as unnecessary for their needs while most people on the whole would be put off by the higher premiums for an experience which is probably more suited for theaters,” he said. The newest craze toward 3D movies however is being described as, “not a trend but a sustainable, energized and revitalized market,” by the head of Hyundai IT Corporation’s research and development center, Kim Hee-jung. Kim cites studies by the market research firm Insight Media projecting 31 million 3D televisions to be sold by 2012. Another firm, Display Search predicts the 3D market will escalate to some HK$171.6 billion by 2018. Even if home theatre audiences are slow to respond, observes Kopin Kenny Chow, general manager of the China 3D association, there are plenty of avenues to keep the 3D technology buoyant, e.g., military applications, medical sciences and gaming. (China Daily HK Edition 05/21/2010 page2)

Television revolution redux

By Jules Quartly (China Daily)

For many years I’ve been downloading films and TV series, partly because it’s the only way to view the stuff I like and also because I’m not a great fan of TV. My life doesn’t conveniently revolve around broadcast time slots and then there are the ads, which are such a waste of time those responsible should be criminalized for taking years off a person’s life.

TV is like magic when it comes to live broadcasts (news, sports events) but essentially it’s passive. In the old days you had to watch what you were told. Then there was satellite and cable. More choice – but more ads. Now there are settop boxes with Internet connections, TiVo, iTV and movie services. Which are better, but a bit clunky. When I told Chinese colleagues some time ago that I didn’t watch much TV and considered myself a downloader, they looked at me pityingly. And not because downloading much of the media on offer is illegal. “Why don’t you stream?” they said. Why clog up the hard disc’s arteries with media I will never watch again? They had a point and I became a streamer. Then, the government authorities did their annual pruning of “pirate videos” (this time online) and a broad swathe of streaming sites went out of circulation. Now, many of them are back, stronger, taller and more verdant, according to a recent Sohu article.

Sites like Youku and Tudou host foreign and domestic TV series, and increasingly homegrown movies, such as the outstanding The War of Internet Addiction, which attacks censorship from a World of Warcraft point of view. While the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television is working out how to control broadcast and content licensing, the market is growing like weeds in an untended garden.

The latest China Internet Network Information Center figures show there are about 240 million online video watchers in China, which is more than 60 percent of the country’s 384 million Internet users. This is obviously a massive market. It proves to my mind that traditional TV is choking and people like me would prefer to seek out the content we want, when we want. Nothing’s going to stop us, so the authorities better sort it out.

But that’s not the point of this article. No, I want to talk about a revolution in the airwaves. The Web is coming to TV. “The revolution we’re about to go through is the biggest single change in television since it went color,” Intel chief executive Paul Otellini prophesized last week.

He was referring to Google’s annual developer’s conference in San Francisco that opens today, where it is expected the company will announce, with Intel and Sony, the launch of Smart TV. In the immediate future there will be a convergence of TV and computer screens and all those fans of online videos will be migrating back to the TV to watch what they want, when they want, on the Web.

It makes sense. After all, if phones can be connected, why not TVs? It will be so much more fun. Large screen, high definition, smart TV. My eyes are watering at the thought. Bring it on（19-05-2010 www.chinadaily.com.cn）

20 jailed for CCTV tower blaze

Twenty people involved in last year’s deadly Spring Festival fire at the China Central Television (CCTV) headquarters have received jail terms ranging from three to seven years. A statement released Monday by the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court, said Xu Wei, former head of construction office of the broadcaster’s new headquarters, was sentenced to seven years, with the other 19 involved receiving three years to six and a half years. A total of 21 people were convicted Monday, but one, Chen Zijun, was exempted from criminal punishment due to his minor role is the blaze, said the statement. The 21 convicted included five CCTV staff: Xu Wei, Deng Jionghui, Hu Debin, Gao Hong and Wang Shirong.

Xu Wei was found to have made the decision alone to stage the fireworks show and arranged others to organize the event from December 2008 until February last year, said the statement. Gao Hong, head of the safety production supervision department under the CCTV new headquarters office, was jailed for four and a half years for failing to halt the fireworks show after being informed of the plan. Three staff from the China State Construction Engineering Corporation and three from the Beijing Urban Construction Group, who were all involved in the construction, were also among those convicted, said the statement. In addition, a warehouse principal named Liu Guilan, in north China’s Hebei Province, received a three-year jail term suspended for three years for storing the fireworks and ignition devices for the display in an unqualified storehouse. The statement gave no titles for the other nine convicted, including Liu Faguo, who got six and a half years for choosing the site for the display and arranging the purchase and transportation of the fireworks. The statement did not give details of the charges against the remaining defendants.

The trial opened in late March. According to the Criminal Law, a person who causes a serious incident while violating the provisions of the control of explosive or inflammable materials can be jailed for up to three years. In especially serious cases, the sentence can range from three to seven years. The illegal fireworks display started the fire that gutted the 30-story building in Beijing’s Central Business District on February 9, 2009. One fireman died and six firemen and two construction workers were injured. The cost of the fire was estimated at more than 160 million yuan ($23.44 million).（10-05-2010 www.xinhuanet.com）

CABLESHOW-Cable warns programmers on rush to Web

Cable TV executives on Tuesday warned the industry against rushing to put their best shows on the Web and other platforms before figuring out business models that won’t cannibalize existing revenues on television.

Top cable executives gathered at the annual Cable Show event here to discuss, among other things, the best way to deal with a proliferation of new Web-based and wireless services which enable their subscribers to access programming without subscribing to their cable operator. “This jump to put long-form content on all these platforms didn’t make business sense and didn’t make consumer sense,” Discovery Communications (DISCA.O) Chief Executive David Zaslav said on a panel with other executives. Zaslav said there had been a “rush in the industry to put quality content on a range of platforms.” “Long form content on all these platforms is diminishing the value of your cable customer,” Zaslav added to applause from an audience of hundreds of cable executives.

Discovery has been a leader in offering short-form versions of its popular shows online but has declined from pushing full-length shows. Viacom (VIAb.N) Chief Executive Phillipe Dauman said his company continues to experiment with new forms of content distribution with partners and said that the “business models will evolve.” Cable programming distributors like Time Warner Cable Inc (TWC.N) and Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) are keen to continue to have a say in the aggregation of programming on a range of platforms beyond linear TV, such as Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) iPad tablet computer and Netflix. Patrick Esser, president of privately held Cox Communications, said, “We’re on a journey to move these to other platforms. It’s a change about how we distribute content.”

Cable’s worries have been worsened by infighting between the programmers and the distributors over affiliate fees. In the last six months there have been high-profile programming disputes between Time Warner Cable and News Corp and Cablevision Systems Corp (CVC.N) and Scripps Networks (SNI.N) among others. Programmers fear they will lose viewers if they do not raise affiliate fees to help make more competitive programming. On the other hand, distributors worry about having to pass on higher programming costs to customers and drive these subscribers to seek video entertainment elsewhere. Esser warned his fellow executives against the long-term damage of the disputes to the industry. “If we disrupt our customers’ lives by taking channels away and putting them back on we invite other people into this discussion.”

While executives were positive about the impact of technology on the industry in general they cautioned against rolling out 3-D services in a hurry. Major cable companies have been experimenting with 3-D programming with the hope of catching on to the next big consumer technology trend. Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt said the industry should be patient with consumers’ adoption of technology. “We have to pay attention to the consumer. It can’t be us pushing this; it’s got to come from the consumer.” （11-05-2010 http://www.reuters.com）

Networks unlikely to profit from World Cup

ESPN is counting on that maxim to justify its biggest marketing blitz to date for a single event, hoping to prove that soccer has reached critical mass in the United States — a mass worthy of the monthlong global sports extravaganza. Meanwhile, Univision, with a long track record covering soccer as Spanish-language U.S. rightsholder for the World Cup, already knows it’s true. It will use the event, taking place in South Africa from June 11 to July 11, to make further inroads with marketers who might not have opened their wallets for the broadcaster in the past and generally still pay lower ad rates than do the network’s English-language peers. Both networks say ad revenue around the World Cup has been brisk. But rights fees also are up, and both networks are going all out in terms of production, coverage and marketing. “We embrace this as a mega-event, not just as a sporting event,” says Alina Falcon, president of news and sports at Univision. “It is our biggest commitment yet in terms of resources.”

ESPN is investing more money on promoting the World Cup than it has for any other sporting event in the channel’s 30-year history. Although the rightsholders don’t disclose spending budgets, they might end up making little or no profit, which is not unheard of: NBC lost $223 million on the Winter Olympics. Still, both are betting on continued growth of the U.S. soccer market, which has benefited from more exposure to content than ever before thanks to foreign league coverage on TV and online. The U.S. fan base is rabid and has helped make the country one of the biggest buyers of tickets, according to the U.S. Soccer Federation. “It’s the world’s most important sport on its largest stage,” says Scott Guglielmino, vp programing at ESPN. “You put into that nationalism, people pulling for their country or the country where they have an interest. You play that over a month, and it’s a completely unique story.”

Soccer is the world’s most popular sport — only the Summer Olympics rival it in terms of global TV audience — but it is somewhat less of a spectator sport in the U.S. Soccer lacks the financial and ratings punch of the NFL or Major League Baseball among non-Hispanics. However, Univision’s soccer-crazed young Hispanic demographic has long provided big ratings. The network’s World Cup numbers traditionally are much higher than ESPN/ABC’s, with a 20 household rating for the 2006 final, a 19 in 2002 and a 26 in 1998, according to Nielsen Media Research. ABC earned a 5.7 household rating for the 1998 final on English-language TV; it fell to a 2.5 rating in 2002 before rising to a 7 in 2006. The lower ratings in 2002 can be tied to the tournament being held in South Korea and Japan, more than 12 hours ahead of the U.S. This year’s event will be six hours ahead of New York, the same difference as for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Univision is paying about $155 million for this year’s tournament, compared with ESPN’s $100 million for 2010 and 2014. Univision received about $110 million in incremental World Cup-related revenue in 2006 — an estimated $170 million during the tournament’s time frame — after paying about $100 million for rights. After production and marketing costs, however, that slight profit all but vanished, making it a break-even business. This year, the World Cup likely will bring in about $100 million in incremental revenue, Univision CFO Andrew Hobson said Thursday, which would mean a loss when looking at direct Cup financials. For its part, Univision is bullish about this year’s tournament. “We are performing above expectations, and the demand for the World Cup is strong,” ad-sales president David Lawenda says. Lawenda adds that general market advertisers are discovering that the World Cup is a major avenue to reaching the growing Hispanic demo. Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Walmart are among those spending big, many with soccer-themed ads, much as they would for the Super Bowl or Academy Awards.

ESPN wants to bring soccer to a wider audience — not only soccer aficionados but also casual sports fans who crave big, emotional marquee events. The network’s promotions in many cases are targeting the latter group.

It also is targeting foreign-born U.S. residents with posters featuring caricatures of national teams in an effort to reach, for example, ethnic Greeks in Queens, or Italians and Germans in big cities.

The World Cup won’t have much in the way of challenges for a sports fan’s attention. There are no Olympics, the NFL season is months away, and basketball and hockey nearly will be over by the time the action begins. Only baseball’s All-Star Game on July 13 is nearby. “The World Cup pretty much has the stage to itself this summer,” says Sam Sussman, senior vp and director at Chicago-based ad buyer Starcom Worldwide.

Other factors are conspiring to make the event a more attractive sell to English-speaking sports fans: The U.S. team is guaranteed three games and maybe more as it has a chance to move beyond the group stage with England, its opening-match opponent June 12. Sussman believes that the South African locale — where it will be winter — also will help. Cooler conditions could promote scoring, which American fans like. Data on ad rates are tightly held by Univision and ESPN, and marketers typically don’t buy single spots. Instead, they often make commitments to soccer governing body FIFA that include jersey or boot sponsorship for national teams, in-game and in-stadium signage and TV ads.

Adidas had a $200 million deal in 2006 that made it the official supplier of game balls and title sponsor of an MVP trophy. Such arrangements make the World Cup hard to compare with, say, the Super Bowl, for which average spot prices typically are publicized. Industry folks are keeping a particularly close eye on ESPN to see whether this year’s World Cup reaps hoped-for benefits.

Miller Tabak analyst David Joyce says the event still could be a loss business for ESPN and ABC, but “it helps broaden their brand to get customers to identify the World Cup more with ESPN.

“I expect them to be increasingly competitive in their bidding for future World Cups as ESPN has been expanding its programing into European markets, and (showing the Cup and other soccer events in even more countries) would be a key rights win to help grab market share,” he says. （07-05-2010 http://www.reuters.com）

Edit by Jackie Fang YIN