ITS:

Abstract :

Former Chinese political journalist Kecheng Fang will visit CC and gives a talk about Chinese 
media Thurs. March 2nd 7:00 pm at Gaylord Hall. Free food available!!

Speaker Event: Understanding Chinese Media: Beyond Censorship and Resistance

Full Message :

Speaker Event: Understanding Chinese Media: Beyond Censorship and Resistance (Free food available!!!!)
Time & Location: 7:00 pm, Thurs. March 2nd, Gaylord Hall.

For many outsiders, the keywords of Chinese media are control and resistance. A typical story would be an 
outspoken, truth-seeking journalist fighting against the evil censors. However, this is an oversimplified 
version of the Chinese media landscape. The interactions among government, market, society and media are 
complicated. For example, media labeled as ÒliberalÓ and ÒoutspokenÓ are in fact deeply rooted in the political 
system. Press commercialization gave birth to diversified opinions, but also limited the extent to which media 
could challenge the ruling party. Based on my journalistic experience at Southern Weekly (which was 
described as ÒChinaÕs most influential liberal newspaperÓ by the New York Times) and academic research on 
Chinese political communication, the speaker will provide a more nuanced picture of Chinese media.

"The talk is structured in three parts. First, I will briefly review the history of press commercialization in China 
and introduce the media system on a macro level. Second, by sharing some insider stories of news 
production, I will explain some details of how the media are run in China. Lastly, I will discuss some latest 
trends of Chinese media in the digital media environment and under Xi Jinping's rule."


About the speaker:
Kecheng FANG (方可成) is a doctoral candidate at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of 
Pennsylvania. His research interests include political communication and journalism, mainly in the Chinese 
context. He has been working on several projects examining how China's propaganda machine adapts to 
social media and seeks to win hearts and minds both at home and abroad. For his dissertation, he plans to 
investigate the ideological landscape of Chinese media and measure their bias.

Before coming to the U.S., Kecheng worked as a political journalist at Southern Weekly (南方周末) for three 
years. He has appeared in media including BBC, Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The New 
Yorker, Politico, BuzzFeed News, Business Insider, Al Jazeera, South China Morning Post, and Radio 
Netherlands Worldwide, commenting on issues related to news media and Chinese politics.

Kecheng is also a long-time and active Internet writer and observer, a Òbest bloggerÓ nominated by Deutsche 
Welle. In 2011, he founded CNPolitics.org, an independent website committed to introducing academic 
studies on Chinese politics to the Chinese public. He also maintains a newsletter "NewsLab" for students, 
researchers, and media professionals in China, which discusses latest trends in global journalism and cutting-
edge communication research. Previously, he studied at Peking University in China and the University of 
Wisconsin-Madison.

Blog: http://www.FangKC.com/
中文博客：http://www.FangKC.cn/

Hosted by MOSAIC, CSA, Journalism Program, and Innovation@CC