Is Foreign Media Ignored?

In China, there is a widespread belief that Western media give a distorted picture of what's happening there. There's some truth in this, but it's not for the reasons that Chinese Communist Party members or nationalist "netizens" imagine.

Most Westerners with a mild interest in China probably see a lot of stories about Tibet, the upcoming anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, corruption and popular discontent. They see less about the extent of popular support for the system, bright students still joining the Communist Party or experiments in economic and political reform, especially at the provincial and local levels.

However, this slant is not because of "anti-China" policy or prejudice. Hard as it may be for many Chinese to believe -- because their own media reflect the policy of their party-state -- Western governments have almost nothing to do with it. The cause lies in the West's commercial news business, which is going through one of those "gales of creative destruction" that Joseph Schumpeter saw to be characteristic of capitalism.

As they compete fiercely for readers and viewers, mainstream Western media tend to stick with stories that are familiar and interesting to them. They report about Tibet not because they are ideological China-bashers but because their consumers are fascinated by and care about Tibet.