Hearns-Branaman examines the structure, role, and culture of China’s news media by applying the propaganda model developed by Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky. The first three chapters are devoted to explicating the filtering process that contextualizes what is considered newsworthy and how this news will be presented to the public. Chapter 4 delves deeper into the workings of China’s news media by examining the filtering process in terms of ownership, size, and profit motive. Here the author notes the more paternalistic nature and ruling party–focused legitimizing role of the Chinese media compared to the media in the US. The next two chapters enrich the analysis by examining the internal filters of sourcing and the external filters of flak and advertisers. The more limited impact on the Chinese news media of external actors compared to the US is noted here. Chapter 7 examines the influence of the dominant ideology in the filtering process. The growth of nationalism in China is seen as narrowing the differences in the ideological filtering process in China and the US. The concluding chapter recaps the entire filtering process and comparisons between the Chinese and American news media. Highly recommended for Asian collections. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students and researchers/Asian studies.

Choice Reviews

By testing the Propaganda Model outside of the country for which it was developed, and by applying it to the rapidly evolving Chinese media scene, this book adds to the growing literature on the continuing and global relevance of the model and provides new insights on the operation and likely future direction of the Chinese media. This is a must-read for Chinese media specialists and those interested in the political economy literature.

Andrew Mullen, Northumbria University

Jesse Hearns-Branaman makes a bold and provocative claim, not just about news journalism in the PRC, but also those in the U.S. and elsewhere. He presses this claim with great panache, citing a wide range of theories and masses of evidence. There is no doubt that this book represents a challenge to some of the common assumptions that underlie many of the comparative research projects that have appeared in recent years. The clarity and directness of his writing will make this book a valuable resource for teachers and researchers in journalism studies and more broadly for those engaged in writing and teaching about comparative media.

Colin Sparks, Hong Kong Baptist University