The Daily Caller
3/11/10
BEIJING (AP) — China will toughen requirements for reporters by launching a new certification system that requires training in Marxist and communist theories of news, a media official said, citing problems with the current crop of mainland journalists.
The South China Morning Post reported Thursday that Li Dongdong, deputy director of the General Administration of Press and Publication, said some reporters were giving Chinese journalism a bad name because they hadn’t been properly trained. She didn’t give any specific examples.
Similar comments by Li were posted on the Web site of the official Xinhua News Agency. It was not clear how such training would be administered, but foreign journalists are exempt.
Communist theories of journalism say media should serve the leadership and not undermine its initiatives — a stark contrast to the independent government watchdog role many democracies embrace.
Government censors keep a tight grip on news content and routinely ban reporting on issues deemed too politically sensitive or destabilizing, and many media outlets in China serve as mouthpieces for the state.
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