Financialisation of News in China in the Age of the Internet: The Case of Xinhuanet

Xin, X. 2018. Financialisation of News in China in the Age of the Internet: The Case of Xinhuanet. Media, Culture and Society. 40 (7), pp. 1039-1054. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443717745121

TitleFinancialisation of News in China in the Age of the Internet: The Case of Xinhuanet
TypeJournal article
AuthorsXin, X.
Abstract

This paper discusses the recent development of Xinhuanet.com, a news website launched by Xinhua News Agency, one of China’s key central state-owned news organisations. Xinhuanet Co. Ltd., the business entity running the website, went public in October 2016 in Shanghai. This has marked the first step in the state news agency’s financialisation. Two main questions are addressed. First, what were the main driving forces behind Xinhuanet’s transformation from a governmental cultural organisation to a publicly traded enterprise, the majority shareholder of which remains Xinhua? Second, how to understand the nature of this transformation in relation to Xinhua’s wider marketisation process and that of the Chinese media sector as a whole? The paper argues that Xinhua’s financialisation via Xinhuanet is best understood as part of a state-administrated initiative in accord with Xinhua’s own business ambitions. The financialisation of news by state players such as Xinhuanet does not alter the underlying ownership structure of Chinese news media, which remain ultimately state-controlled.

KeywordsXinhuanet, financialisation, Chinese media, media conglomeration, Xinhua News Agency, state-owned news organisation
JournalMedia, Culture and Society
Journal citation40 (7), pp. 1039-1054
ISSN0163-4437
Year2018
PublisherSage
Accepted author manuscript
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443717745121
Publication dates
Published online07 Dec 2017
Published21 Sep 2018

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