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发帖数: 4825 | 1 http://www.economist.com/node/21542469
LIKE broadcasters anywhere, Chinese television executives fret constantly
over such things as an evolving media landscape, competition from online
providers, and the viability of their business models. Now they have a new
worry: how to make their prime-time offerings less entertaining.
According to an order that took effect on January 1st, China’s 34 satellite
television stations must limit “excessive entertainment” and “vulgar”
content. This means cutting back severely on their most popular, low-cost
and lucrative programming. “Super Girl”, a much watched singing contest,
is no more, after officials accused it of being overlong and of poisoning
youth.
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China
The order from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television limits
what broadcasters may air during the prime-time hours from 7.30pm to 10pm.
That period, known in China as “Gold Time,” must now include two 30-minute
news briefings, and no more than 90 minutes of the lighter shows that China
’s hundreds of millions of viewers have come to love. These include game
shows, soap operas, dating competitions and singing contests where—uniquely
for China—ordinary people get a chance to vote for favourites. Under
government pressure, the number of such shows has been slashed, from over
120 to fewer than 40 a week.
Compared with offerings in many other countries, China’s television fare is
already quite tame. Viewers looking for sex, nudity, gore or crude language
will search in vain. Still, broadcasting is thriving. The industry,
including radio, grew by a quarter in 2010, with revenues of 210 billion
yuan ($33.3 billion).
The effort to dull things down fits into a broader campaign of cultural
tightening in a year that will see a once-in-a-decade leadership succession.
The outgoing president, Hu Jintao, recently warned against the danger of
foreign forces using culture and ideology to “westernise and divide” China
. The new leaders promise to be equally vigilant. | s*****r
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