The processes of unification and standardization in the Chinese city press

Abstract

The article considers the Chinese city press as an important segment of the national media system, which at the end of the 20^th century marked the transition of Chinese society to the principles of openness, democratization, and innovative transformations. It is emphasized that one of the important principles of city newspapers in China is the principle of matching the interests and information needs of a single person. Attention is drawn to the fact that, being in a tough competitive environment, city newspapers are forced to look for ways to survive and maintain both print runs and readership. A special subject of author’s attention is the processes of homogenization (homogeneity, uniformity of news content, uniformity of design techniques) and vulgarization (following the laws of mass culture), when, in the new sociocultural conditions, city  newspapers began to abuse the principles of truthfulness, accuracy, and informational content. It analyzes the negative trends that affect the status of urban publications, undermine their credibility, and deprive the readership. For the first time, the article focuses on unacceptable phenomena in publications that are initially defined as publications intended not so much for entertainment as for satisfying information requests of the urban population of China.