Beijing: a media capital in the making

Abstract

In the two decades since 2001, when China joined the World Trade Organization, the commercialization of the Chinese media has become a significant force. With the increasing demand for original content and a possible “cultural trade deficit” in media content, there has been much discussion about agglomeration and clustering. Beijing, as the national media centre of China, has witnessed the process of media agglomeration while facing the problem of cultural export during the commercialization of the media. Michael Curtin's idea of media capital, which sees it as absorbing media resources and personnel and exporting media products transnationally, provides a dynamic perspective on understanding media agglomeration and dispersion under different political social and cultural circumstances. Hence, the question of whether Beijing will transform into a transnational media capital is worth studying in order to observe and comprehend China's media industry in transition. Drawing on Michael Curtin's three media capital trajectories, this paper interprets tensions and challenges generated in the process of media industry agglomeration and growth in Beijing. Emphasis is placed on the third trajectory, socio-cultural variation.

Keywords:

• media capital
• clusters
• Beijing

Notes

^1. The policy list can be retrieved at: http://www.bjci.gov.cn/zcfg_bj.htm

^2. Korean TV dramas have been massively purchased by Chinese TV stations since 2005; the audience rating still remains high although they are re-broadcast repeatedly.

^3. This observation is based on the data I collected during my fieldwork in Beijing in late 2009.

^4. It can be retrieved at: http://zhengwu.beijing.gov.cn/ghxx/ztgh/

^5. More information can be found at: http://zhengwu.beijing.gov.cn/ghxx/sywgh/t833176.htm

^6. “Main melody” is the literal translation of zhuxuanlü, which refers to a major media product genre in China. This type of film and TV product is made under the instruction of socialism theory and the party's basic line to reflect the spirit of social progress and megatrends, which in China is the spirit of collectivism, patriotism, and socialism, reform and opening-up. It benefits national unity, social progress and people's well-being, and is the spirit of honest work to achieve a good life.

^7. Kai-Fu Lee was born in Taiwan and then moved to the USA in his teens. He was educated in USA thereafter. Both Microsoft and Google achieved great success in China while he served in these two companies. Google was involved in big disputes with the Chinese government and withdrew its Chinese search engine from Beijing several months after he left Google China.