Guangzhou's "Economist:" Nanfengchuang Sees Itself

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 000679

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/18/2033
TAGS: PHUM PGOV CH
SUBJECT: Guangzhou's "Economist:" Nanfengchuang Sees Itself
as a Watch Dog


1. (U) Classified by Economic and Political Section Chief
Stephan Lang for reason 1.4 (d).


2. (C) SUMMARY: The editor of Guangzhou's reform-minded
biweekly Nanfengchuang (Southern Window) -- who views his
magazine's role as that of a watchdog on social and
economic issues -- hopes to turn the publication into
China's homegrown version of The Economist. The editor
implied that his ability to keep the censors at bay is
enhanced by his dual hat as chief editor and
Nanfengchuang's deputy Party secretary, and that the
professional drive to create a high-quality product
outweighs political pressures. Corruption and the
commercialization of news remain two widespread ills of
Chinese media. END SUMMARY.


3. (C) Nanfengchuang Editor-in-Chief Zhu Xuedong (protect)
takes pride in his magazine's reputation as one of China's
most forward-leaning national publications. While
initially a relatively pro-business publication, since 1998
the magazine has seen itself more as a watchdog, focusing
increasingly on business ethics, society, product quality
and safety, and political economy. The week of our
meeting, Zhu had drafted a hard-hitting editorial citing
the recent milk crisis as an example of why China needs a
strong civil society in order to check such abuses of
power.

"China's Economist"
--------------


4. (C) Before joining Nanfengchuang, Zhu sent a letter to
the magazine arguing that it should aim to become "China's
Economist," not "China's TIME." He said that although it
gets an occasional scoop -- Zhu claimed that Nanfengchuang
published breaking news on the recent milk scandal story --
as a biweekly magazine, it cannot stay current enough to
compete with daily or weekly news publications. Instead of
reporting the news, Nanfengchuang's strength lies in its
focus on the context, background and explanation of events
and issues, according to Zhu. Zhu compared his magazine to
the news weeklies Caijing, Nanfang Zhoumo, Nanfang Renwu
and 21st Century Economic Herald, all of which he viewed as
competitors. He also expressed admiration for Zhongguo
Xinwen Zhoukan -- run by the news service Zhongguo Xinwen
She -- and mentioned the Beijing magazine Sanlian Shenghuo,
which focuses more on lifestyle issues but which he did not
think was as good as the others.

"If I Say it can be Published, it is Published"
-------------- --


5. (C) As is the case with other forward-leaning
publications in China, political control of Nanfengchuang
is indirect and relies heavily on self-censorship. Zhu
claimed that censorship was relatively light and that there
was little direct political pressure on him as chief
editor. He denied worrying about being criticized, saying,
"If I say it can be published, it is published." At the
same time, Zhu acknowledged that he was Deputy Secretary of
the paper's Communist Party committee, implying that this
was the source of his authority to make editorial
decisions. He claimed that even the magazine's owner,
Guangzhou Ribao Media Group -- under the Guangzhou CPC
Committee -- exerts little or no direct influence over the
magazine's content. When pressed, Zhu did admit to
avoiding some "sensitive" issues, such as "ethnicity" and
"the military."


6. (C) When asked about the cover of the magazine's August
11 issue, which featured the bold headline "rule by law
begins with limits on power," Zhu claimed he did not seek
prior approval for the piece and that he did not receive
criticism for it. He said that despite an article by a
Western journalist touting the piece as an example of
Nanfengchuang's penchant for publishing "politically
sensitive" material, it fell within the current boundaries
of approved topics. He also claimed that he had received
no guidance from the Guangzhou Propaganda Bureau on how the
magazine should report on the recent U.S. presidential
election. Rather than trying to shape opinions according
to Party propaganda guidelines, Zhu said he chose election-
themed articles that would interest and inform a Chinese
audience.

Main Pressure not Political
--------------


7. (C) Elaborating on the "four pressures" he faces as a

GUANGZHOU 00000679 002 OF 002


chief editor, Zhu implied that political control over
content was the least of his worries. He said that the
professional drive to create a high-quality product
outweighed social, political-legal and market factors. His
goal, he said, was to achieve a balance, but mainly to
ensure that the other three "pressures" do not influence
the quality of his product. Zhu said that he worries about
lawsuits arising from his magazine's reporting, even going
so far as to require his reporters to tape record all
interviews.

8 (C) Accepting money from subjects, including businesses
and politicians, to alter reporting remains a major problem
in today's Chinese media, according to Zhu. He implied
that more publications take money to alter reporting than
do not, though he was adamant that Nanfengchuang and other
"good" publications -- "like Caijing" -- do not engage in
this practice.


9. (C) Zhu, who wrote an article on media responsibility in
April, 2007, also decried the commercialization
(shangyehua) and "entertainmentizing" (yulehua) of news.
He said that Nanfengchuang's efforts to be a "serious
magazine" stood in contrast with other publications that
"ignore or make light of very serious issues." Zhu proudly
said that his magazine's 2007 coverage of the National
Party Congress and the National People's Political
Consultative Conference had been referred to as "yansu
meiti," serious media.

The Mark of a Nanfengchuang Journalist: Idealism and Skill
-------------- --------------


10. (C) The magazine attracts "people who want to improve
China" to its writing staff, according to Zhu, who says he
hires "idealists" who "respect a dream, not a salary" and
have proven track records in news writing and analysis.
Nanfengchuang has a total of 12 reporters, he said, with
four in Beijing. Two reporters are currently participating
in internships with universities or other organizations, as
part of Zhu's effort to broaden the experience and deepen
the expertise of his staff.

Public Interest Agenda
--------------


11. (C) Zhu also took pride in his magazine's "contribution
to the public interest" (gongyi de gongxian) through a
highly competitive public service program for university
journalism students. Approximately eight journalism
students (from a pool of 6,000 applicants) are selected to
investigative projects in villages or neighborhoods
(diaoyan zhongguo) and then report back to their classmates
on what they learned. With the help of Nanfengchuang
journalists, the students draft articles on their results
and the magazine publishes them.

Nanfengchuang
--------------


12. (C) Established in 1985, the magazine's original name,
Haiwai Guanxi (Overseas Relations),was considered quite
radical so soon after the Cultural Revolution due to an
implied close relationship with the West. Nonetheless, Zhu
said, the magazine received strong support from the outset
from reform-minded and influential provincial authorities,
including former Guangdong Governor Ye Xuanping (Marshall
Ye Jianying's son),Guangdong Party Secretary and Politburo
member Xie Fei, and other Guangdong luminaries. Zhu, an
experienced journalist and editor from Beijing, sees
himself as the successor in a line of reform-minded
editors-in-chief. He described how he took the reins in
2005, following in the footsteps of his predecessors, Qin
Shuo and Chen Juhong, who went on to establish innovative
media organs in Shanghai and Shenzhen, respectively.


13. (C) Approximately fifty percent of Nanfengchuang's
revenue derives from advertising, with the other half
coming from magazine sales, which are split evenly between
subscribers and newsstands. Zhu lamented that the
magazine's advertising revenue was "not as good as it could
be," though a recent price hike had not affected sales;
well-off readers did not complain or cancel subscriptions.


14. (U) This cable was a joint effort between Consulate
General Guangzhou and Embassy Beijing.

JACOBSEN