Guangming Daily is a nationwide daily newspaper that was established in 1949. It was at the time run by the China Democratic League. During the 1970s, the paper played a significant role in Chinese politics. In recent years, the newspaper lost its popularity and, in a move to attract readers, started to cover more cultural and science-related issues. Nevertheless, its circulation is a fraction of what it used to be in the 1990s.
Media assets
Publishing: Guangming Daily
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
Guangming Daily is part of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCPPD), which is a division of the Communist Party of China tasked with disseminating information about the Chinese government and censoring the information content that is produced by Chinese media outlets.
Source of funding and budget
Like all the media outlets in China, Guangming Daily has been trying to increase its advertising revenues and reduce its need for government funding. The newspaper doesn’t release information about its financial performance, but local journalists and experts interviewed for this report say that it is financially dependent on government funding.
Editorial independence
Guangming Daily is known as a propaganda channel that regularly promotes the views of the government. Although the newspaper cut down on its political coverage in recent years, its editorial line is strictly controlled by the government and the Communist Party. In its articles, Guangming Daily openly calls on the government to control the dissemination of information in China.
There is no statute and no independent assessment/oversight mechanism to validate the editorial independence of Guangming Daily.
October 2023