Comparison of the Media in China and Switzerland

This essay offers a comparison of the media in the People's Republic of China and Switzerland within the context of the flow of power. China political control of the media remains firm and resolute and has a very much different connection between the media and the government than the ones which exists in democratic nations. In fact, the Press Freedom of Information Index conducted by Reporters without Borders ranked China 174th as the least free nations in the world compared to Switzerland 8th out of the 179 nations. First I will explain what is meant by the flow of power, as well as demonstrating how regulation and controls have the potential to shape the relationships between politics and the mass media. Then I will introduce the specific regulatory systems in the Switzerland and China and demonstrate how they are similar or different to each other. To finish I will discuss the likely effects these regulatory systems have on the relationship between politics and the mass media and also the effects these relationships have on society and the flow of information to and from ordinary citizens.

There are many different types of media regulation in Switzerland, each bound by separate codes and rules. Meanwhile the regulations in China are governed solely by the government whilst in Switzerland, it is governed by codes of practices. When we talk about the different media types of Switzerland and China, the most important distinction is that there are different types of institutes which supervise and manage media in each country. In China, all kinds of media are administered by the two primary censoring agencies: The General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) and the State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT), which are solely controlled by Chinese government. On the basis of news recorded on their official website on the 7th of August, 2008, we can see that GAPP and SARFT cover every kind of media including newspaper, television, film, and magazine. These two censoring agencies seek to regulate the media's behavior, by reviewing the contents of various media releases.

In SARFT's first chapter of regulations, it is stated that : SARFT must draw up guidelines and policies for publicity and production of media, and make sure that the direction of media opinions and production is correct. Their sixth chapter of regulations says: SARFT must review the content of its radio, television programs, internet/video programs, and public audio-visual programs. From these two parts of the regulations, we can see that in China, if the media wants to publish any content, it must be accredited by SARFT. There was a case in 2006 involving the protection of Chinese indigenous cartoons. SARFT stipulated that from 1st September 2006, CCTV-1 (a channel for teenagers) will not be allowed to play or introduce overseas cartoon programs from 3pm to 8pm daily. From this case, we can clearly see that, due to the intervention of SARFT, which was founded by the Chinese government, the majority of the content of program and news transmitted by media must be in the government's best interest and also adhere to the given rules strictly.

In contrast, the main media regulatory bodies of the Switzerland are Independent Complaints Authority for (ICA) and The Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM). ICA is an federal authority which covers and also deals with complaints from members of the public about the editorial content of Radio and Television (Hadwin, Bloy, 2007), while Ofcom regulates the content of all television and radio programmes in Switzerland. "Ofcom operates the Ofcom Broadcasting Code ('the Code') which contains rules and principles covering standards in programmes, sponsorship, fairness and privacy" (Independent Producer Handbook. From the above description of the PCC and Ofcom, one can infer that the United Kingdom's media regulation is not directly or indirectly monitored by the government, but is regulated instead, by several independent agencies.

The Switzerland media does not need to fully follow the Government's best interests when they make incorrect decisions, or financial irregularities. Instead, the media will publish the whole matter to the general public. Conversely, China will absolutely not tolerate the ruling party's image being shaken by media coverage. All the news reports in China have to go through SARFT and GAPP reviews set by the government. As China becomes a major player in the global economy, authorities in Beijing are trying to balance the need for more information with their goal of controlling content as a means to maintain power; as is the case of Shi Tao, a journalist detained in 2004 and serving a ten-year sentence for posting an online summary describing the CPD's instructions for how to report the fifteen-year