The ideological decay and theoretical stagnation of Chinese journalism: A critique of the "Marxist view of journalism" discourse

The ‘Marxist view of journalism’ notion as the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) rebranded media ideology has remained a trendy phrase and hot topic in China’s official, media, and academic research discourse since the early 2000s. Despite its marked and prolonged public presence and significance for the understanding of the Chinese Party-state’s media policy, a specific and systematic critique of the notion has remained absent in the literature. Aiming to bridge this research gap, this study argues that being designed to attempt to theoretically justify the CCP’s shift to retighten its control over China’s increasingly market-oriented and self-minded media industry in the era of globalisation and digitisation, this high-profile ‘new’ notion is little more than a conveniently refurbished version of the very same old authoritarian press tradition of the Party, illustrating the ruling elite’s lack of theoretical courage and capacity to engage in long-delayed yet much-needed media ideological innovation. The study also offers some general suggestions in relation to how the notion may be revisited and redeveloped.