Propaganda officials to head top-tier Chinese journalism schools
Communist Party moves to tighten ideological control over university programmes amid concern journalists succumbing to Western thinking
The Communist Party's propaganda authority is planning to tighten its control over major journalism schools across the country and increase Marxist education at the universities.
Three people familiar with the plan said senior local propaganda officials would become heads or high-level officials of journalism programmes at 10 top-tier universities, in an attempt to ensure their teaching is in line with authorities' directives.
The people said similar overhauls may be made at other journalism schools in the future.
The restructuring will be modelled on a system that was already adopted at the journalism school of Fudan University in 2001. The current head of the university's journalism programme is Song Chao , who is a deputy propaganda director for Shanghai.
A report by the Jiefang Daily in 2001 quoted then Shanghai deputy party secretary Gong Xueping as saying the arrangement would ensure local propaganda authorities utilised their strength in leading and organising the mass media.
Sources said the propaganda authorities were meeting with the 10 universities on how the Fudan model could be applied.