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The mogul talks of economic prowess but avoids sensitive topic of openness

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corp, told Communist Party leaders yesterday that foreign countries could help China to create an 'exemplary media industry'.

In a speech at the Central Party School in Beijing, Mr Murdoch said the media business was a good opportunity for China and spoke of money and power in building a world-class media industry.

Mr Murdoch skilfully avoided any mention of ideology when discussing the sensitive topic of opening China's media. But he affirmed the central role of an effective regulatory system that was 'firm enough to ensure China's control over her emerging businesses and smart enough not to stifle the growth of those businesses'.

Mr Murdoch dwelled at length on the economic prowess of media companies, which account for 5 per cent of the gross domestic product in the United States and Britain.

He also spoke of the power of the media industry in shaping a nation's cultural landscape by furthering education, increasing national unity and elevating a nation's stature to be among the most admired countries of the world.

Mr Murdoch cited televised events such as  the soccer World Cup to illustrate his point on enhancing national unity.

'More than 12 million viewers tuned in to watch England's opening contest against Sweden. That's overwhelming testimony to the media's ability to unite a nation,' he said.

Media sources said Mr Murdoch had long understood that fostering connections with political leaders would pay commercial dividends. The Central Party School audience is drawn from top provincial and state-level cadres.

Liu Yushan, head of the communist party's publicity department, was among those in attendance. Heaping praise on the new leadership, Mr Murdoch thanked Vice-President Zeng Qinghong, president of the Central Party School, for the invitation to speak and traced his connection with China back to the early 1980s.

He specifically mentioned his youngest son, James, who has been in charge of Star TV, as having an avid interest in expanding the distribution of programmes in China.

Under a deal with the Guangdong Television broadcasting development centre, Star TV will be allowed to sell programmes to local Chinese TV stations.

But mainland media sources do not think the speech signalled a further breakthrough in the opening of China's media industry to greater foreign investment.

'China's media industry is changing according to its own pace,' said Li Xiguang, professor of media studies at Tsinghua University.



Murdoch says media could be world class