Stability Maintenance and Chinese Media: Beyond Political Communication?
Introduction to Journal of Current Chinese Affairs 2/2015: Stability Maintenance and Chinese Media
Beyond political communication: towards a broader perspective on the Chinese press
This essay argues that much of the writing about journalism in China has suffered from an approach that is increasingly unhelpful in understanding both the ways in which the mass media operate on a daily basis and their relationships “upwards” to the party and “downwards” to the population who form their audience. In this, it lags behind the broader work on the media, particularly on television and film, which has had a much more inclusive perspective (Curtin, 2007; Keane, 2007; Keane, Fung, & Moran, 2007). In general, however, the study of the media in China, even in its broader forms, has always been heavily concerned with the influence of politics. There are good reasons for this: state, economy and society in China are much less clearly distinguished than is the norm inWestern capitalist societies, and in particular than in the USA, from which so much writing about this subject tends to emerge. The Chinese media are still, as they have always been, very much concerned with propaganda, and each media organisation was and is responsible to the appropriate party committee (Brady, 2008). While this relatively narrow focus might thus be justified, there is clearly more to be said about the Chinese news media than this dominant approach is prepared to recognise. In part, this is a symptom of a much more general problem in the study of the news media, and in particular in the practice of its comparative dimension. Both the venerable Four Theories of the Press (Siebert, Peterson, & Schramm, 1956) and its current successor volume Comparing Media Systems (Hallin & Mancini, 2004), are resolutely focused on the relations between the media and politics. While this must certainly be an important focus for any comparative study, it is completely unconvincing as an account of the whole of the mass media. At best, it applies to a small proportion of TV and radio output: at a generous estimate news and current affairs cannot amount to much more than 10% of the total broadcasting hours in most countries, even China. It applies to some sections of newspapers, but today even the most venerable journals of record have section after section devoted to issues other than Congressional debates and Wall Street stock prices. It applies to only a tiny number of magazines, out of literally thousands in all of the larger societies. It applies to some of the things said and written in the new media, but everywhere,
Single step formation of biocompatible bimetallic alloy nanoparticles of gold and silver using isonicotinylhydrazide.
Manufacturing nanoparticles with controlled physicochemical properties using environment-friendly routes have potential to open new prospects for a variety of applications. Accordingly, several approaches have been established for manufacturing metal nanoparticles. Many of these approaches entail the use of hazardous chemicals and could be toxic to the environment, and cannot be used readily for biomedical applications. In the present work, we report a single step bio-friendly approach to formulate gold (Au), silver (Ag), and Au-Ag alloy nanoparticles with desired surface corona and composition using isonicotinylhydrazide (INH) as a reducing agent. INH also functioned as a stabilizing agent by enabling a surface corona around the nanoparticles. Remarkably, within a single step INH could also provide a handle in regulating the composition of Au and Ag in bimetallic systems without any additional chemical modification. The physicochemical and surface properties of the different nanoparticles thus obtained have been examined by analytical, spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. Cell cytotoxicity (release of lactate dehydrogenase), cell viability and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) assays confirmed that the Au, Ag, and Au-Ag bimetallic nanoparticles prepared with INH are biocompatible. Finally, the presence of organic surface corona of INH on the nanoparticles was found to impart nanozyme activity and antimycobacterial sensitivity to the nanoparticles.