Newspapers hog the attention
(YVINNE ZHANG)
05/23/2003
Sales of most magazines and papers have shrunk at the bookstall in Jinling Lu, but the Shanghai Morning Post has retained and even slightly increased its sales during the SARS period. The "Shanghai Morning Post carried a lot of articles about SARS," reasoned the stall owner, surnamed Qi. He sells nearly 100 copies of the paper within a few hours every morning. In sharp contrast to the robust sales of the paper, Qi complained about the poor sales of Shanghai maps during the May Day Holiday. "I used to sell hundreds of maps during the May Day holiday to visitors in Shanghai. But this year, people are cautious about meeting with non-locals. Only a few maps were sold during the period from May 1-5." Not only papers, but all Chinese media launched a campaign of SARS reporting. Sina.com, China's leading news website, introduced a special page of SARS reports, which automatically updates every minute. TV stations showed live broadcast of SARS press conferences daily and invited experts to discuss all aspects of the disease. "It has been a very successful media campaign, especially for CCTV," said a local young man. "I was deeply impressed by a conversation between one reporter and the Beijing mayor, and the reports about medical workers on the frontline." On the other hand, the audience has also criticized this unprecedented media campaign about a domestic crisis. "They give sufficient information for ordinary people," said Ma Tianzuo, an insurance agent. "But not enough information for those who care a lot about the issue." Ma preferred getting in-depth knowledge about SARS from his friends in the medical field. People's habitual distrust of propaganda led to grave suspicions at the beginning of the SARS outbreak, especially in mid-April, when the reported number of SARS cases in Beijing increased in a sudden and incredible jump. This was the period with the greatest volume of rumours in Shanghai. One rumour had it that "Shanghai has more cases than reported", and another that "Hundreds of people were dying of SARS every day in Shanghai." But as time went by, these rumours died out.
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