Study Times published an article written by two members of the Chinese Communist Party Guangxi Committee. The article stated that the Internet presents new challenges for the media to be able to guide public opinion when facing public emergencies. In a number of incidents, the media failed to guide the public correctly, which had a negative impact on economic and social development, as well as on the government’s credibility. The article emphasized that, following an incident, the municipal departments should pay attention to gaining control of the discourse right quickly in order to gain the public’s trust. They should work with credible media to ensure that the public can receive the “official news release” before foreign media and the rumor mill can catch up. The article also mentioned that the municipal departments at all levels should develop a contingency plan in dealing with emergencies and that managers from public relations or related departments should take training classes.
Source: Study Times, June 23, 2014
http://www.studytimes.cn/shtml/xxsb/20140623/5369.shtml