ABSTRACT
The so-called metro papers are in contrast to the more conventional Party organs. These two types of media organizations differ in ways of governmental control, style of news coverage, and audience reception. The biggest difference lies in their function: The Party organ serves the Party line (i.e., propagates Party ideas, values, and policies), whereas the metro newspapers take care of the market line (i.e., make profits) (He, 2000; Lin, 2010; Pan & Lu, 2003; Zhao, 1998). In 1999, a meeting of executives from 40-plus metro newspapers around the country agreed upon the following definition of this format: daily newspapers based in a city, market oriented, relevant to readers, and with a strong urban grassroots flavor. In other words, metro papers were “city residents’ papers” (Sun, 2002, p. 179).
