Speech from top Xinhua official sobers Budding Chinese journalists

Xia Lin, Chief Editor of Xinhua News Agency, in his speech at the Tianjin Foreign Studies University, described various instances where recent Chinese news was prettied up. Essentially, journalism in China holds a dual mission, that of providing a swift and clear picture of current affairs while at the same time manipulating that picture towards the public to maintain social harmony. Here's a website describing Xia Lin's talk.