The University of Denver has a new agreement to teach management from China Central Television, China National Radio and China Radio International about the American media industry.
The university will teach Chinese media officials business skills and how the American media industry is operated and regulated, but not directly address freedom of speech issues, said DU professor and program organizer Ron Rizzuto.
In exchange, China's regulatory branch for media companies signed a five-year agreement with DU to sponsor and participate in the school's Chinese Executive Media Management Program.
Under the agreement, senior-level media executives from various government-owned media organizations from throughout China will participate in an annual three-week media training program in Denver. The first one is set for July 2017.
China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television branch will pay for half of the roughly $15,000 needed to attend and participate in the program. DU will cover a third of the costs for participants and media companies will take the remaining balance, Rizzuto said Monday.
Chinese media officials are running into some of the same problems as their American counterparts including dealing with an increasingly competitive environment and figuring out how to reach younger audiences who are more apt to watch programming on their phones or computers.
"As the technology changes it's harder and harder to restrict people, but that's not a topic we spend a lot of time on," Rizzuto said. "They're learning about what we’re doing and seeing how it's applicable there."
The new sponsorship allows DU’s Chinese Executive Media Management Program to continue running. A donation from the founder and former chairman of Starz Entertainment Group, John J. Sie, funded the program for more than a decade, but finally ran out in 2015, said Rizzuto.
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Business & data reporter Adrian D. Garcia can be reached via email at [email protected] or twitter.com/adriandgarcia.
