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COPYRIGHT 2004 Society for the Advancement of Education
IN CHINA AROUND 1160 AD, there was an enormous public appetite for inside news about the government. Private reporters who were connected with these sensation-seeking newspapers--which, at the time, were handwritten--often were accused of leaking official news. Chou Linchi, a prominent individual with special access to government officials, wrote a memorandum petitioning for the suppression of what can be translated as "tabloid news" reported by "minor-mongers who took the opportunity to spread sensational news misleading the public."
Linchi went on to say that, whenever "there is news in the air and the public is held in suspense," these reporters "would snatch the chance to write the news down on little scripts and circulate them abroad. For instance, they often say 'So-and-so was summoned to an imperial audience today' or 'So-and-so was dismissed,' or 'So-and-so got an appointment.' This news is often inaccurate or even a groundless...
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