As Chinese president Hu Jintao goes to sleep at night, there are three great issues on his mind: What should I do to hold this large country together? How should I deal with the environmental challenges? And – how should I address the widespread corruption?

A press conference looks like a press conference anywhere

Corruption is a permeating presence everywhere in Chinese society: parents and students are bribing teachers, businesspeople are bribing each other, employees are bribing employers, and salespeople are bribing customers.
According to Karin Grauers, attorney at the Shanghai office of the law firm Vinge, 106,000 Chinese officials were sentenced for bribery offences in 2009, a 2.5% increase from 2008

The world of media is no exception. The signature bribe within media is a red envelope containing about RMB 200. Consultants with Chinese PR agencies and the global network agencies all stick to the same explanation: journalists do not get their travel costs covered by editors, and this is why the client/PR agency must provide compensation. This may even be the truth in some cases, and it may be a fact of life for minor publications. But that still doesn’t alter the fact that we are dealing with bribes here.

I have personally observed cases where journalists – before the press meeting begins – are searching the press kits for the red envelope. If the envelope is missing, the journalist heads straight back to the office without reporting. And if the journalist finds an envelope, sure, you will see an article published.
No Swedish company would even consider bribing a journalist in Sweden in order to catch media attention. But once arrived in China, businesses often get in touch with people who claim that this is ”tradition” and that ”everyone” is doing it, etc. It may become hard to resist, and also easy to believe that you really must adapt to the local customs. But anyone who begins by just ”bribing a little” will soon find themselves in really troublesome circumstances.

The only real remedy – and the simplest alternative – is to implement a policy of zero tolerance towards bribery of any form. This is the way Springtime has chosen to deal with media relations in China, and I am convinced that it is the only way to go.

That is because journalists want to do a good job. They want to provide correct reporting, ask smart questions, and make clever analysis. The key to long-term, ethically sound media relations in China is to absorb these facts and find a way to deal with the press corps in a respectful fashion.
Presently, I have an assignment to analyse media impact for a Swedish manufacturing company which we assisted at three major press conferences in Shanghai. Well-informed, correct and very insightful press cuttings are flowing in – without us having paid a penny for taxi fares.

To keep in mind
1. The key to success is to always have an attractive offering. If you are approaching reasonably serious media with a relevant and exclusive offer, they will be interested regardless of compensation.
2. You will find it easier to work successfully by building on a few strong media relations, as opposed to chasing targets of ”a hundred press cuttings”.
3. There are great differences within media. Some journalists have a less serious approach to their profession, and they produce reporting that rarely stands out as original. In many such cases, the bribe is the deciding factor for receiving coverage. For a PR agency, this may lead to the decision to not engage at all with this kind of media, or to accept such client assignments.

Henrik Sjöberg