The Chinese Communist Party's state-run news factory, the Xinhua News Agency, is growing like gangbusters. In the past year, Xinhua has spent billions launching a 24-hour English-language news station and populating a skyscraper in Times Square, with plans for 120 to 200 overseas bureaus and 6,000 additional journalists. With a price tag estimated in the billions of dollars, the new Xinhua is an expensive megaphone. With a price tag estimated in the billions of dollars, the new Xinhua is an expensive megaphone. Xinhua may be the future of news for one big reason: cost. As a wire service, Xinhua has a lower price tag than the Associated Press, Reuters, or AFP. Recent deals with other state-run outlets make it the leading source for news in Africa and much of Asia, with a strong hold in the Middle East. It helps, of course, that Xinhua’s spin diminishes when the news doesn’t involve China. A bigger problem is the fact that Xinhua is often face-rakingly boring.
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