Abstract
As China's media sector evolves, new domestic Internet companies are playing an increasingly complex role in information aggregation and dissemination, expanding into areas traditionally overseen by the state propaganda apparatus. Not surprisingly, these companies find themselves caught between satisfying market demand for interesting and timely information and appeasing central government demands for political correctness. Many companies have chosen to rely on self-censoring strategies that maintain political viability while providing a variety of 'softer' content designed to attract advertising and readership. Although there are signs that this is changing, with more companies testing the limits of acceptable content, such changes appear to be taking place within an overall framework for media sector development set out by the central government.