China's state leaders used to monopolize the most important news time slot of China, the usually half-hour news broadcast of the China Central Television (CCTV) that began at 7:00 p.m. It is no longer the case.

"Mostly, news concerning the national economy, people's livelihood and outstanding figures make the top stories these days," said Yan Hao, who is doing postgraduate studies in journalism in the Nanjing Normal University, east China's Jiangsu Province.

Actually, all major media in China have experienced the shift, known popularly as "VIPs giving time to nobodies" but interpreted by researchers as a sign of the government's improving work style.

"Nowadays, news stories make more sense to the general public, "said Zhu Yuechang, professor of the mass media department of Xiamen University in Fujian Province.

What journalists have been striving for is writing news stories that really matter to the public instead of only reporting activities of VIPs and conferences, Zhu said.

A 63-year-old retired officer worker, surnamed Zhu, said he strolled to the newspaper windows near the subway station everyday to read newspapers.

"When I worked in the office, the content of newspapers we have are almost the same: news of leaders and conferences. One copy is enough," said Zhu. "But nowadays they are more varied. Each has its own choice of front page stories."

News stories on state leaders' activities are also worth reading these days, he added.

Source: Xinhua