The Modern Media on the Roof of the World

　　The modern media in Tibet has quickly developed from scratch into the fully-fledged organization it is today. There was no mass media in a modern sense in Tibet before the 1950s. At the beginning of this century, the first newspaper-Vernacular- published in Han Chinese and the Tibetan language, made its debut in Tibet, which was sponsored by Lian Yu, envoy to Tibet by the central government of the Qing Dynasty, and his assistant Zhang Yintang. They aimed to "rouse the patriotism of the people and their liking for the martial arts, and broaden their minds". The paper was lithographically printed, with 300-odd impressions. It's said that the "local Tibetans came to buy the paper", so it must have been quite popular at the time. The vernacular is deemed a~ the first newspaper in Tibet, and it is also the first paper that was published in Han Chinese and the language of an ethnic group and issued in ethnic areas. In 1951, the Central People's Government and the local Tibetan government formally assigned the Seventeen-Article Agreement on the peaceful liberation of Tibet. This was a milestone marking the overwhelming changes in Tibet. Under the guidance and help of the People's Liberation Army, modern civilization quickly infiltrated and became deeply rooted in this ancient land. As the voices of the people, news agencies, radio stations, newspapers and television stations were consecutively founded, and relations were widely formed between Tibet and other parts of China. In August 1951, the Tibetan branch of the Xinhua News Agency was founded in the barracks of the troops that marched into Tibet. For the first time in history, Tibetan people had their own media through which they could make their voice heard. On September 9, the first news report from the branch was issued from Lhasa, news about the 18th Army of the PLA marching into the mysterious ancient city of Lhasa. In 1951, still on their way to Tibet, some PLA soldiers sponsored two mimeographed papers (the Xinhua Telegraph and the Grass/and News), the forerunners of the Tibetan Daily, the largest of its kind and formally issued on April 22,1956. In July 1953,the PLA founded the first wired broadcasting station, equipped with a 75-watt audio amplifier, a 1 ,000-watt gas electricity generator, and six loudspeakers installed on the roofs of the houses on Bhakor Street. Simple as it was, it was very successful. On January 1, 1959, the Tibetan wireless broadcasting station, known as the Tibetan People's Broadcasting Station, started airing programs. Its voice spread far and wide over the vast plateau, which marked a historical revolution in the development of Tibet's media. In 1977, Tibetan Literature and Art, the first periodical in Tibet, was founded, which introduced many great literary works to readers nationwide. In 1978, Tibet successfully transmitted black-and-white television programs, and the following year color television programs. In 1985, the first television station-Tibet Television Station-was founded, airing two program schedules in Han Chinese and the Tibetan language. In 1995, the Tibet Broadcasting and Television Translating and Producing Center opened, which marked a new level of broadcasting, television program producing and transmission in Tibet. Today, Tibet has 57 newspapers in the Tibetan and Chinese language, which cover a wide range of topics from social life, politics, economy, science and technology, to education, culture, ethnic groups and religion. The papers published in mandarin are the Tibetan Daily, Lhasa Evening News, Tibetan Youth, Science and Technology in Tibet, Tibetan Law, Xigaze News, Tibetan Broadcast, Cinema & Television, Tibetan Culture and Qamdo Daily. Magazines and journals published in Tibetan include, Tibetan Literatifre and Art, Tibetan Culture, Tibetan Stuidies, Bamjin Beida, shannan Literature and Art, Tibetan Eduducation, Tibetan Buddhism ,Tibetan Art Research ,Host ,Party Life in Tibet ,Tibetan Discipline Inspection and Supervision ,Fortnightly Chat ,People's Tibet ,Tibet University News .Magazines in Chinese include Tibetan Literature ,Tibetan Studies .Geology of Tibet ,Tibetan Studies ,Tibetan Education, Host, Science and Technology in Tibet, Banking in Tibet ,Public Security in Tibet, Tibetan Medicine, party school in Tibet ,physical Culture in Tiebt ,Agricultural Technology in Tibet, Tourism in Tibet, Tibetan Discipline Inspection and Supervision ,Tibetan Customs, People's Tibet, Tibetan Art Studies, Tibet University News and Tibet Ethnic College News ,In addition to the above-mentioned publications ,Tibet has a few English journals like Tibetan Studies, and some papers and periodicals distributed among certain groups and departments .After over-40years'efforts and development ,a healthy, well-structured publishing network with a balanced number of publications in Tibetan and Han Chinese has taken shape in Tibet, providing readers with a rich source of information. The relatively late coming forms of modern media like broadcasting and television have developed healthily following the prosperity of the publishing industry, and they are now playing important roles in spreading knowledge, in-formation and providing entertainment. Their function is irreplaceable on the vast land of Tibet. Over the past 40-odd years, the Central Government and the government of the Tibet Autonomous Region have invested 530 million RMB yuan in developing broadcasting and television, and donations of various Equipment from other provinces nationwide have been put to use. Besides funds and materials, the Central Government and other provinces have dispatched groups of professionals and technical workers to Tibet, and each year a number of college graduates have gone into the business. They have contributed to the continuing prosperity of broadcasting and television and have helped improve the standard of programs. At present, there are two broadcasting stations, 47 launching stands, two television stations and 90 relay stations, and 850 broadcasting and television relay stations at the township level. The coverage rates for broadcasting and television are respectively 55 and 50 percent. For the city of Lhasa and its precincts, the coverage rate reaches 75 percent, or looked at in a different way, an audience of 250,000. People in the autonomous region have more than 200 thousand radio sets and over 120 thousand television sets and are now enjoying the programs aired by the Tibet People's Broadcasting Station, Tibet Television Station, Lhasa Television Station. Tibet Cable Television Station and Tibet People's Broadcasting Station's stereo program. In recent years, further spurred by the implementation of reform and opening policies, broadcasting and television stations have initiated inside reforms to air timely programs, provide more information, produce series of quality programs with a distinctly Tibetan flavor. In the last five years, their programs were not only warmly received by the audience, but won one gold and one silver award at international festivals, 100 national awards in addition to several hundred other awards. The American Eastern Television Station has, for two years consecutively, aired programs produced by the Tibet Television Station, which introduced the changes and development of today's Tibet in a vivid and interesting way. After over 40 years of development, broadcasting and television in Tibet have followed a healthy and well-organized road to development and modernization, attracting a lager and larger audience. As a bridge between people and society, broadcasting and television provide information, education and entertainment and serve as a part of the spiritual and cultural life of ethnic people in Tibet. Among the media organs in Tibet, there are several state news agency branches. During their decades' stay in Tibet, they have objectively reported to the outside world every important event that has happened on the plateau. They have played an important role in unveiling Tibet to the world. Today, a team of professional journalists from different ethnic backgrounds (most of them Tibetans) has been active in the realm of the Tibetan media. Since the 1980s, a large group of capable journalists of varying ethnic backgrounds have joined in the cause. Many of them have been rewarded at the national level for their excellent work: Ma Ningxuan and Namgyai won titles of Best Journalists", Baima Zholgar was awarded the Taofen News Prize, and DojeZhamdui and Dawa Zholma won titles of One of the Hundred Best National Reporters.