"While China’s policies of reform and opening-up have triggered far-reaching economic transformations in the media sector, and the leeway for uncensored reporting has widened, the principles of political supervision remain essentially unchanged. The article sketches the interplay of numerous government and Party organs responsible for media supervision and censorship in terms of mission, personnel and work assignments. The main emphasis is on the present situation and changes since 1990. Despite some organizational reshuffling and recurrent jurisdictional adjustments, the basic bureaucratic set-up for enforcing media compliance with Party policies stays in line with the Leninist arrangements of the 1950s. The challenges for effective control posed by the technological revolution in mass communication have been met by new innovations in the monitoring and filtering of sensitive reports. Although principles of rule by law have also spread to the media, they lag behind some other spheres of Chinese public life. Regulations stipulate a host of licensing requirements. They stress media duties and remain largely silent on media rights. On the background of reorganizations in the magazine „Freezing Point“ of the Youth League effected during 2004 - 2006, the article highlights the tensions of current media policies, the conflicts between multiple actors and the unresolved contradictions between commercial and political interests." (Abstract)