China's devastating earthquake seems to have pressed authorities into conceding a degree of freedom – though perhaps short-lived – to a normally tightly-controlled media. But will it actually bring lasting change?

Within hours of last week's earthquake in China's Sichuan province, the Propaganda Department issued an order that media weren't allowed to send reporters to the disaster zone.

But so many reporters, says The New York Times, had ignored the directive that within two days authorities retracted it, issuing a replacement one saying media in the disaster zone must move about with the rescue teams.

Two differences

There's been two big differences in the way China has "instinctively" handled the media in the wake of the quake which killed tens of thousands of people, says The Australian's Beijing-based correspondent Rowan Callick.

" … First, there were more efforts to help journalists cover the story in the way they wanted, rather than control them. Reporters simply rolled up to the disaster scenes and began interviewing, photographing or filming without hindrance.

" ... Second, those leading the relief efforts made themselves available and answered questions as honestly as they could. In Mianyang, a springboard for most of the relief efforts, a press centre was swiftly established …"

A journalist with UK's Channel 4 described how a junior military officer rushed up to him at a site where rescue teams were digging for survivors.

" …. "I am the Press Officer for the Henan Fire Brigade," he said. "Our teams are trying to save lives here. Please ask me anything you want. You are free to film and go anywhere."

" …. It might not sound exceptional to you, but this is China and believe me, it's amazing. A few weeks ago, in the wake of our reporting of the Tibetan uprising, foreign journalists were being described as the "western Goebbels Nazi media" …"

Roughed up

China's Foreign Correspondents Club has welcomed the generally open reporting environment, but says some correspondents have reported interference. "Two foreign journalists said they were roughed up. Two correspondents reported authorities seized or tried to seize their video, or deleted photographs."

And China appears to now be trying to rein in the media. On Wednesday many major newspapers ran the same photo of government leaders mourning. The propaganda ministry tends to insist on uniformity in the face of a sensitive issue, writes the Los Angeles Times.

The story says checks have been stepped up and there are new permit requirements for media reporting in the disaster zone.

" …. At a school site, a People's Liberation Army officer questioned reporters on whether they had interviewed anyone. Some of the hardest-hit areas are now off-limits to the media, ostensibly for safety reasons … "

Government edict

Conditions and controls are always different for the Chinese media. AP reports the major state-run media outlets – Xinhua news agency and CCTV – received an edict last week on what angles to cover in the aftermath of the quake.

" … In comments published by Xinhua, Li said the Communist Party chiefs' reactions to the quake must be portrayed in a positive light, and there must be "moving stories" of the army in its rescue efforts …"

So the question is, will anything actually change for the media – foreign and domestic – in the long term?

Hope for the future

Reuters quotes Olympic press chief Kevan Gosper telling the International Sports Press Association's congress in Beijing this week that reporting of the earthquake "has been very wide by national and international media, I'd be surprised if it changed although of course I don't want to make a good thing out of a tragedy".

He also repeated his view that China would deliver on its commitment to allow media the freedom to report, like they have had at previous Olympic Games.

The Dalai Lama, who's in the UK, said to AFP the transparency shown by China in dealing with the earthquake was an indication that China was changing and becoming more open.

"This is good so I'm hopeful about the handling in government and media with earthquake, I think quite transparent. It is a wonderful, an encouraging sign."

Well, for now I will reserve judgment. Ideologies that have been staunchly preserved for years, in the face on global condemnation, aren't suddenly done away with overnight.