More than anything else, corporate media fixated on Hu Jintao’s departure from the congress hall, engaging in tabloid-variety speculation around the fate of CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping’s 79-year-old predecessor. However, the “evidence” used by corporate media to suggest that Xi orchestrated Hu’s exit as part of a power grab was far from convincing. But US corporate media generally failed to highlight these developments as positive news. After Xi indicated to the congress that China would continue along this path, corporate media were predictably dismayed. Since the whole episode was caught on camera, however, corporate media were not satisfied with China’s mundane account of events.