Based on comparative studies on the two media reform movements in China and in North America which are different in terms of its nature and its destination, the authors argue that using the media reform movement in North America as a benchmark could be instrumental to enrich our imagination for the goals and objects for China’s future media reform, to alert us paying more attention to the role played by civic organizations in mitigating the negative impacts caused by commercial media, and to reconsider and adjust the role of state and market in media reform in future.