media - Chinese courts: silenced or more open?

I had some time to look into the media report on the relationship between the Chinese courts and the media. Foreign media have been giving it a negative slant by focusing on possible punishment for court officials who release news without proper authorization. But they have missed the original reason for the government to install such a punishment.
Getting information from Chinese courts is possibly tougher than pressing water out of a stone: giving information was not on their agenda, unless there was a clear political advantage to get. Or in case a reporter was able to develop a "special" relationship with court officials, often involving bribes, blackmail or other tools than just picking up a phone.
Now, Xiao Yang, the president of the People's Supreme Court, has announced the appointment of 65 spokespersons for the courts. That would be a major improvement, provided of course that their phone numbers are not treated as state secrets. In the past other spokespersons of government departments were less than eager to speak, although the situation seems to improve slightly over time.
This news has a possible negative and a positive angle: most of the headlines focused on the negative one.