How can researchers understand the interactions among Chinese leaders by using information obtained from party-owned newspapers? This paper claims that the layouts of these newspapers instantaneously reveal crucial information regarding the change in a leader's political strength at various stages of a power struggle. In China, party-owned newspapers must obey ”the principle of Party spirit” - by following the Party's leadership without reservation and holding fast to the Party's political line and policy position. Due to this principle, the layouts of party-owned newspapers reflect the changes in power relations among Party leaders. This argument is supported by an empirical analysis of the page layouts of the People's Daily and People's Liberation Army Daily during three political battles within the Chinese leadership - the debate over ”practice is the sole criterion for testing truth” in 1978, the Tian'anmen incident of 1989, and Deng's south China tour in 1992.