Chinese Journalist

The Chinese Journalist China, the most populous country in the world, is also the country that is probably changing the fastest. From a sullen backwater, China is becoming a recognized force in world politics and the international economy, and the principal mediators, reflecting these changes to the Chinese and the rest of the world, are journalists. But who are the journalists in China, and through what kind of transition are they undergoing as the economy is freed up and the administration rethought? The Chinese Journalist provides an intriguing introduction to Chinese journalists and their roles within society for students of media and students of Asian Studies. The book initially offers a background history of journalists and the media in Communist China before examining the origins and development of Chinese journalism in the nineteenth century. Subsequent chapters explore: • • • • how young people become journalists; the norms of the profession; the developing identity of the journalist; the gulf between beliefs and reality. Drawing upon sinology, social psychology, history and sociology, this book will inform readers from many disciplines about the increasing power journalists have, as well as providing new perspectives on familiar debates for students of media and communications. Hugo de Burgh is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Media and Communications at Goldsmiths College, University of London. Until 1995 he worked as a television reporter and producer in the UK. The Chinese Journalist Mediating information in the world’s most populous country Hugo de Burgh First published 2003 by RoutledgeCurzon 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by RoutledgeCurzon 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” RoutledgeCurzon is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group © 2003 Hugo de Burgh All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data ISBN 0-203-32326-2 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-34272-0 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0–415–30573–X (Print Edition) For C.S. Contents Preface Chronology Notes on the text x xii xv 1 Introduction 1 Why China matters 1 Media power 3 The free market argument and its limitations 10 China’s journalists 12 2 The inheritance 14 The Vice Chairman’s Southern Progress 14 From 1949–92 14 Media institutions 19 The Southern Progress 21 The Party and the media 24 3 Media characteristics 28 The scope of the media 28 Media reforms 29 Variety and innovation in the printed media 34 Television takes off 36 4 The burden of the past I: from Yanan to the great proletarian Cultural Revolution Old ideas 44 The CCP style 45 Landmarks in the story of journalism 50 44 viii Contents 5 The bu