Investigative Journalism in China: Journalism, Power, and Society

(Hardback)

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Description

In the framework of democratic societies, investigative journalism is deemed as serving the public interest, helping maintain a healthy public sphere and helping to hold power into account. The ideals of a democratic society justify the idea and practice of investigative journalism. Alternately, modern China runs an authoritarian system of the one-party rule, so where does the idea of investigative journalism fit in Why can investigative journalism appear in such an authoritarian society and with what characteristics Investigative Journalism in China examines the four aspects of Chinese investigative journalism (the Idea of investigative journalism and its comparison against Western contexts; the Development/Influence; Reporters and their work; and the Impacts on society), by using empirical data from Dr. Jingrong Tong's fieldwork at two newsrooms (the Southern Metropolitan Daily and the Dahe Daily) in 2006, 73 in-depth-interviews conducted from 2004-2008, and the analysis of internal and public documents and media cases in order to accurately survey the field and put it in context.

Reviews

Investigative journalism has become an influential element in the governance of many societies over the last century. Jingrong Tong's book helps the reader to see how knowledge is popularised and information mediated in the world's most populous country, by providing the first book in English on China's investigative reporting. Replete with examples and illustrations, her work expands our understanding both of China and of journalism and is an essential corrective to widespread ignorance of China's media and their often remarkable journalists. -- Hugo de Burgh, Professor of Journalism at the University of Westminster and Tsinghua University, Director of the China Media Centre
The strength of this book lies in its unique inside perspective. Jingrong Tong has studied two Chinese newspapers and spent significant time with journalists on the beat. She has therefore been able to closely observe the whole news making process from the collecting of information and conducting of interviews, to the writing and polishing of initial drafts, to the editing process and the final news report. This enables Tong to provide a more complex analysis than found in most existing scholarship on Chinese media production. She shows how individual journalists and editors in specific media organisations negotiate news bans and propaganda directives and how self-censorship is exercised under the influence of shifting politico-ideological and socio-economic factors and processes. -- Marina Svensson, Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University, Sweden

Author Bio

Dr. Jingrong Tong is Lecturer in Media and Communication, University of Leicester, UK.