Journalism in China: Reality and Patience

Journalism in China would not prove much as China mainland is a one party sovereign realm.

I just read your recent blogs on Tibet, and want to say something about what happened on me recently. I am not making an argument. This is about media, not about Tibet.

I am Chinese and lives in China. I had great respect for western media since 1989, when I was among the student demonstrators. For nearly two decades I followed Time, Wall Street Journal, CNN, and BBC, and enjoyed the information on the world that they offered. In a way, they were my teachers for my growth from a young student to an educated adult. However, I lost such respect recently after reading and watching the news reports from them relating to the unrest in Tibet. In my eyes, these reports are much biased.

I do not intend to denounce them, any more than flatter Chinese media. I just want to express my disillusion. I feel sad that western media are no longer my friends, but on the other hand, maybe I should be glad that this means maturity to me personally.

Just to make it clear: I will continue following western media, but only as one of the many one-sided stories this media world has to offer us.

Well, Mr. Fooled..., you finally got it. The same experience happened to me, but it's been a long time. I don't like the Communist Propaganda, but I don't like all the self-righteousness of the western media either. We can only use our own judgement. To expect the western media as a sole reliable source of information is certainly unrealistic simply because they have different background, culture, and interest when it comes to everything happening in this world. Don't expect them to love China, but it's how they are paid. Don't you think they will have nothing to criticize if there was no Darfur or Tibet, they will surely find something else to harp on. That's how they make a living on the so-called journalism anyway, and their subconsicious racism.

Journalism in China has witnessed tremendous development in recent years, thanks in part to the rapid commercialization/de-subsidization of previously solely mouthpiece newspapers and in part to more liberalized journalism faculties in Chinese universities lecturing on what constitutes real journalism. Fresh recruits in key newspapers are now much better known and harder pressed for "journalistic instincts" for news events, and China has bred a new class of scandal muckrakers like Wang Keqin, who enjoy tremendous social respect for their journalistic courage and sense of responsibility.

This is what drives our optimism. Just as everyone here is optimistic about China's economic and political change within the next two decades, journalism in China will surely also head for the better in a changed-for-the-better economic and political landscape.

I think the majority of posters here wish China well. But, the CCP is headed for a PR disaster by banning independent reporters from going into Tibet. I think readers can use their own judgement whether a story from the Western press is biased or not. Old habits die hard among the Chinese communists. I think the KMT is a good example for them. As it is, democracy is flourishing in Taiwan, viable 2 party system and a free and democratic press. Is it pure fantasy on my part that in the future, the KMT and the CCP will compete in democratic elections in China?

Dear zestndo,
Banning reporters to Tibet was for 1) their own safety; 2) no one knew who was non-biased "independent" reporter or simply a Dalai Lama's agent.

By the way, no western media has reported anything about the death of an 8 month Han baby. So, I assume the Chinese media made it up again. I have repeatedly complained about how the human-rights groups, which are represented by Nancy Pelosi, do not think Han Chinese is human being. So, I guess a death of 8 month Han baby in Lhasa is nothing more than a death of a life stock in Montana.

I think China made a somewhat logical call in not allowing foreign reporters. Although strange at first sight, keep in mind that once the riots got out of hand, they acted very quickly to suppress them. By the time foreign reporters had arrived, they wouldn't have been able to see any rioting; all they would've seen would be big bad China's suppression as well as the heavy troop presence...which really would've resulted in the same coverage which it has been receiving.

The only way China could have received better, more positive coverage in this situation was if they had allowed more reporters into Tibet to begin with, so that there would be more reporters like the Economist correspondent (and incidentally, the Tibet article from the Economist was one of the finest on the subject which I have read thus far).

But, on the other hand, if China allowed more reporters into Tibet, I'm pretty sure there would be plenty more 'dirty laundry' which would be aired.

It really is a bit of a lose-lose situation for China, viewed in this light; they probably felt that they made the best choice out of two bad possibilities.

Zhangsan

well done, Simon.

"Here, we are just being more realistic and patient than our Western counterparts :-)"

Is it "patient" or just "procrastinating" or "stick in the mud" ? Same situation, just different ways to look at things.

If some one else is stopping you from change, than be "patient". But if you are the only one stopping you, than it is procrastinating.

The problem with allowing more western reporters into Tibet is that they are not journalists in heart. They do not want to report what happened. They report only what they want to happen.

What they want to happen is as much chaos and bloodshed as possible to prove their racist view of world is correct.

Watching the report in China in the last decade, I have come to conclusion that those
journalists are the source of civilization clash. They are arrogant, racism, intolerant.

Just watch how they report the Middle East conflict: everytime an innocent Palestanian is killed, those reporters will rush in with report that the victim is actually a militia (implying he/she deserve to die). Everytime an Isreali is killed, it has a humane touching story behind.

Look at the recent Isreal/Lebanon war. The arab side casualty is mostly civilian, and Isreal side casualty is mostly military. Yet the Arab side is called terrorists. Why? Because of those racist journalists.

John Smith,

Those who are paid at least 10 times more than Chinese ordinary jornalist but can report without any ideological pressures are not qualified to comment Chinese jornalist. No one no whether they can do better than their Chinese counterparts if they were stay in the same enviroment.

However, everyone know they did at least not better than Chinese jornalist in baised reporting. The most funny thing is CNN stressing that Chinese media is reporting biased news. Your demonstration of your competitors' evil can not prove your own innocent.

Western readers are pitiful actually because most of them can not read Chinese. That means you natually lack the opportunities to obtain enough information from different sides. But we are not. Each Chinese student in middle school has to attend English course no less than 6 hours per week. I feel sick when I saw the western report quoting Chinese webpages selectively. I feel sick when I read those so called "Chinese expert" journalist wrongfully saying Chinese history and culture with his own single-mind understanding.

So before you express your arrogance, think again.

Most of us do not know the history of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism. To understand the current situation in Tibet, I think we should learn more about the history of Tibet.

Dr. Michael Parenti is a political writer raised in an Italian-American working-class family and neighborhood in New York City. He has a article 'Friendly Feudalism: The Tibet Myth' gives us some background regarding Tibet, which is worth to have a read.

http://www.michaelparenti.org/Tibet.html

First I wanna declare that I just graduated from a engineering university of china and now working in a Canada Co.
In my mind,I had thought the CNN is the best media in our world. It offer news betimes、
Shortcut and candid. I have visit the access to their web site since 5 years ago. I don`t like CNN directly because the following reason:

why your English don`t explain the real fact to the world !?
whether conceal the fact and foul other is what your democracy and justice?
please enter into the tibet of our China to look for the fact and then broadcast to the word.
please respect the fact and the audience!!
When the unrest was going on, I was just in tibet province. Some terrorist burned school, banks, stores, supermarket and even kindergarten. I want to ask your American whether what they have done is terrosism? And what you will do if terrorist bomb your people?? But I sadly tell you our government is too feeble and impuissant to stop their enormity. If the north irish kill other people, what you will do? If the NORTH IRELAND want to independence, what you will do? Maybe you will kill them. But we will never!
At the last I wanna tell you a another truth. In our Tibet there is not only one religionary leader Dalai Lama.Another religionary leader Banchan is au pair as Dalai Lama.He is denouncing the terrorist again and again.
Respect the truth and you will conciliate the respect as a media!!

Actually most westerners still do not understand why ordinary Chinese people are vigorously defending China on the Tibet issue. Yet quite ironically, they firmly believe and insist that we be brainwashed and nationalistic while they totally ignore what the protesters did to innocent people there, which led us to assume that those people should be murdered simply because the protesters were voicing their grievances.

Zhangsan was totally right. Economists did the best job this time, and had the only one non-biased report on Tibet among all western media. That is the difference between a real journalist and a saboteur in the guise of Human Rights.

Neither the Chinese media nor Western media is the true friend of Chinese people. Both of them have their own interests to gain. Saddened though, we will move on.

Mouthpiece, propaganda -- the Chinese government obviously has much to learn about western political correctness.

I find the term "patience" realistic, and "procrastinating" unfair.

I believe that China should have invited reputable media outlets like BBC and CNN into Tibet so that they can report on the "protects" as well as ordinary Tibetans -- not just those who beat people up in the streets. They don't need to worry about the safety of reporters in Tibet any more than the Americans in Iraq. I can understand why the Chinese government is so timid but don't see a reason for them to be.

tibetan are chinese too. the incident made by mobs ,not by tibetan.pls stop say tibetan what and what again....

western medias are too dangerous,try to fool the innocent people that tibetans are anti-government.

notice---tibetan are chinese and they are friendly,hospitable,kindly chinese too