Article,
Kings without Crowns? The Re-Emergence of Investigative Journalism in China
Media, Culture & Society, 25 (6): 801 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/0163443703256005
Abstract
Hugo de Burgh
Goldsmiths College, London, UK, h.deburgh@gold.ac.uk
Over the last 10 years a genre of critical, abrasive journalism has
emerged in China, particularly on television. Chinese journalists
like to refer to it as ‘investigative journalism’ and, in doing so,
they are consciously likening it to the Anglophone equivalent. This
article examines how Chinese journalists describe their work. It
also looks at the various possible explanations offered for the emergence
and popularity of the genre: as an epiphenomenon of government reforms
of the institutional and financing systems of the media; as a function
of the irritation felt by professionals with past practices and the
unsatisfied urge to participate of many Chinese citizens; because
of the social roles ascribed to journalists both by themselves and
by the citizenry; a response to new ideas from abroad, or ‘westernization’.
It is concluded that, while many topics and techniques of investigative
journalism are analogous with those of Anglophone countries, the
Chinese journalists appear to be striving to realize roles traditional
to Chinese culture rather than adopting foreign models. The notion
that the re-emergence of investigative journalism is an instance
of ‘westernization’ is rejected.
