Training Responsible Journalists in China: Guiding Domestic Opinion, Gaining Foreign Audiences

Abstract

The teaching of international journalism in China serves a dual purpose: to train professionals who can strengthen the country’s international media and to guide domestic opinion on international issues. This article follows one class of students at Tsinghua University in Beijing and investigates how they are taught to gain foreign audiences, stay loyal to the party line, protect national interests at home and abroad, and be critical of foreign media reports. On this basis, the article discusses how the concept of professionalism, within the specific context of international journalism, is contested by competing views on what it means to be a responsible journalist.