Chinese Investigative Journalists' Dreams

Marina Svensson is associate professor at the Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University. Her major publications include the monograph Debating Human Rights in China: A Conceptual and Political History and the co-edited volume Making Law Work: Implementation of Lawin China.Elin Sæther is postdoctoral research fellow in human geography at the Department of Sociology and Human Geography at the University of Oslo. Her work on Chinese media has been published in the China aktuell-Journal of Current Chinese Affairs.Zhi’an Zhang is associate professor in the School of Communication and Design, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou. He has published several works in Chinese on investigative journalism, including Journalists’ Professionalism: The Professional Awareness and Reporting Strategies of In- Depth Journalists and In-Depth Reporting: Interviews and Classical Cases of In-Depth Reporting.

• IntroductionChapter 1: Agency, Autonomy and Voice among Chinese Investigative Journalists: Rethinking the Role of Journalism, Marina Svensson, Elin Sæther, and Zhi’an ZhangPart I: Mapping Investigative Journalism: Voices and DemographicsChapter 2: Speaking for the Weak? Perspectives on Voice Relating to Investigative Journalism in China, Elin SætherChapter 3: The Identities and Demographics of Investigative Journalists in China: Findings from a survey, Fei Shen and Zhi’an ZhangPart II: Socialisation Processes: Values, Identities and StructuresChapter 4: Chinese Journalism Students: Balancing competing values, Laura DombernowskyChapter 5: Between Advocacy and Objectivity: New role models among investigative journalists, Hongyi BaiChapter 6: Gendering Investigative Journalism: Norms and practices inside and outside the newsroom, Marina Svensson and Haiyan WangPart III: Agency, Autonomy and Strategies: Relations to State, Society and Businesses Chapter 7: Chinese Investigative Journalists’ Coping Tactics in a Restrictive Media Environment, Maria RepnikovaChapter 8: Self-censorship in News Production: Findings from reports on the ‘toxic milk powder’ scandal, Zhi’an ZhangChapter 9: Reporting on Law and Justice: Investigative journalists and the legal system, Marina SvenssonPart IV: Geographical Scales and Variations: Place and Media CulturesChapter 10: The Development of Investigative Reporting and Journalistic Professionalism in Southern Weekend, Li-Fung ChoChapter 11: Local Investigative Journalism: Understanding the Background, Context and Trajectories of Investigative Journalism in Dahe Daily and Southern Metropolis Daily, Jingrong Tong

Investigative journalists form a very small but highly interesting subgroup amongst journalists in China. The study of this group can provide information not only about journalism but also about the limits and liberties which critical groups and networks have in an authoritarian state like China. Investigative journalists are therefore often mentioned when discussing journalism and critical debate in China, but so far it has been a challenge to find extensive and recent information on the size and individual variation within this group. The value of this edited volume is that it brings together a wealth of new, solid information on investigative journalists, mainly based on empirical work carried out by scholars both within and outside of China. . . .As indicated by the title, the book focuses on the values, experiences and ideas of investigative journalists themselves rather than on an analysis of their journalistic production. This does not only make the book a fascinating and entertaining read, it also leads to surprising insights in the tensions between what journalists want to achieve and what they can actually achieve in present-day China. . . .The book is clearly the work of people who are aware of the multilayered nature of Chinese society. It describes the complex interactions between journalists and the subjects of their investigation, their colleagues, their audiences, the media they work for, commercial entities and local, regional and national government bodies. Jingrong Tong, in her informative chapter on local investigative journalism, shows which regional and local conditions play a role in the flowering of investigative journalism in certain regions rather than others.