Why Study Journalism in China?

As China places new restrictions on “critical” media coverage, Lu-Hai Liang and Dou Yiping explore what motivates China’s young journalism students in the face of uncertain career prospects, widespread sexism, and political interference. From The Los Angeles Review of Books:

“I think the Marxist view on is right,” says Wang Zihao, a 22-year-old major at Beijing’s Communications University of China. “Sometimes what the [Western] journalists do is just outrageous. They should have more professional ethics.”

[…] “No matter what is happening in the real world, most of the lecturers simply teach by the book,” says Adam Wu, who graduated in 2013 and now works as a news assistant for a British newspaper. “And even for those who are motivated, they mind their own steps and teaching methods, trying to avoid crossing the line. How can journalism thrive in a country where journalism were told not to talk about sensitive topics on campus?” [Source]