JOURNALISTIC PROFESSIONALISM IN CHINA: DILEMMAS AND SOLUTIONS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55197/qjssh.v7i3.973Keywords:
journalistic professionalism, professional dilemmas, news values erosion, audience participation, China journalismAbstract
Digital transformation has fundamentally reshaped journalistic professionalism in China, challenging the authority and normative functions of mainstream media. This study investigates the dilemmas faced by journalists in four major news organisations, namely People’s Daily, The Paper, The Beijing News, and Polar News within a rapidly evolving media ecosystem characterised by technological disruption, platform-driven communication, and increased audience participation. This study employed in-depth interviews with 16 purposively selected journalists to examine shifts in normative ideology, cognitive orientation, professional practices, and narrative performance. The findings reveal three central challenges, the erosion of core news values such as authenticity, truthfulness, and objectivity; professional dilemmas arising from political constraints, market pressures, declining institutional autonomy; and identity uncertainty and growing difficulties in agenda-setting due to platform algorithms and weakening public trust. The study identifies four strategic pathways to strengthen professionalism, which is organisational reinforcement of normative values, continuous capacity development, enhanced verification and expertise-based reporting, and renewed emphasis on public responsibility through transparency and empathetic communication. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of how Chinese mainstream media navigate structural pressures while reconfiguring journalistic professionalism in the digital era.
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