Reporting for China

A fascinating book. The extensive interviews reveal an important aspect of Chinese society... There is no comparable book on the market. -- Anne-Marie Brady, author of Marketing Dictatorship: Propaganda and Thought Work in Contemporary China I know of no other work that so fully discusses the expansion of Chinese media into reporting on foreign affairs of the world. Nyiri is in an excellent position to take on this intricate topic, with a wide overview of the specific media field in question, as well as of relevant issues of general interest. -- Ulf Hannerz, author of Foreign News: Exploring the World of Foreign Correspondents China's mammoth state propaganda machine has long been preoccupied with framing the 'worldview' of its nationals, to reinforce the legitimacy of the Communist Party's rule. But the propaganda process has remained a mystery to most. Nyiri's nuanced anthropological study of Chinese foreign correspondents provides a rare in-depth look into the fuzzy engineering of the Chinese mind and is therefore crucial to a true understanding of a China on the way to become a global superpower. -- Chan Koonchung, author of The Fat Years and The Unbearable Dreamworld of Champa the Driver

While Western media are shrinking their foreign correspondent networks, Chinese media, for the first time in history, are rapidly expanding worldwide. The Chinese government is financing most of this growth, hoping to strengthen its influence and improve its public image. But do these reporters willingly serve formulated agendas or do they follow their own interests? And are they changing Chinese citizens’ views of the world?

Based on interviews and informal conversations with over seventy current and former correspondents, Reporting for China documents a diverse group of professionals who hold political views from nationalist to liberal, but are constrained in their ability to report on the world by China’s media control, audience tastes, and the declining market for traditional media.