Cody described the learnings of journalism students at Tsinghua University, at a lecture by guest professor, Tibet specialist and government consultant Zhou Xiaoming.

“Journalism students at Tsinghua are taught not only about Watergate and the rise of the Internet, but also about the restricted role reporters are expected to play under a Marxist government such as China's,” wrote Cody.

Journalism in Marxist China has been traditionally used to voice government propaganda, but in the last decades many journalism students have been trying to develop their investigative reporting skills.

So in 2001, the party’s Central Committee urged journalism schools and media to adopt the concept of “Marxist journalism,” which essentially means taking into account the reality of censorship and governmental control.

Interestingly, student feedback about such an approach is mixed. First-year graduate student Li Ming acknowledged that “this class must exert a gradual and imperceptible influence on students. Marxist theory will be reflected in the cases we discuss, so I will unconsciously follow the Marxist approach this class is trying to teach when I cover stories in the future."

Another first-year graduate student, Xu Shujian, defended the concept because he will be more likely to get a job in Chinese mainstream media if he knows these Marxist approaches.

The ambiguity of this didactic approach is best summed up by an academic, when he said that “most professors urge their students to deal with the censors and try to push the envelope rather than revolt against the whole censorship system,” wrote Cody.

In light of these conditions, journalists and student journalist working in editorially independent settings can momentarily set aside financial troubles to relinquish their unique privilege.

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Source: Washington Post