Abstract
This paper takes news values as the analytical point of entry to understand the working of Chinese press in the wake of its marketization reform. The reform has resulted Chinese newspapers in facing an increasingly tightening tension between the political power of the government and economic forces of the market. Drawing on four different but complementary datasets – news policy documents, media editorial meetings, interviews with Chinese journalism practitioners and a newly constructed corpus of Chinese news reporting, this study found that maneuvering news values concerning different news actors and events constituted a distinctive way for Chinese journalism practitioners to circumvent the dilemma. To please leaders, the news values of Eliteness and Positivity were foregrounded, while to please readers, the news values of Personalization and Negativity were highlighted. The findings are important for understanding Chinese journalists’ mindsets to accommodate structural changes of Chinese press in journalistic practices.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
