Shifting Journalistic Paradigms

This study examines shifting journalisticparadigms in a transitional society. Analyzing data from surveys of journalists and journalism students in the People’s Republicof China, the authors find that professional journalism has emerged as a direct competitor to the party-journalism paradigm. Although the former is manifested in journalists’ positive appraisal of professional news media, the latter is embodied in praising the official party organs. The professional perspective is associated with emphasis on the disseminator role of the media and the desire for more liberal arts training in journalism, whereas the party-journalism paradigm is related to the emphasis on the interpretive and popular advocacy roles and the desire for more training in communist propaganda. The two journalistic paradigms are also reflected in differences in evaluating various innovative media outlets in the reforms. The implications of the findings for studies on the articulation of professionalism and other journalism paradigms are discussed.