What Shapes Literary Journalism in China?

Yan, Kang (2024) What Shapes Literary Journalism in China? Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

PDF Restricted to Repository staff only until 31 July 2027. Request a copy

Abstract

As more journalists deploy literary techniques like immersion and first-person in their professional practices, scholars have identified an increasing popularity of literary journalism over the past decade. Literary journalism, also known as nonfiction writing and narrative journalism, has been heralded as a significant news genre in the Western context. It can help journalists better reveal social issues from individuals` perspectives. In China, literary journalism emerged as a political tool in the 1890s. In the mid-1990s, by deploying literary techniques, many Chinese journalists focused on social issues and the existential situation of the marginalised, like the LGBT community. The rise of digital platforms has also fuelled this renaissance in Chinese literary journalism through online nonfiction writing. However, the existing literature pays more attention to literary journalism in the Western and democratic contexts. Among those scholars who have begun to explore Chinese literary journalism, the focus remains primarily on description rather than providing a sociological examination of the genre`s production and practitioners. To address this gap, this research investigates how literary journalism is produced in Chinese contexts. By closely examining literary journalism in three Chinese newsrooms, Southern Weekly, Southern People Weekly, and ZMCONNECT, the results show the genre is practised differently in distinct kinds of Chinese media outlets.

The empirical data was gathered by participant observations in the three newsrooms and semi-interviews with 22 literary journalists there. The fieldwork in the three Chinese newsrooms lasted around four months, between November 1st, 2021, and May 31st, 2022. By applying Bourdieu`s field theory and boundary work as theoretical frameworks, this research indicates that these three newsrooms practised their literary journalism from different field positions. In summary, the findings reveal literary journalism in Southern Weekly is a subfield of restricted journalism within the broader field of journalism. I define Southern Weekly`s literary journalists as genre innovators. By comparison, by using both literary techniques and norms, I call literary journalists in Southern People Weekly collaborative field visitors. Their practices take place in a leaked subfield within the broader journalistic field. In ZMCONNECT, it is somewhat surprising that literary journalism is produced via a network of expertise. I define literary journalists in ZMCONNECT as assemblers of the expertise network of nonfiction writing. Moreover, as it is produced in the spaces between multiple fields, ZMCONNECT`s literary journalism may evolve as either a field-in-the-making or an under-regulated space of opportunity. These findings can not only contribute to a better understanding of Chinese literary journalism but also provide novel insights into Bourdieu`s field theory.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Global Development (formerly School of International Development)
Depositing User:	Kitty Laine
Date Deposited:	12 Nov 2024 15:07
Last Modified:	12 Nov 2024 15:07
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/97657
DOI:

Actions (login required)

View Item