Making Chinese Journalists for the Next Millennium

Abstract

The study is based on a national survey of 1052 Chinese journalism students conducted in late 1996. It aims to develop a detailed profile of Chinese journalism students and to examine their professional socialization process in becoming the next generation of journalists in China. It also compares the professional values and attitudes of these students with those of practicing journalists in China. We find that, overall, Chinese students' college experiences play a more important role than their demographic characteristics in their professionalization, but the values that students bring to college interact with their socialization there to produce their professional values. Evidence from this survey shows some positive signs in Chinese students' perceptions of professional roles, but there are also some questionable trends in their professionalization. The article discusses some of these problems and their possible causes. It also provides some suggestions for future research on journalistic education in China.