Professional Aspirations and Job Satisfaction: Chinese Journalists at a Time of Change in the Media

Abstract

This study examines how Shanghai journalists' professional aspirations are related to their job satisfaction in times of social change. Similar to their counterparts in the West, Shanghai journalists derive satisfaction from job autonomy. However, those who prefer party media as ideal news outlets demonstrate higher levels of job satisfaction. The reverse is not true for those embracing Western professional media as ideals, job satisfaction is also positively associated with the journalists' emphasis on the interpretive role of the media, a belief rooted in Chinese party-press ideology. Stronger positive valuation of professional media relative to that of the party media strengthens the positive relationship between job autonomy and job satisfaction. Implications of the findings are discussed in the understanding of media changes in China and journalistic professionalism in general.