Het rode boekje voor persvrijheid

This research examines the working environment of correspondents in China’s authoritarian media system. It focuses on practicing journalism by western journalism standards with regards to the accessibility of sources and the possibility of transparency in news reporting. The research draws up on Joris Luyendijk’s conclusion that practicing journalism according to western journalistic standards under dictatorial circumstances is an impossible task to fulfill. This study aims to test this idea in a new context, other than the one of Luyendijk: China. This research takes the experience of 14 Western correspondents working in Beijing and Shanghai as a case study. Through qualitative interviews more insight is gathered into the restrictive circumstances correspondents in China have to work under. Secondly, it examines their strategies to cope with these restrictions while working in an authoritarian, non-press free state.