INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM 2
Investigative Journalism
Investigative journalism in China is a carefully crafted art liked by most but prohibited by
the government. The one-party government practices totalitarian approach where the state
controls content broadcasted or shared in the media. Nonetheless, the Chinese population is
adept to investigative journalism since the community has an affinity for accurate reporting that
illustrates the challenges that the people undergo. Due to the passion in the audience, the
journalists have to utilize their craft to ensure they deliver desired product to their stakeholders.
Unlike other countries in the developed world, where the media publishes investigative reports
each week, the situation is different in China (De Burgh, 2015). Despite the stern conditions,
they had heroes that provided a lee-way for other journalists including; Shao Piaoping and Liu
Binyan. However, as the conditions toughened, they had to seek alternative means of
challenging the authority and unveiling the truth that did not lead to their prosecution. As a
result, they opted to utilize literature to reveal their discoveries concerning various issues that
challenges the state and provided the people with the information they could not access. The
development of the internet and social websites serve as a platform to facilitate the freedom of
the media (Tyler, 1997). They utilize blogging and other social platforms to challenge the
government on their controversial policies and issues. The utilization of the China Youth daily to
reveal the cover-up in the explosion incident in Shangxi province of a gold mine at Shahe
necessitated courage.
The daring illustrates the strict policies that the government has put in place. The states
serve as oversight to the media to control the publications. For instance, each of the China Youth
Daily correspondents in the various provinces of the country is under the government officials.
Nonetheless, they have their following both in the country and overseas (Tyler, 1997). The state
of investigative journalism in the country has survives various changes in regime. For instance,
during the establishment of the cultural reforms, the state banned investigative journalism.
However, in the period of the media reforms, the journalists reintroduced the technique.
However, during the dangerous explosion incident the investigative journalism was not
permissible. Moreover, the restrictions did not discourage the journalists from conducting their
investigations discreetly to unveil the truth. In the end, they found the missing pieces of
information and published in their columns (De Burgh, 2015). Conversely, they had to utilize
discrete techniques including inquisitive interviews, secret filming, and precise reporting to
ensure they attained the appropriate information. On the other hand, the globalization and social
networking websites contributed to the escalation of pressure on the government. As a result, it
has o adjust their policies to accommodate the mainstream media transformation to ascertain
their position in the international community. Moreover, the pressure from the population leads
to the shift in the management of the activities and order of the administration.
The reporting of the dangerous explosion incident in 2002 reveals that investigative
journalism is not permissible in China but the journalists had to utilize a different means to fulfill
their objectives. On the other hand, it revealed the eagerness that the local population posits
regarding information that challenges the authority of the government.
