Online Censorship and Journalists' Tactics

A Chinese perspective

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12909486
AutoresDi Xu (0000-0001-5464-9858, Moscow State University of Technologies and Management named after K.G. Razumovskiy, autor de correspondencia)
Año2014
Volumen9
Número5
Páginas704-720
Fecha de publicación2014-11-27
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournalism Practice (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1751-2786 • E-ISSN: 1751-2794
EditorialTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17512786.2014.982968
OpenAlexW1922680099
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas13
Referencias citadas14

This paper explores the dynamics between journalistic practices and the mechanisms of internet control in the Chinese context. Principally drawing on interviews and focus group discussions with journalists, this paper investigates in detail the key tactics employed by journalists to counter online censorship, which include: journalists working undercover; the use of “transformed words” or alternatives to “sensitive” words to evade blocking filters; and de-verification on microblogs (Weibo in Chinese) where critical alternative accounts on social media oblige officials to recant earlier versions of events reported on traditional media. Informed by Scott's research, this paper argues that journalists employ these strategies as weapons against the party-state's censorship. Such strategies avoid direct confrontation with the authorities, and are conducted on a “quiet” but substantial scale. Consequently, it is not easy to apply sanctions against particular individuals. The strategies have a profound impact on the dynamics of the relationships between journalists and the powerful party-state. On the one hand, the strategies can empower journalists with psychological gains. On the other, these strategies weaken the party-state's authority. But such strategies are not new and can also be found in traditional journalistic practices. However, one phenomenon worthy of note is the association between journalists and scholars facilitated by microblogs, since increased associations among various professional groups may spark resistance to the party-state's information monopoly

Censorship · Context (archaeology · Internet privacy · Microblogging · Monopoly · Political science · Public relations · Sanctions · Social media · Sociology · State (computer science · The Internet · World Wide Web · China's Ethnic Minorities and Relations · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Computer Science · Hong Kong and Taiwan Politics · Law