Entries: Journalism

China: A Look Back

As the eldest student on the Destination China adventure, I didn’t anticipate the trip would have the significant impact on me that it did.  Sure, I expected to see and experience many things—new food, new culture, architecture, history.  I didn’t realize that I’d feel so differently about my perspective on China.  In fact to me, the bottom line of this adventure and course has been that most Americans don’t see China for what it really is—a growing, vibrant and historic country with interesting people and places that is definitely finding its way in the new world. 

I fear China is underappreciated.  Far too many Americans see it as backward, communist supressed-nation with a Great Wall and slow economy.  Indeed, there is a Great Wall and communist leaders still rule, but there is little evidence of that regime to a visitor.  The economy is definitely not slow and the people are not as backward or slow as many might think.  China may be considered a developing nation and economy, but it is finding its way quickly. 

Like most of us on the trip, we were anxious to return to Illinois to our families and friends and more familiar food and faces.  However, I think we’d also agree China has a great many stories to tell to the world.  During our two week visit, we saw just a tiny part of this gigantic, heavily populated country.  Parts of all of us wanted to stay in Shanghai and Beijing to explore the big cities more, to meet more people, to tell more stories. 

Three places I visited had a great impact on me:  The Bund in Shanghai and its magnificent view of the Pudong district; the Great Wall of course; and journalstically, the NBC News Bureau in Beijing.     

Busy producers and researchers at the NBC News bureau in Beijing, China

NBC News Beijing

Several of us toured the NBC News Beijing bureau on our last full day in China.  The bureau is located on the diplomatic compound in the heart of the city.  Eric Baculinao has been the bureau chief since the early 1980s. He oversees two producers, one correspondent and three or four researchers.  Correspondent Mark Mullen spent a good half hour with us, talking about covering China and the rest of Asia and a little bit about the News division plans for the 2008 Olympics.  Mullen told us the bureau feeds most stories back to the states via a broadband connection, not satellite.  Using a satellite requires use of the nearby CCTV facilities, which are state run.  Mullen produces pieces for the Today Show, NBC Nightly News, CNBC and MSNBC.  He said China recently approved press freedoms opening many previously closed doors for international journalists.  For example, foreign journalists previously had to seek permission or approval for some interviews and to travel within the country. 

UI students at NBC News bureau in Beijing. L-R, Sam Unger, Ted Land, NBC News correspondent Mark Mullen, John Paul, Tom Rogers of WILL-AM 580, Liz Murray and Bureau chief Eric Baculinao.

Interpreting China

One of the biggest keys to reporting from an international destination is understanding the language.  In China, that’s not easy.  Chinese is a complex language to speak and to read.  At our stops in Shanghai, and now in Beijing, we’ve been paired with a group of Chinese interpreters.  In Beijing, most of our interpreters are journalism students from Peking University.  We’ve also gotten help from nearby Tsinghua University.  They accompany us to many of our interviews, guide us in getting around town and even help direct taxi drivers to our destinations.  You might call ‘em lifesavers.  In Shanghai, we had interpreters from several places, but two of them were UIUC graduate students.  Jessie Chen, a Shanghai native, is a PhD student in educational psychology.  Zhu Chen is a UIUC graduate student in journalism and native of China. 

UIUC PhD student Jessie Chen, Shanghai native, with John Paul on The Bund

Teaching Journalism in China

We got a first hand look at journalism instruction at China’s best and most prestigious university, Tsinghua, Friday morning.  We attended Professor Li Xuguang’s class.  There were about 70 students, all second year college students, in this class, learning how to write.  The class is taught in Chinese and English.  The students started class critiquing stories from the New York Times and CCTV’s 7pm newscast.  Like many US college journalism classes, there were more women students.  Professor Li teaches journalism much like that taught in America.  Today he told them to be sure to prepare for interviews by doing as much research as possible, to avoid making up quotes and facts, to balance their stories and to be accurate without their opinion in the copy.  He assigned them to go to Beijing’s Hutong district, the oldest part of this capital city, to develop a story about the changing history of Beijing.  He wants them to build a story about Beijing’s heritage and changes.  The students will have to interview long time residents of Hutong.  This class ran slightly more than two hours.  The students get two ten minute breaks.  When Professor Li needs his students attention, or to get them to calm down, he rings a bell. 

Sophomore journalism students at China's Tsinghua University

UIUC graduate student John Paul with Tsinghua University journalism grad student Ling Yun. Tsinghua's Great Hall is in the background, designed to look like Foellinger Auditorium by a UIUC architecture graduate