Chinese Journalism Students Look to Refocus University Newspapers

For journalism students in China, fighting to get their voice heard in their own college newspapers can be a problem.

“[We’re working on] directing [our] purpose toward students,” Katherine Wei, a member of the Renmin University of China newspaper, said through a translator. “[We]’re still fighting for that purpose, to make it more student directed … more student focused instead of government [directed].”

Displaying an old copy of the paper, Wei exemplified the issue by pointing at a page covering news from the communist party. Another page focused on campus construction and its negative impact on students, which the editor felt helped balance out the impact of the government-directed news.