Rethinking the Golden Age of Journalism and Liberal Media in China

China’s liberal media are often remembered through a familiar narrative: commercialization opened space for critical journalism, outspoken newspapers challenged political authority, and tightening state control brought their golden age to an end. This talk revisits that account, asking what it reveals and what it leaves unexplained.

Where did China’s liberal journalistic traditions come from? How did liberal media relate to the state’s reform agenda? And what, beyond political repression, helps explain their decline? Drawing on historical examples and research on Chinese newspapers, the talk explores the tensions between professional ideals, political commitments, and the material conditions of journalism. It concludes by considering what survives the golden age and what its legacies and limitations might tell us about the future of journalism in China.