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Yiwen Zhang's Thesis NOV-02-2016.pdf (1.28 MB)

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OUT OF GOODWILL TO PROTECT OTHERS: WHY CHINESE JOURNALISTS EMBRACE SELF-CENSORSHIP?

Zhang, Yiwen
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1479341186472314

Abstract Details

2016, MA, Kent State University, College of Communication and Information / School of Communication Studies.
The censorship system has been criticized as a distinct symbol of dictatorship for a very long time (Goldstein, 2009). The news media is getting more aggressive about challenging and fighting against censorship and striving for freedom of expression in China or all over the world (Tedford&Herbeck, 2009). Ironically, instead of challenging the “unspoken” rules of censorship, Chinese journalists may sometimes engage in self-censorship, which is actually assisting the system of official censorship. Why do Chinese journalists accept censorship? Censors have defended their actions as the protection to against negative information entering the public domain (Rojas, Shah, & Faber, 1996). Here, a contradiction in the censorship issue is presented in Chinese media environment.News media oppose censorship as a blockade to their informationcollection and distribution, but they may also install a self-censorship protocol to filter, order and maintain the “safety” of the information flow because they believe that negative information is a catalyst of social instability. To further understand this contradiction, my paper aims to clarify the motivations forChinese journalists to accept self-censorship. I adopt third person effect as the theoretical framework to study self-censorship in Chinese context. The purpose of this study is to provide a different way of looking at the relationship between the third person effect and censorship behavior to understand how the Chinese journalists’individual characteristics and environmental factors will directly affect their self-censoring behaviors or indirectly through the perceptual bias.
Mei-Chen Lin, PhD (Committee Chair)
Paul Haridakis, PhD (Committee Member)
Jennifer McCullough, PhD (Committee Member)
120 p.
Communication
Chines journalists, third-person effect, self-censorship

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Zhang, Y. (2016). OUT OF GOODWILL TO PROTECT OTHERS: WHY CHINESE JOURNALISTS EMBRACE SELF-CENSORSHIP? [Master's thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1479341186472314

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Zhang, Yiwen. OUT OF GOODWILL TO PROTECT OTHERS: WHY CHINESE JOURNALISTS EMBRACE SELF-CENSORSHIP? 2016. Kent State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1479341186472314.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Zhang, Yiwen. "OUT OF GOODWILL TO PROTECT OTHERS: WHY CHINESE JOURNALISTS EMBRACE SELF-CENSORSHIP?" Master's thesis, Kent State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1479341186472314

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2016, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.