The Business of China

By Reynolds Center Staff
March 23, 2008 08:00 PM

As China struggles with issues such as pollution, human rights and freedom of speech on the global stage, its booming economy provides a powerful backdrop.

When Andrew Leckey, Reynolds Center director, recently visited Beijing to lecture on business journalism, the economy was a hot topic.

"I was asked by everyone how bad a U.S. recession might get and whether our credit problems might wind up in China," said Leckey. "Those who have become wealthy there seemed confident their own real estate and business booms will continue, but investors who have seen their Chinese stocks slip this year are getting concerned."

An early morning stroll through Beijing requires stepping into a hazy, polluted cloud, which will be remedied somewhat by closed factories and alternating-day traffic during the Olympic Games. As protests over Tibet, Darfur and other serious issues such as press freedom grow ever louder, the country will be running its big show amid a sea of bloggers, reporters and telephones with digital cameras.

Beijing is a high-powered city of 14 million people, constant new construction, booming factories, sophisticated shopping malls and long avenues of new cars. For such an old city, it has come far in a short time.

"I was impressed by the sincere interest in business journalism among China's young people and especially in understanding the ways that money is accumulated," said Leckey. "Business journalism is also viewed as a clearer, less-political path to success than other forms of reporting there."

Leckey lectured at Tsinghua University in Beijing, which offers a master's degree in business journalism, and at Communication University of China, which has produced many of the nation's broadcast anchors and reporters.

China is attempting to balance its newfound world economic power with an evolving and much-criticized political system with ties to its past. The global opportunities of business journalism require thorough understanding of all aspects of world markets. That is why the Reynolds Center strongly supports university business journalism education in how the world's financial systems work.

Leckey also spoke with Chinese government officials, who attended the lectures, about Olympic Game news coverage.

"My main point was that it will simply be impossible to control coverage and the more freedom they allow, painful as it may be, the better," said Leckey. "When physical events erupt, the keys are restraint and compassion, since the cameras will quickly capture retaliation and relay that image to the entire world."

Of course, remedying the underlying problems themselves would be the most convincing step.

The trip to Beijing included Dan Gillmor, director of the Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship, and Dr. Xu Wu, an assistant professor who arranged the itinerary. Like Leckey, both are within the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University.

Photos:
1. The infamous smog and traffic of Beijing have prompted the government to close certain factories during the Olympic Games and alternate the driving days for residents. On his recent visit to Beijing, Reynolds Center Director Andrew Leckey found both the global economy and concern about the Olympic Games to be prevalent discussion topics.

2. Tiananmen Square, known worldwide for its history of protest, could again gain visibility during the Olympic Games in Beijing.

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Copyright © 2008 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism