Journalism, Activism and Counter-public Sphere in China: A Case Study of a Contentious Journalist Community in Guangzhou

It is often argued that China does not have a public sphere. The reality of public discussion and public discourse in China is very far away from the Habermasian ideal. However, as an intermediate realm between the state and the private, the manefestation of the public sphere has many variations in different societies across different historical moments. Like everywhere else, various forms of public sphere exist and have existed in China, now and in history. Especially, in 21st century China with the state gradually losing control over society, a counter-public sphere is being formed around many facets of social life, including the often-studied enviromentalism, feminism and AIDS activism, as well as the relatively less-studied journalism. The most recent decade has seen the rise of what may be described as "contentious journalists" as a prominent social group in the Chinese media and political scene, while radical and alternative forms of journalism have become a major ground for educating counter-publics and mobilizing political contention. This thesis is a concrete case study analyzing how a journalism-cum-activism counterpublic sphere is formed in contemporary China within the fissures of state control. Specifically, it looks at the formation of a counter-public sphere based in a community of contentious journalists in Guangzhou. It argues that thirty years of media reform have significantly changed the traditional relationship between the Chinese media and the state, and subsequently led to the rise of such contentious journalists. To the extent that mainstream media often serve as principal institutions of the official public sphere, the political significance of the rise of contentious journalists in contemporary Chinese society is that they facilite the formation of a counter-public sphere. Drawing on ethnographic observations, in-depth interviews and intensive archival research, this thesis analyzes the ways in which contentious journalists facilitate the formation of the counter-public sphere. It argues that the role of such journalists is manifested in three spontaneous processes: production of contentious space, production of contentious publics, and production of contentious community. Meanwhile, the contentious journalists bring the counter-public sphere into dialogue with the state power and the mainstream media through production and dissemination of contentious journalism outputs and organization of contentious actions. In such processes, contentious journalists become a mojor force in the democratization of Chinese society.