Zen and the art of Chinese journalism

I haven't written much yet about the whole reason I'm here, working for the Shanghai Daily newspaper. Partly that's because I had an unexpected week of holidays immediately after I arrived, but also because I'm still trying to figure out how to do my job here and what the paper expects of me.

I haven't at all fallen on my feet here work-wise, yet I haven't had much culture shock in general, which is the opposite of what I had expected. I thought reporting here would be easy, so I didn't arrange any interviews in Shanghai from New Zealand, which I now regret. The paper has a very hands-off approach to its interns, the only direction I've been given is "connect with the expat community". I've had quite a few meetings with some interesting and influential New Zealanders here, but nothing leading to interviews or stories yet.

The Shanghai Daily features section. Just like a New Zealand newsroom - or is it?

A rare un-smoggy view from the 38th floor, usually a land of eternal grey weather even if it's sunny on the ground.

So up until the last couple days, I'd had to learn about Chinese journalism from the outside, from clues. For example, the staff on the paper is absolutely massive - I'd estimate 40 reporters plus 20 editors - but the actual paper is about the size of the Wellingtonian but without many ads (30 pages?) and I'd say about half the content is from news agencies. I had read a lot before I arrived about journalists here not meeting people for interviews face-to-face, surfing the web a lot, conducting interviews on MSN and turning around press releases. It's hard to judge whether the journalists in my section are busy or not, or whether they're going out for jobs a lot - everyone seems to have a different work timetable.

But an observation about workers in general here - despite its 1.4 billion-strong population, I've heard China has almost full employment. Which explains why there are so many people doing the most ridiculous jobs here. I've seen countless security guards asleep in chairs on the footpath. In fact, I've seen a lot of receptionists, and even journalists at my paper, asleep at their desks. I've seen people employed to make sure you're standing on the footpath before crossing the road. The boredom is immense, which must be really hard for people to take after spending their childhood intensely striving for good marks at school.

Anyway, over the last two days I was sent to a nearby city, Hangzhou, for a reporting job, so I've got a bit more insight into how journalism works here, but I wouldn't say I'm less baffled. Seven international writers have been invited to Shanghai for a two-month residency programme, and this week they were sent on a short trip to the lake city of Hangzhou, to experience a more calm and picturesque version of China.

Hangzhou is very beautiful, sitting on the edge of the legendary West Lake and with lots of European-style architecture.

Naturally, it's a top spot for wedding photoshoots (more insight into Chinese weddings here).

The Shanghai Daily was a major sponsor of the trip, but I'm not sure that justified sending about 15 staff to Hangzhou and putting them up at a really nice hotel. There were about six of us journalists there, and at least as many marketing staff. At the main event of the trip, a short seminar between the residency writers and some Hangzhou writers, there were no less than 35 media staff covering what would be an extremely minor news event in New Zealand.

However, none of the journalists was taking notes, and only the TV crews were recording what was said onstage. In fact, a lot of the journalists were chatting or darting in and out during the seminar. The Shanghai Daily's report mostly relied on written translations of the writers' speeches, supplied at the event. This is not to disparage my colleague Minji's work - she's one of the most intelligent Chinese people I've met, she was educated at Wellesley in Boston (where Mona Lisa Smile was set!), but it's obviously the way they report news here.

The rest of the trip was just as interesting. As well as being assigned to get some quotes from the writers (yay for doing some real work), we were treated alongside the writers to banquets (I ate eel and duck tongue!) and a pretty spectacular night-time song and dance show on the lake.

We also went on a two-hour boat tour of West Lake, supposed to be the most beautiful in China:

Shanghai magazine journalist Estelle, my colleague Sophy, and French novelist Alma

 Aussie writer Linda

 

 

It was really interesting being in the Chinese media contingent, but being a Westerner - the writers were unsure what they were supposed to be doing in Hangzhou, and just waited for orders about where to go next, which coach bus to board for a 150 metre trip down the road - and I could report that the journalists were just as baffled.

So basically, Hangzhou was a crash-course in the art of going with the flow and doing as you're told as a Chinese journalist. Today I'm being sent as a VIP to the Shanghai tennis masters quarterfinals - no reporting necessarily required, I've been told, just attend the banquets, sit in the corporate box and enjoy myself. Zen. Zen.