Assignment China : an oral history of American journalists in the People's Republic

Reporting on China has long been one of the most challenging and crucial of journalistic assignments. Foreign correspondents have confronted war, revolution, isolation, internal upheaval, and onerous government restrictions as well as barriers of language, culture, and politics. Nonetheless, American media coverage of China has profoundly influenced U.S. government policy and shaped public opinion not only domestically but also, given the clout and reach of U.S. news organizations, around the world. This book tells the story of how American journalists have covered China—from the civil war of the 1940s through the COVID-19 pandemic—in their own words. Mike Chinoy assembles a remarkable collection of personal accounts from eminent journalists, including Stanley Karnow, Seymour Topping, Barbara Walters, Dan Rather, Melinda Liu, Nicholas Kristof, Joseph Kahn, Evan Osnos, David Barboza, Amy Qin, and Megha Rajagopalan, among dozens of others. They share behind-the-scenes stories of reporting on historic moments such as Richard Nixon's groundbreaking visit in 1972, China's opening up to the outside world and its emergence as a global superpower, and the crackdowns in Tiananmen Square and Xinjiang. Journalists detail the challenges of covering a complex and secretive society and offer insight into eight decades of tumultuous political, economic, and social change. At a time of crisis in Sino-American relations, understanding the people who have covered China for the American media and how they have done so is crucial to understanding the news. Through the personal accounts of multiple generations of China correspondents, Assignment China provides that understanding. "In Assignment China, former CNN correspondent Mike Chinoy draws together a remarkable collection of personal accounts from some of America's most eminent journalists to describe the evolution of reporting on China. Seymour Topping, Stanley Karnow, Barbara Walters, Dan Rather, Nicholas Kristof, Evan Osnos and David Barboza, among dozens of others, describe what it was like to report on some of the most important events of the last 75 years. At turns amusing, revealing and shocking, we discover the extraordinary challenges faced by correspondents as they covered such historic moments as the Chinese civil war' Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution; Richard Nixon's groundbreaking visit in 1972; China's opening up to the outside world; the crackdown in Tiananmen Square; corruption at the highest levels of government; and the Covid pandemic - all set against the background of the country's extraordinary economic boom and steady march towards superpower status. Assignment China is an enthralling read for China-watchers and anyone else interested in how people around the world get their news about this major global power"-- Provided by publisher