In search of the missing newsmen

Opinion / Liang Hongfu

In search of the missing newsmen

By Hong Liang (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-07-24 06:57

It suddenly dawned on me when I came to work this morning that there are
many more women reporters than men in our Shanghai newsroom. That, of
course, isn't a problem for me. But I keep wondering if this profession,
which was dominated by men not too long ago, has somehow lost its
attraction to the male members of Chinese societies on the mainland and
in Hong Kong.

I have searched in vain for statistics on the Internet to support my
notion. Perhaps the issue is considered too trivial for the research
companies. But as a practicing journalist and, like millions of others,
an avid reader of newspapers and magazines, I am curious to find out if
this widening gender gap points to any hidden development in the
profession which has been thrown into confusion by the Internet.

Let's examine the phenomenon. A couple of years ago, I was invited to
give a talk to a journalism class at Shanghai International Studies
University. There were about 30 students in the class. Only two of them
were men.

Every summer, our Shanghai office takes in a dozen or so interns, at
different times, from journalism schools at various universities in the
city. This year, only one man came. He spent less than two weeks with us
before losing interest and leaving.

Some time ago in Hong Kong, I had the opportunity to talk to a small
group of journalism teachers on a wide range of topics. On the question
of why was the journalistic profession losing its appeal to male
students, members of the group produced a number of interesting
hypotheses.

One pointed to the low pay and long working hours as the reasons that
have turned so many men away from seeking a career in newspapers and
magazines. But poor working conditions are nothing new to the profession.

Who among us have not fantasized every now and then about being a war
correspondent, filing stories on wireless phone from the trenches?
Certainly, hardship could not have been a factor that deters men from
joining the journalistic brotherhood.

Another teacher in the group postulated that because the bar of entry to
journalism has been raised, most men with university degrees can find
higher paying jobs in other professions. But that goes for women too.
People with good educational background and strong communication skills
are always in demand in the job market. We still don't understand why
there are so many more women than men wanting to become reporters and
writers.

Exasperated, I posed the question to a newly recruited reporter in the
Shanghai office. She gave up a high paying job in a multinational company
to come to work for us. She should be in a better position than anyone
else to help me solve the gender gap riddle. Her answer was short and
straightforward. "I like writing, and I feel I get a lot more self
satisfaction from my work as a reporter," she said. I believed her. But
it still has not shed much light on the issue in hand because I am sure
that the passion for writing is shared by as many men as women.

I remember a column I read sometime ago written by a woman editor
lamenting that men still dominate the top echelons of many news
organizations. This, too, might be changing. The chief editor of one of
the most respected business journals on the mainland is a woman.

Maybe there is really nothing to the gender gap in journalism. All we
hope is that our fellow men don't get the wrong impression about the
future of the profession at a time when it is facing unprecedented
challenges from the many freewheeling bloggers dispensing "pseudo" news
on the Internet.

And we must pay tribute to the many young women, dedicated to their
ideals, for keeping the beacon of journalism alight in the darkest hours
of the profession.

E-mail: jamesleung@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/24/2007 page10)

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