Citizen Journalism IN THE Global News Arena : China ’ s New Media Critics

greater transparency. Powerful pressure is being exerted on journalism itself, they observe, which must now serve multiple global audiences, many of whom are equipped with sufficient information from alternative media to challenge mainstream news reports. Professionals have been placed in dialogue with citizens, the latter with their own forms of expression distributed easily through online platforms. Traditional forms of news reporting, when subjected to such scrutiny and critique, risk appearing problematic. A particularly compelling example of this practice of journalistic critique is found in China, where in spite of remarkable strides in economic and social development, the likelihood of greater transparency has been brought into question. A highly developed communication structure provides ever-growing capacity for citizen journalism and public deliberation but provokes government attempts at control. The number of Chinese internet users now surpasses that of the United States, but centrally guided human monitoring and computerized filtering continue, leading to direct and self-censorship. Official management of the online environment does not mean, however, that significant openings within the society have not taken place, but they must be understood in the right framework. Here we want to consider this deliberative space with particular interest in the forum it provides for media criticism by citizen journalists. Indeed, we may go so far as to Citizen Journalism IN THE Global News Arena: China’s New Media Critics