Investigative journalism and political power in China: Five newspapers' reporting of the Chenzhou Mass Corruption Case, February 2004–November 2008

It has long been held in the West that investigative journalism presents itself as an adversary to officialdom, exposing problems in the public domain and demanding a response from public officials. However, since much of the literature is based on experiences in the US and the UK, the way in which Chinese investigative journalists interact with politicians is not represented sufficiently.This report begins by asking whether or not investigative journalism in China takes the same adversarial position towards officialdom as do its Western counterparts and, if not, what the relationship looks like. Through a case study of the reporting of a massive official corruption case, the working paper concludes that Chinese investigative journalism operates in a patron–client framework and that it reinforces this relationship by transmitting the voice of the political powerfully and forming a favourable image of them in exchange for political protection, economic profit and individual gain.