Adaptation to authoritarianism: a case study of China Dialogue, a non-profit newsroom dedicated to environmental journalism in China

This thesis examines to what extent China Dialogue as a non-profit newsroom can exert public service journalism under China’s intensifying authoritarianism. Prior scholarship indicates the potential of non-profit journalism to push the boundary of mainstream news reporting due to their pledge to public service. Yet, whether this argument is valid remains a question under China’s authoritarianism with limited press freedom. Through examining China Dialogue‘s adaptation to China between 2006 and 2021, this case study finds that, on the one hand, the non-profit newsroom has weakened its criticism on China’s environmental issues. This is largely resulted from the increasing political control and necessary to ensure China Dialogue’s survival in China. On the other hand, adaptation creates opportunities for divergent discursive construction. Comparative news analysis between China Dialogue and Chinese mainstream journalism reveals the presence of distinctive environmental discourses from China Dialogue. Particularly on climate change issues, while mainstream media are required to follow the official line, China Dialogue carves out a space for questioning China’s climate performance. The analysis further highlights that China Dialogue’s discursive practises are manifested with strong characteristics of constructive criticism, which could make the opposing discourses more acceptable for the arbitrary political power and thus increase the likelihood of circumventing the omnipresent censorship. In conclusion, this thesis contends that non-profit journalism occupies a vital role within Chinese environmental journalism. Its public service role cannot be fulfilled by the mainstream media, but it is also fragile with China’s shrinking civil society that allows diminishing room for critical voices.