English Journalism in Shantou

…As in English-language, not England. Thanks to the Li Ka Shing foundation, Shantou University has engaged in a great deal of reform in the last few years. One of the schools that has changed a lot is the one I work for, the Cheung Kong journalism school.

Last spring, we were lucky enough to get Peter Arnett, the Pulitzer Prize winner and former CCN correspondent, for a semester. But Peter became intrigued with China, and is staying on, at least through the end of this year.

In addition to working with great colleagues, I’ve been quite impressed with my students’ abilities at writing and reporting in English. It’s a tough and frustrating process for them, but some of the results are pretty interesting.

A student of mine from Chaozhou recently wrote about her experience interning for the Guangzhou Daily’s Shantou branch office. I had planned on posting her article here, but it touched on “sensitive” issues, so I’ve posted it on my blog, here. Blogspot is blocked in China, so you’ll need a proxy if you’re in country.

There are also some really good stories on the Shantou J-school English website. Two of my favorites are “Crossing the Bay” and “Tourism Will Save Us.”