Economic woes hurt Chinese journalists as much as censorship does

SOME DAUNTING obstacles must be overcome to study journalism at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), home to the region’s best college for reporters. Applicants must speak good English, find annual tuition fees of over $25,000 and—to secure places on courses that are oversubscribed each year—persuade HKU professors that their interest in journalism is heartfelt. A surprising number of mainland Chinese youngsters, who represent about 60% of students on the master’s programme for journalism, then face a further obstacle: telephone calls from parents, begging them to shun careers in news lest they doom their whole family.