This thesis is a study of the politics of Shanghai newspaper
journalism from 1912 to 1937, with particular emphasis on Shen Bao as a
case study. It is concerned only with commercial newspaper journalism,
as distinct from party political journalism. As such it proceeds from the
belief that newspapers like Shen Bao must first and foremost be understood
as commercial enterprises. It argues that economic, technical and
organizational constraints played an important part in shaping the
political character of newspaper journalism in Shanghai. It shows how, in
adapting to the peculiar economic and political environment of the
Shanghai International Settlement, newspapers faced the contradictory
pressures of a dependecy on foreign resources on the one hand, and the
demands of rising anti-imperialist nationalism on the other. Until the late
1920s, a big commercial newspaper like Shen Bao was inclined to take
whichever course it judged to be the least damaging to its survival as a
viable business, even if this sometimes contradicted the weight of
nationalistic public opinion.. This situation changed dramatically_ with the
rise of Japanese militarism in China, beginning with the invasion of
Manchuria in September 1931. Shen Bao and its proprietor, Shi Liangcai,
became Shanghai's most prominent voices in the anti-Japanese movement
and, thereafter, outspoken critics of the the Nationalist government's
response to the crisis. This eventually led to Shi Liangcai's assassination,
at the hands of government agents in November 1934.
The thesis is divided into two parts. The first part deals with various
constituent elements which helped to shape the development of Shanghai
newspaper journalism in general. It examines the historical background,
newspaper readership, patterns of ownership, economic and technical aspects of the industry, and the attempts by journalist to develop a
profession against the background of the rise of commercial newspapers.
The second part is a case study of the rise of Shen Bao and Shi Liangcai. It
is a political history, focusing on the paper's expression of political
opinion and its response to the major political events of the day, such as
the May Fourth and May Thirtieth movements, the rise of the Nationalists
to power and the rise of Japanese militarism in China. This study hopes not
only to shed some light on the politics of Shanghai newspaper journalism,
but also to contribute to a broader understanding of Chinese politics of the
period
