Richard Burger on being a foreign editor at the Global Times

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Richard Burger

Richard Burger is author of the China blog The Peking Duck, which has been publishing since 2002. The Peking Duck’s posts on hot-button issues generate energetic comment threads from all sides of the political spectrum, and the site used to be a target of nationalist Chinese blogger trolls who criticized Burger for his views on China, which were often critical of the government. Burger recently became an editor at the newly launched English edition of the Global Times, a Chinese newspaper that has a reputation for leftist, nationalist content.

The government recently announced that it was going to put in millions of yuan to give Chinese media an “English voice”; the English Global Times has been just one example of this drive.

Below Burger answers questions about the foreign editor’s role, what his daily routine is, the openness of the Global Times and their latest center spread. See also Danwei’s earlier posts, Promoting the English-language Global Times, Journalism at the Global Times and Ai Weiwei stays in the news.


Danwei: When did you start your job as editor at the Global Times, and what spurred you to take the job?

Richard Burger: I joined Global Times in late March, as they were preparing for their premier issue on April 20. It was a matter of being at the right place at the right time. I had just decided to look for a new job after six months of freelancing, study and travel. I was checking Twitter and saw a tweet from Jeremy Goldkorn, and he was announcing a job opening at a new newspaper. I followed his link to the employment ad on Danwei and sent in my resume and cover letter 20 minutes later. Just a few minutes after that they called me and said they wanted to meet for an interview.

When I said I was about to go on a trip to Guangzhou, they asked me to put down the phone and come right away for the interview. I did, and the rest is history. I liked the people, I liked the work they were offering me and I thought it would be a new adventure so here I am. I sent Jeremy an SMS that afternoon saying, “Your tweet changed my life.” Which is true.

Danwei: The latest issue has a center spread on Ai Weiwei’s collection of numbers of earthquake victims. Is this a sign that the Global Times wants to present an “edgier” version of Chinese domestic news to English-speaking audiences? If yes, do you think that this will be effective?

RB: Since I’m not representing Global Times, I can’t speak for what the newspaper does or does not want to do. I can just tell you my own observations and thoughts, which are all personal.


I saw the article you refer to and several others that push the envelope. My own conclusion is that they sincerely want to present the foreigners and English-speaking Chinese here and abroad with a different type of newspaper experience. Sure, they toe the party line on certain topics, but even on the most sensitive of these, they seem willing to present alternative viewpoints, even if they are directly and outspokenly critical of the government.

I think this will be their signature, a panoramic view of the news with lots of analysis and discussion. As I said, it does tow the party line, but they seem genuine about allowing

serious dissent and disagreement. I think Global Times is striving for something better. One thing is for sure: they are determined to not be a clone of any other English-language Chinese newspaper, and they want to leave a mark. At the very beginning I wasn’t sure they’d be given the space to truly differentiate themselves. Now I’m convinced they will.

Danwei: Could you give us a run-down of your daily routine? Are there meetings and editorial meetings? How do these work?

RB: I work for the Opinion section of the paper, what we would call Op-Ed in America. There are meetings to decide what topics might merit a column, and my role is advisory, letting them know the hot topics I think foreigners are talking about on any given day, suggesting ideas for China-related columns and letting them know what I think of their own ideas. These meetings can be quite interesting, as I realize I am often tuned in to very different types of stories than my Chinese counterparts.

Most of my day, by far, is spent editing copy and, on occasion, writing my own columns. A lot of the opinion pieces come from Chinese university professors and other authorities, and since they are translated into English they need a degree of polishing. I come from a writing and editing background so this is a natural thing for me. It can be hard work, but it’s always interesting and even enjoyable. At least usually; deadline times can be hectic.

Another role I have is soliciting columns from foreigners, and I’ve been amazed at how successful this has been. These columns appear on the Viewpoint page, and they are mostly by foreigners from all walks of life, from local university professors to business consultants to bloggers. So a good part of my day is spent interacting with them, getting their stories approved and sometimes twisting arms a bit to meet deadlines. It’s a well-balanced day.

One other observation about my daily life: I was quickly struck by how different a Chinese newsroom is from an American one. In America there can be a lot of hustle and bustle. Our newsroom is relatively quiet despite the large staff. Most people communicate via MSN, even if you’re within arm’s reach of them. It’s taking me a while to get used to this and is one of the few instances of new culture shock for me.

Danwei: What are the “foreign experts” like at the paper? From what kinds of backgrounds do they hail?

RB: Most of the foreigners at the paper have journalism or editing backgrounds. A few have worked for China Daily and other newspapers in China and overseas. Most have been in China a while already and are accustomed to how things work over here. They’re an interesting mix of Australians, Americans, Canadians and others, and we’ve had some spirited conversations about grammar, spelling and punctuation since we all have different rules in our respective motherlands. Luckily we’re using something close to AP style, so I don’t have to readjust my thinking too drastically. These people have one thing in common, and that’s intelligence. I can’t imagine a single office in all of Beijing with so many bright expatriates working together.

Danwei: Do you think that the Global Times offers a unique window into China for the rest of the world - if yes, then in which ways?

RB: It definitely does. They take stories that may have got some pick-up in the Western media, and then they’ll expound on it, get lots of different opinion, and give foreigners a multi-sided look at the issue. For instance, a story this week that was hot was the county in Hubei province that ordered everyone in government to smoke and distribute local cigarettes. There were three separate excerpts from three different Chinese newspapers about this, offering a surprisingly diverse range of opinions.

One, for example, said the country officials were to be congratulated for their bravery, since this is what all local governments do every day, only most don’t have the nerve to say so on paper. Material like this tells me there is a lot for people to learn about China in these pages, and readers will see pretty quickly that what they assumed would be a monolithic point of view is anything but. That’s not to say there isn’t a lot of the typical government talking points, and I’m sure there are plenty of taboo topics. But there’s also some surprisingly interesting ideas being discussed.

Danwei: In what ways do you think domestic (English and Chinese-language) media will be reformed in the next five years in China?

RB: I think we’re going to move further and further away from taboos and restrictions. Already I’m seeing in Chinese media stuff that even five years ago would have been unthinkable. I think this will be especially true as the leaders who held a lot of power in 1989 like Li Peng and Jiang Zemin fade away. Then we might see some more serious “opening up” even of the topics that have been under iron-clad taboo for generations. Needless to say, there is still a very long way to go.

The next big step, in my mind, is training the Chinese journalists about what it takes to do investigative reporting, to challenge your sources and do serious research. They are getting there, and I know for sure they can do all these things – I’ve seen them do it when they report on Western companies. I think most understand this has to be part of their routine when reporting on their own government, but there is still a sense that you can only go so far. Let’s keep pushing the envelope.

Danwei: Any other thoughts?

RB: I’m enjoying Global Times more than I expected. Some friends warned me they were nationalistic and the favorite of the fenqing crowd. My attitude was that this would be a learning experience for me, a chance to practice journalism for the first time in many years, and maybe even a chance to enter my own arguments into the common thinking here and get some people to look at things from a slightly different perspective.

The very first thing I told the people in charge when I met them on the first interview was that I write a controversial blog that has a long history of being critical of the Chinese Communist Party. I also told them that in recent years I had tried to see the government from a broader perspective, not as a black and white, good or bad entity, but as a vast group of individuals, most of whom are trying to do what they believe is best for their country. But I was clear, I am critical of the CCP, I believe some of its factions are atrocious, I have issues with them, and I am not afraid to say so. And when I asked them if that was acceptable, if I wasn’t too controversial for them, they said it was their honor to have a well-read blogger working with them.

The first day I came to work 10 days later, half the people in my department had the Peking Duck up on their monitors. There’s nothing on those pages that I wouldn’t say directly to the people I work with, and the fact that they still welcomed me on board says something.

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