GBJ hosts workshop on global climate change coverage
Posted: November 26, 2018 Filed under: Global Business Journalism, Journalism Training, Rick in the news | Tags: Anthony Kuhn, BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation, climate change, deforestation, Doug Harbrecht, GBJ, Global Business Journalism Program, global challenges, global warming, Hang Min, Indonesia, journalism education, Madagascar, McDonnell Symposium, Mongolia, Morocco, National Geographic, National Public Radio, New York Times, NPR, People's Daily, Pulitzer Center, Sean Gallagher, South China Morning Post, The Paper, Tsinghua Future Media Lab, Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University, Washington University in St. Louis Leave a commentJournalism coverage of issues related to climate change can educate the public and shed light on one of the most important global policy issues of the 21st century, a group of international journalists and educators said during a workshop hosted by the Global Business Journalism Program.
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The workshop, called “Taking the Heat – Using Journalism for Educational Engagement on China,” was organized by the Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication in partnership with Washington University in St. Louis, the Pulitzer Center and the Global Business Journalism Program.
The event took place Oct. 14 as part of the 7th International McDonnell Symposium. The symposium, which examined “Global Challenges for Today’s Research Universities,” was held for the first time in China. It was the first workshop held at the new Tsinghua Future Media Lab, which will be used by GBJ for New Media classes.
A recently released United Nations report cautioned that world leaders had just 12 years to avoid catastrophic climate change. Rather than debating the problem, the time has come to discuss solutions, Doug Harbrecht, a visiting professor at Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication, told the audience of global scholars.
Professor Harbrecht described a trend toward “solutions journalism,” where media outlets around the world not only educate the public about the problems related to climate change but offer constructive solutions.
“They want to know how we can fix it,” he said. “They focus on what works, and why. It’s excellent journalism.”
Professor Rick Dunham, co-director of the Global Business Journalism Program at Tsinghua, highlighted international best practices in climate coverage. He cited extensive reporting in the South China Morning Post, The New York Times and the British Broadcasting Corporation. All of these news organizations used multimedia storytelling to explain the depth of the climate change crisis and focused public attention on innovative attempts to reverse its damaging effects.
Professor Dunham also looked at diverse coverage of the issue on the Chinese mainland. These included an in-depth series of reports in People’s Daily focusing on the government response and a series of documentary videos produced by Shanghai-based The Paper illustrating the effects of climate change in different countries including Mongolia, Madagascar and Morocco and explaining how each nation is adapting to the changing environment. He also highlighted how China’s meteorological administration has produced a series of multimedia reports on climate change in 11 areas of China and has discussed possible solutions.
Speakers at the workshop focused on the need for creative storytelling to make stories of climate change compelling to news consumers. Sean Gallagher, a Beijing-based photographer and filmmaker affiliated with the Pulitzer Center and National Geographic, said that focusing on individuals helps to tell broader stories about climate change.
“Most people do not connect to a story unless you show the people affected by the issue,” he said. “The best way to do it is put a face to that issue.”
Anthony Kuhn, a reporter for U.S. National Public Radio, reported extensively on deforestation in the Asia Pacific region. Deforestation is the second-leading cause of global warming after the burning of fossil fuels, he noted. In his presentation, Kuhn recommended that journalists and educators “go to the scene and explain” what is going on and its impact on society. He explained how he had reported from Indonesia, explaining that the deforested trees eventually were used in everyday consumer products from cookies to lipstick.
“One of my jobs is to connect this to people’s lives,” he said.
Professor Hang Min, TSJC Associate Dean for International Affairs, welcomed the participants and underscored Tsinghua’s role as a global leader in education and journalism innovation.
Bloomberg Editor John Liu tells GBJ commencement that quality journalism, technological advances offer optimism to battered media industry
Posted: July 9, 2018 Filed under: Global Business Journalism, Journalism Training | Tags: AI, Artificial Intelligence, Bloomberg News, Burundi, CCTV, CGTN, Chen Changfeng, China, Chinese economy, civil rights, Columbia University, discrimination, GBJ, Global Business Journalism, Global Business Journalism Program, global economy, global vision, Grace Shao, Hang Min, Icigumije Brice, John Liu, Korea, Li Chengzhang, Linda Lew, New York Times, Quan Yue, Sarah Taylor Talaat, sex discrimination, sexism, Shi Anbin, Shi Lin, Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication, TSJC, Zeng Fanxu, Zhu Yuxuan Leave a commentRapid advances in Artificial Intelligence technology give journalists “great reason to be optimistic about the future” of an industry that has struggled with declining audiences and revenues for the past decade, John Liu, Bloomberg News Executive Editor for Greater China, told 2018 Global Business Journalism Program graduates at the annual commencement ceremony on June 5.
Innovative media outlets such as Bloomberg News and The New York Times have harnessed the power of AI to improve the quality of their data analysis and to increase audience engagement by offering digital news stories of particular interest to each news consumer.
“Things are starting to get better know, because people are discovering that consumers are willing to pay for good content,” Liu said in an address at the Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication. “The next big step, we believe, is AI telling you what you want to read, what you want to watch, before you know it’s there, even translating it into the language you want to read,” he said.
Sixteen international students were awarded master’s degrees in Global Business Journalism in a 90-minute ceremony, while 19 Chinese students received master’s certificates in addition to their master’s degrees from the Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication.
Students from 65 nations and regions have participated in the Global Business Journalism Program since its creation in 2007. This year, Icigumije Brice became the first GBJ graduate from the African nation of Burundi.
Dr. Hang Min, GBJ Co-Director and TSJC Associate Dean for International Affairs, said that at a time of “dramatic change in China and beyond” that it is important for young journalists to have “multiple perspectives” and to offer “constructive solutions and not just destructive criticisms.”
“Stay open,” she urged the graduates. “Never close any window of opportunity and never say no to something because it’s not your planned path.”
GBJ Co-Director Rick Dunham told the students and their families that the media industry needs to do more to boost the careers of women.
“In the GBJ program, about three-fourths of our students are women, and with rare exceptions, women are the top performers in our program. Yet many of these high achievers may face obstacles in the job market. Women suffer discrimination, overt and hidden, in hiring, promotion and pay,” he said. “We must overcome these insidious forms of male discrimination. In the words of the American civil rights anthem of the 1960s, ‘we shall overcome, some day.’”
Professor Dunham noted that TSJC “is leading the way in empowering women,” and Liu noted that five of the six GBJ grads hired by Bloomberg have been women.
“Not only is advancing women in the workplace the right thing to do, it is also good business,” he said.
Top GBJ students also offered their perspectives on the program. Speaking for the Chinese graduates, Zhu Yuxuan, hailed GBJ as “a great program for us to develop a global vision … while we are gaining professional knowledge.” International student Zhu Yuxuan, of Japan said GBJ “has allowed me to broaden my horizons and meet friends from all over the world.”
“Every day, we met talented and outstanding students from all over the world, and had the chance to interact with local Chinese students,” she said. “All of us played together, learned together, and progressed together over these two years, and I’m sure every one of us emerged as a better person than we were two years ago.”
Sarah Talaat of the United States, chosen as the GBJ speaker at the TSJC ceremony later in the day, said GBJ students were not only taught practical journalism skills, but also “how to pursue a career grounded in truth and patience, brought about by hard work and dedication, and held to the highest standards of our chosen fields.” She predicted that the program’s sponsors “will see a return on your investments in the shape of better journalism and communication for the benefit of the world.”
Speaking for GBJ graduates was Grace Shao of Canada from the Class of 2015, who worked at CGTN for two years and is returning to academia this fall to study data journalism at Columbia University in New York. Shao, who covered top global economic issues and developments in Korea during her time at CGTN, urged graduates to “undersell yourself” and take care of their health.
“This industry isn’t for the meek,” she said. We have to be on our toes at all times; you have to have writing skills, multimedia skills, analytical skills, people skills, presentation skills, and so on, I can’t think of a job that demands a more well-rounded candidate. Believe in your talents and all that you’ve learned here from your Tsinghua professors!”
Top TSJC officials taking part in the ceremony included Executive Dean Chen Changfeng, Administrative Dean Hu Yu and Administrative Dean of Research Shi Anbin. Professor Zeng Fanxu was honored as top academic supervisor. Graduating students Li Chengzhang, Shi Lin, Quan Yue, Yuki Nakajima and Linda Lew received special awards for their contribution to the GBJ program.
Video: Why the Global Business Journalism Program at Tsinghua is a great choice for graduate school
Posted: January 18, 2017 Filed under: Discovering China, Global Business Journalism, Journalism Training | Tags: Anish Pandey, Beijing, best business journalism programs, best journalism programs, Bloomberg News, business journalism, China, documentary, Global Business Journalism, Global Business Journalism Program, graduate journalism programs, Hang Min, ICFJ, International Center for Journalists, Italy, journalism schools, master's programs in journalism, Media, Min Hang, People's Daily, Sarah Taylor Talaat, Simone Martin, Slovakia, Tendekai Finos, top journalism programs, Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University, United States, Viktoria Fricova, Xinhua News Agency, Zimbabwe 4 CommentsThe Global Business Journalism Program is the subject of a documentary film that highlights the program’s unique role in teaching advanced economics reporting skills to Chinese and international graduate students.
The GBJ program, the first graduate business journalism program taught in English on the Chinese mainland, features a rigorous curriculum taught by leading Chinese academics and prominent international journalists.
The five-minute mini-documentary was produced and directed by second-year GBJ student Simone Martin of Italy. It was based on a project he completed for a documentary news course. First-year GBJ student Sarah Taylor Talaat of the United States was the film’s narrator.

2016 GBJ grads Anish Pandey and Jade Ladal
“In its first decade, the GBJ program has been recognized as one of the top international programs in China — and now, students from around the world, together with Chinese students, are learning advanced business writing, corporate strategies, economics, accounting, data mining, multimedia storytelling and other skills,” Talaat says in the documentary.
The film features interviews with current students and GBJ faculty. GBJ student Tendekai Finos from Zimbabwe called the program “an interesting opportunity to learn in China, as well to study in China, where the economy is growing rapidly.” Viktoria Fricova, a second-year student from Slovakia, said she first discovered the program when searching for a high-quality international graduate journalism program. “When I found it on the internet, I knew this was the option for me,” she told the documentarian.

Professor Dunham and GBJ grads celebrate, June 2016
The Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication will use the documentary to reach out to potential students internationally, to further enhance its reputation in China, and to attract partners and supporters to the program, said GBJ Co-Director Rick Dunham.
“We’d like continue to expand, so that we can be the leaders in training Chinese journalists of the next generation, and become a destination spot for global journalism,” Professor Dunham says in the film.
Launched in 2007 in partnership with the International Center for Journalists and Bloomberg News, the GBJ program has trained more than 400 graduates, many of whom have become journalists at prominent news outlets from Bloomberg to People’s Daily and Xinhua News Agency.
“We wish to welcome the world to join us,” GBJ Co-Director Dr. Hang Min says in the documentary. “We are setting the standard for business journalism education.”
>>> You can also watch the video on YouTube
>> For more information on the application process
>>> Here’s the GBJ website
>>> Here’s how you can begin the application process

2016 graduation festivities
Why you should join the Global Business Journalism Program at Tsinghua — or recommend it to a friend
Posted: December 29, 2014 Filed under: Global Business Journalism, Journalism Training | Tags: Beijing, Bloomberg News, China, Data Journalism, Global Business Journalism, Hang Min, International Center for Journalists, multimedia journalism, Olivia Zhou, Tsinghua University 1 CommentTo all of my journalism friends around the world: I invite you to spread the good word about the good work we are doing here at Tsinghua. We’re looking to recruit an exceptional class of graduate students for the upcoming school year and to prove to any skeptics that you can have a world-class journalism program in China. Here’s the pitch. Feel free to share. Comments and questions are welcome.
Are you interested in becoming an expert on the world’s fastest-growing economy?
Do you want to study Asia Pacific business development and report that to the world?
Do you want to have an amazing educational and personal experience in a dynamic country?
Do you want to learn how to share your stories with audiences via print, audio, video and digital media?
Please join in us in the Global Business Journalism Master’s Degree Program at Tsinghua University in China!
2015 Enrollment Instructions
for M.A. in Global Business Journalism
at the School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- Introduction
With China playing a central role in the global economy, there is a soaring demand for trained professionals who can understand the exciting, complicated development of the world’s fastest-growing economy – and can explain it – clearly and in depth — to audiences in China and around the world.
Tsinghua University Master of Arts degree in Global Business Journalism is designed to meet that growing need. The program offers international students the opportunity to master the fine points of business, finance and economics in China. All courses are taught in English — the international language of business — by internationally renowned scholars and accomplished journalists with extensive global experience. The program’s facilities rival those of other leading journalism schools worldwide. The news lab has the largest number of Bloomberg terminals of any college in the world.
Business journalism is one of the fastest growing areas of employment opportunities in the industry today. News audiences are eager to learn about the world of business, while media departments expect PR professionals to understand and analyze the complexities of business issues.
Tsinghua’s Master of Global Business Journalism Program is designed to offer you the opportunity to meet these growing needs and, at the same time, master the fine points of economics, finance and business in China and the world. We welcome you to join in us!
The first English-language graduate business journalism program on the Chinese mainland, created in partnership with the International Center for Journalists, it has sent 171 graduates to news outlets in China and globally over its first seven years.
Launched in 2007, the GBJ program has already been recognized by students and recruiters alike as a world-class program. Academe, the world’s leading journal on higher education, featured a cluster of articles on the program in February 2008. Only the most talented applicants from around the world are accepted, and the student body is culturally and professionally diverse. The full-time program spans two years of intense, fast-paced, rewarding study. Those who complete it successfully emerge with valuable connections, a rich array of opportunities and the business and journalism skills to capitalize on them. It is a two-year experience that will last a lifetime.
The program aims to bring business journalism in China in line with top international reporting standards. The Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication has a long history of cooperation with major international media and financial-information organizations, and visiting scholars have come from outlets such as Bloomberg, Reuters, Business Week, The New York Times, Financial Times, The Washington Post and CNN.
GBJ offers an array of specialized courses that are at the forefront of global business journalism. Students can learn about international accounting standards, multimedia journalism, data mining, complex financial derivatives, journalism ethics, advanced feature writing techniques and the management of media organizations – knowledge that is transferable to other economies and other professions. At the same time, they gain a deeper knowledge of the Chinese language and economy.
The GBJ program benefits from other academic resources on the Tsinghua campus, including its prestigious School of Economics and Management, as well many Chinese and global media and technology companies in Beijing. Internships, field trips and recruiter visits are integral parts of the program.
GBJ students have opportunities to attend conferences on new media, economic development and other business topics. They benefit from meetings and discussions with guest speakers, including top editors and reporters from leading Chinese and Western news outlets and international business executives. The GBJ has a growing network of smart, sophisticated reporters, editors and public relations professionals who can enhance the world’s understanding of economic and corporate developments in China and globally.
- Program Courses
Basic Courses | |
Introduction to Mass Communications and Society in Contemporary China | |
Chinese Language | |
Intercultural communication | |
Media Research Methods |
Core Courses | |
English Financial News Reporting and Writing | |
Multimedia Business Reporting | |
Global Business Journalism (advanced) | |
Economics and Accounting Basics for Journalists | |
Business Data Mining and Analysis |
Elective Courses | |
Corporate Communication | |
Opinion and News Commentary | |
Hot topics in the Global Economy | |
Feature Writing | |
Corporate Strategies, Case Studies of Chinese and Global Companies | |
Personal Finance Reporting | |
Media Management | |
Workshop on Film and TV Production | |
Theory and Practice of Public Diplomacy | |
Data Journalism | |
Public Relations: An Introduction | |
Public Speaking |
Other Requirements | |
Pro-Seminar for Master Candidates in Global Business Journalism | |
Literature Review and Thesis Proposal | |
Academic Activities | |
Internship |
- Qualification of Applicants
Applicants should have a Bachelor’s degree in related fields and certificate for English proficiency.
- Application Documents
1) The completed Foreigner’s Application Form for Admission to Graduate Programs of Tsinghua University with a 2-inch recent photo, signed by the applicant;
2) Statement of Purpose and resume;
3) The original or the notarial degree certificate or proof of education at an academic institution (you need to submit an original or notarial degree certificate after it was awarded) and an academic transcript. The degree certificate and academic transcript must be officially sealed.
4) Two academic recommendation letters from scholars of associate professorship or higher. They must show referee’s phone number and email address on the letter.
5) For non-English speaking students, please provide English level certificates. e.g. TOEFL, IELTS, etc.
6) A copy of your passport page with personal information (personal and ordinary passport);
7) The completed Application Form for Tsinghua University Scholarship (if applicable, original);
8) A non-refundable application fee of RMB600.
The certificates provided should be the original documents in Chinese or in English, otherwise notarial translations in Chinese or English are required. None of the above application documents will be returned.
- Application Procedure
Step 1: Online Application
Complete Online Application on the website of the Foreign Student Affairs Office, Tsinghua University
(http://www.is.tsinghua.edu.cn/EN/online-application/instruction.html). Print and sign the Application Form produced by the system after the application status changes to “verified.”
Step 2: Documents Submission
Submit the application documents listed above to the address indicated below by post mail or in person.
Step 3:Application Fee Payment
There are two ways to pay application fee:
1 . Pay online using a credit card;
After your online application form is verified or the materials are received by Tsinghua University, the staff will make you the online payment draft, and at the same time, an email will be automatically sent out to remind you to pay the application fee via the online application system.
2 . Pay in cash at the Foreign Student Affairs Office (Room 120, Zijing Building 22) on the campus of Tsinghua University.
- Application Deadline
November 1, 2014 — March 20, 2015
Both the Online Application and a complete set of Application documents should be completed and the package should be received by March 20, 2015.
- Tuition and Scholarship
Tuition:Program tuition fee is RMB39000/year.
Accidental Injury and Hospitalization Insurance: RMB 600/year.
Please visit http://is.tsinghua.edu.cn for more information about scholarships.
- Program Website:
For more information about the program, please visit the GBJ website at:
http://gbj.tsjc.tsinghua.edu.cn/publish/jcgbj/index.html
- Application Website:
For an application, please visit the Application Website at:
http://www.is.tsinghua.edu.cn/EN/online-application/instruction.html
10.Contact Information:
Ms. Olivia Xiaoyu Zhou
Room 302, Omnicom Building,
School of Journalism and Communication
Tsinghua University,
Beijing 100084, P. R. China
Tel: +86 10 6279 6842
Fax: +86 10 6277 1410
E-mail: tsjcws@tsinghua.edu.cn
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