the kicker

Columbia Journalism Review Launches Chinese-Language Edition in China

New publication brings CJR’s analysis of U.S. media to critical foreign audience
March 3, 2009

New York, NY (March 3, 2009) — The Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) has launched a Chinese-language edition published and distributed in China. This is the first time the Columbia Journalism Review will regularly publish a foreign-language edition since its founding in 1961. The inaugural issue was released in December 2008.

CJR has partnered with the World Executive Group (WEG), a China-based private company specializing in strategic consulting and information research, to publish each of its bimonthly issues. The new publication, called Columbia Journalism Review Chinese (or CJRChinese), also includes up to 20 percent of original content created by WEG and branded separately from CJR.

Based at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, the Columbia Journalism Review examines the media industry and its coverage of current issues in politics, the environment, business, and other areas. The Review’s reporting, analysis, criticism, and commentary are widely read by members of the press as well as educators, media executives, and others who desire in-depth analysis of the media and current affairs.

The advent of a Chinese edition of the Columbia Journalism Review reflects the growing need for open dialogue about the media and its coverage of significant issues, not only in the United States and China, but also in countries around the world.

“I hope that CJRChinese helps push forward the development of a free press in China,” said Dean Nicholas Lemann of Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Original CJR articles in the first issue of CJRChinese include: “Love Thy Neighbor: The Religion Beat in an Age of Intolerance,” by Tim Townsend (May/June 2008); “May I Speak Freely: Anthony Lewis on the First Amendment’s March to Victory,” a review by Aryeh Neier (January/February 2008); and “Red Ink Rising: How the Press Missed a Sea Change in the Credit-Card Industry” (March/April 2008), by Dean Starkman. The section of the magazine created by WEG includes material on “The World’s 500 Most Influential Brands of 2008.”

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“Given the vastly different press traditions in our respective countries,” said Victor Navasky, chairman of CJR, “we consider the advent of CJRChinese a major cultural breakthrough. We expect that the information and analysis that is the hallmark of the Columbia Journalism Review will provide unfamiliar perspectives to our new Chinese readers, and that the relationship will also improve our own understanding of journalism in China, a country whose influence in world affairs continues to grow daily.”

Issues of the Columbia Journalism Review are translated into Mandarin by the World Executive Group and vetted by CJR-hired bilingual speakers and readers of Chinese and English, who work closely with CJR staff, before publication in CJRChinese. The company will initially distribute copies to key members of the Chinese media and also sell single copies; they estimate an initial print run of around 12,000.

“We at the World Executive Group are pleased to be partners with the Columbia Journalism Review, a respected publication and peerless resource for the press,” said Ding Hai Sen, founder and CEO of World Executive Group. “There are more than 10 million members of the media in China, and for every eight employees there is a manager. We are confident they hold great expectations for our partnership with CJR.”

The World Executive Group, which has offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, where CJRChinese will be published, is chaired by Nobel laureate Robert A. Mundell, Columbia University professor of economics. CEO and founder Ding Hai Sen is an alumnus of Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs as is the World Executive Group’s Vice President and CFO, Yuan Hao Dong.

About the Columbia Journalism Review

Columbia Journalism Review’s mission is to encourage and stimulate excellence in journalism in the service of a free society. It is both a watchdog and a friend of the press in all its forms, from newspapers to magazines to radio, television, and the Web. Founded in 1961 under the auspices of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, CJR examines day-to-day press performance as well as the forces that affect that performance. The magazine is published six times a year, and offers a deliberative mix of reporting, analysis, criticism, and commentary. CJR.org delivers real-time criticism and reporting, giving CJR a vital presence in the ongoing conversation about the media.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Clare Oh, clare.oh@columbia.edu, (212) 854-5479

The Editors are the staffers of the Columbia Journalism Review.