In China, freedom of speech is becoming more and more rare. The country has blocked Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and a plethora of other online sharing sites. It is becoming more and more hostile toward reporters inside and outside of its borders, yet Hal Bernton went anyway. Bernton called his time as a fellow of Marquette University's O'Brien Fellowship for the 2013-2014 academic year "a memorable journey" and that "China was the greatest adventure of all."
Bernton came to speak at Marquette's Alumni Memorial Union on Friday about his time as a fellow and his experience covering the carbon emissions epidemic growing in the United States and in China. The O'Brien Fellowship is designed for journalists to come to the university for an opportunity in "researching, reporting and writing the stories they care most deeply about — stories with the potential to change policies and improve lives." While he went to China to expose one growing problem, Bernton may have exposed another one in the process.
For Bernton to get access to the facilities and information he reported on in China is incredible in itself. Foreign journalists are heckled and threatened often. China is trying to shut down any attempts to expose government scandal and
corruption, including pressing charges on those who get too much support on social media sites. "There have been 30,000 people arrested for spreading rumors and terrorism in Beijing alone over the past two years," Daniel Meissner Ph.D., an associate history professor at Marquette said. The Chinese government also shut down and humiliated leading online media users, including allegedly threatening Pan Shiyi, a popular member of China's Weibo, a social media site.
With that in mind, Bernton still went to China to tell the story that needed to be heard. Daniel Ahner, a member of Bernton's audience , summed it up best saying, "With courage he reported what he saw." That's what I got out of hearing what Bernton had to say. As journalists we are bound to the truth and are expected to spread information as best we can. Bernton faced legitimate risks while in China but kept moving on with his story. We may not all want to report on issues of foreign affairs, but if you aren't taking a few risks to get your story, is it really a worthwhile story?
Bernton came to speak at Marquette's Alumni Memorial Union on Friday about his time as a fellow and his experience covering the carbon emissions epidemic growing in the United States and in China. The O'Brien Fellowship is designed for journalists to come to the university for an opportunity in "researching, reporting and writing the stories they care most deeply about — stories with the potential to change policies and improve lives." While he went to China to expose one growing problem, Bernton may have exposed another one in the process.
For Bernton to get access to the facilities and information he reported on in China is incredible in itself. Foreign journalists are heckled and threatened often. China is trying to shut down any attempts to expose government scandal and
corruption, including pressing charges on those who get too much support on social media sites. "There have been 30,000 people arrested for spreading rumors and terrorism in Beijing alone over the past two years," Daniel Meissner Ph.D., an associate history professor at Marquette said. The Chinese government also shut down and humiliated leading online media users, including allegedly threatening Pan Shiyi, a popular member of China's Weibo, a social media site.
With that in mind, Bernton still went to China to tell the story that needed to be heard. Daniel Ahner, a member of Bernton's audience , summed it up best saying, "With courage he reported what he saw." That's what I got out of hearing what Bernton had to say. As journalists we are bound to the truth and are expected to spread information as best we can. Bernton faced legitimate risks while in China but kept moving on with his story. We may not all want to report on issues of foreign affairs, but if you aren't taking a few risks to get your story, is it really a worthwhile story?