Dong, Dong2013-10-092013-10-092011-08https://hdl.handle.net/11299/157894University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. August 2011. Major: Mass Communication. Advisor: Tsan-Kuo Chang. 1 computer file (PDF); Ix, 350 pages, appendix p. 346-350.This dissertation research examines, theoretically and empirically, the forms and contents of journalistic practices in contemporary China. By following Pierre Bourdieu, I define journalism as a "sub-field" of the three major fields of social activity¯the state, market, and society, all of which are related to, nested under, and affected by the field of power. Therefore journalistic practice is interpreted as competing for legitimacy, a form of power that struggles over symbolic capital. By focusing on media construction of four major public health crises from early 1980s to 2010, I present detailed descriptions and analyses of the complexity and dynamics surrounding news production of public health issues.en-USContemporary ChinaHealth crisisJournalistic practiceMedia transformationThesis or Dissertation