Constructing Authenticity as an Alternative to Objectivity: A Study of Non-Fiction Journalism in Chinese Media

In recent years, non-fiction journalism, regarded as a subset of literary and narrative journalism, has garnered significant attention in Chinese media. This trend underscores a notable departure from traditional journalistic norms of objectivity toward an emphasis on authenticity. Drawing upon a comprehensive analysis of 348 articles sourced from Southern People Weekly, a prominent media outlet for non-fiction journalism in China, this study examines the construction of authenticity along two distinct dimensions: voice and visibility. The voice dimension encompasses the utilization of first-person narratives by sources, the expression of authorial voice, and the orchestration of polyphony between journalists and their sources. The visibility dimension pertains to the portrayal of sources through visual imagery, the strategic presentation of journalists, and the scenic depiction of context and environment. Based on these findings, this study discusses the challenges posed by this narrative paradigm to the traditional notion of objectivity and its implications for the rising ideal of subjective journalism.