This study explores the occupational culture of journalism in a Southwestern China metropolis, Kunming, answering the questions of what and how journalists there give meaning to their work through analyzing the substance and form of the journalism culture. Over three months of fieldwork in four different local newspapers revealed a gap between the meanings these journalists aspire and the meanings they can materialize through practice, due to political and economic constraints. As a result, the journalists felt conflicted and deeply frustrated but at the same time tried to push the boundaries in different ways, including active use of digital technology and social media. The study also found that the journalism culture was intrinsically intertwined with the social, cultural and global environment within which it resided, as social conflict, widespread mistrust and global influences played important roles in shaping the meanings the journalists gave to their work. The journalism culture was also one of contradictions and uncertainties, still in the making and changing at a rapid pace. It is a journalism culture of a particular transitional era and place, with Chinese characteristics.

Que ce soit dans le contexte occidental ou chinois, l’utilisation des médias sociaux est devenue vraiment courante dans les pratiques journalistiques. L’identité des journalistes sur les médias sociaux est largement étudiée par des chercheurs. Cependant, ce genre de recherches dans un contexte chinois, en particulier les recherches sur l’identité des journalistes des médias étatiques en Chine, n’est pas approfondi et complet. Par conséquent, cette recherche vise à explorer l’identité construite par des journalistes des médias étatiques chinois sur les médias sociaux. À travers les entrevues semi-dirigées avec neuf journalistes, je conclus qu’ils utilisent trois façons pour s’exprimer sur les médias sociaux : certains journalistes ne construisent qu’une identité professionnelle sur les médias sociaux et retransmettent des contenus sans publier leurs opinions subjectives ; certains journalistes ne construisent qu’une identité personnelle sur les médias sociaux et ne publient que les contenus liés à leur vie personnelle ou leurs propres points de vus ; certains journalistes construisent des identités différentes sur différents médias sociaux. La construction de l’identité de ces journalistes est affectée par les valeurs et les normes journalistiques, leur institution médiatique ainsi que les relations avec leurs collègues. Pour équilibrer leur identité personnelle et identité professionnelle en ligne, tous les participants essaient de séparer les deux identités et contrôler leur identité construite sur les médias sociaux. Mais cette séparation ou ce contrôle ne fonctionne pas toujours bien, surtout pour ceux qui ne construisent que leur identité personnelle sur les médias sociaux. / Whether in the Western or Chinese context, the use of social media has become more and more common in journalistic practices. The identity of journalists on social media has been widely studied by lots of researchers. However, this kind of research is not thorough and comprehensive when it goes to a Chinese context, especially research on the identity of journalists working in state-run media in China. Therefore, this research aims at exploring the identity constructed on social media by Chinese journalists working in state-run media. By taking semi-structured interviews with nine journalists, it is concluded that three different ways are adopted to express themselves on social media: some journalists only build a professional identity on social media and publish contents without expressing their subjective opinions; some journalists only build a personal identity on social media and only publish contents related to their personal life or their own points of view; and some journalists build different identities on different social media. The construction of their identities on social media is affected by journalistic values and standards, their media institution as well as their relationships with their colleagues. To balance their personal identity and professional identity online, all participants try to distinguish and control their different identities built on social media. But this kind of effort does not work well all the time, especially for those who build only their personal identity on social media.