J410 class site // people // Aibing

STORY LINKS

I. The Luoyang Fire
Guo gets his big break in Chinese media

II. Biography
Background information about Guo's life in Beijing

III. War Correspondent Guo reports on the Iraq War for China Daily

Graduate School and Beyond

When Guo returned home, he received the news of his acceptance to the University of Oregon master's program in communications. Guo believes that it was fortunate timing.

"It is a good time to go abroad in journalism while waiting for the media to change," said Guo. "China's media is enjoying more freedom, and China's politics are growing more transparent. I can learn something here in journalism while waiting for the media industry and central government to open their minds wider."

Guo worked as a graduate teaching fellow for the undergraduate Mass Media and Society course taught by Professor Jim Upshaw in the fall of 2003. "When I first met Aibing, he was very quiet," Upshaw said. "I didn't yet know the secret to Aibing's past."

As the class discussed media in the Iraq war, Guo casually remarked to Upshaw that he had been a correspondent in the Middle East. "Naturally I pounced on that," Upshaw said.

"The homegrown students of the Northwest are sometimes only vaguely aware of what other lives are like," Upshaw said. He asked Guo to talk to the large class about his experiences and present some personal photos.

"It turned out to be a thrilling experience," Upshaw said. "In his quiet way, he showed things and filled in the gaps of what was going on."

Guo believes that he will return to Beijing to further pursue a career in journalism. He hopes that China's media will evolve to allow journalists more freedoms. "Someday, independent media may be allowed to operate in China," he said. "Independent is important; all of our media now is in the state control."

The Publicity Department, a sector of the Chinese government, controls the media content with ambiguous standards, according to Guo. Without any laws to protect and support journalists, it is a major stumbling block for China to overcome before independent media is established. Guo thinks it is possible within the next five to 10 years. "I think then it would be my chance to fulfill my journalism dream."

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