ABSTRACT
Overly romantic reporting about China in the 1930s and 1940s, a vital period in Chinese political history and Sino-American relations, launched the roller coaster ride that has characterized the US-China relationship and news media coverage ever since. Emulation of the "romantic" generation of reporters who pioneered in bringing China to the front pages of the US press is ironic because, in retrospect, the great strength of China reporting of the 1930s and 1940s was diversity of viewpoint. Urban China in the 1930s was in a period of unprecedented receptivity and interest in Western culture and society. Chinese students were returning from the United States and Europe to staff bureaucracies and pursue professional careers, including journalism. Because of the tight controls that are applied to journalists by the public security and foreign ministries, travel in the China is more restricted than it was 60 years ago.
