Foreign media institutions and correspondents were present for much of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. They included correspondents from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Voice of America (VOA), Cable News Network (CNN), Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), American Broadcasting Company (ABC), and the National Broadcasting Company (NBC).1. Nan Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen: Anatomy of the 1989 Mass Movement (Praeger Publishers, 1992), 144. Others included correspondents from then British-controlled Hong Kong and Taiwan.2. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 150. Many of the correspondents were in China to report on the visit of Mikhail Gorbachev or were covering the Asian Development Bank meeting that was happening in Beijing.3. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 143.4. Michael Dobbs, "Protesters, and Reporters, Pedal to Beijing's Rally," The Washington Post, May 18, 1989, A36. Foreign media coverage of the protests became a popular source for news after martial law was declared on May 20 and the government "imposed strict control over the Chinese media".5. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 148.

Prior to martial law

Broadcasts from the VOA and BBC had been popular sources of information, both local and world-wide, for Chinese residents for some time.5. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 148. Their broadcasts covered news that Chinese media did not report.5. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 148. Occasionally, the VOA and BBC were "jammed with noise" but after 1978-1979 the jamming ended making listening to the news much more consistent.5. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 148. From April 16 to May 16, 1989, the VOA broadcast's coverage of the Tiananmen movement averaged approximately 17% of its Mandarin newscast but grew to 20% between May 4 and May 15.6. Zhou He, Media and Tiananmen Square (Nova Science Publishers, Inc. 1996), 112. This coverage increased quickly as martial law was announced and around June 4 it grew from 70% to more than 80%.6. Zhou He, Media and Tiananmen Square (Nova Science Publishers, Inc. 1996), 112. In response to the growing pro-democracy movement, the VOA, which provides news in both Mandarin and English, expanded its regular eight hours per day of Mandarin content to eleven hours each day.6. Zhou He, Media and Tiananmen Square (Nova Science Publishers, Inc. 1996), 112. For the first time in its history the VOA sent signals to China, which went directly to 2,000 Chinese satellites.

Many notable news anchors arrived to cover the pro-democracy movement. Bernard Shaw of CNN was the first of these newscasters to arrive.5. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 148. Others followed such as Ted Koppel of ABC, Dan Rather of CBS, and Tom Brokaw of NBC.5. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 148. Between May 13–20, the movement became "center stage of world attention" and live broadcasts from China were routine.7. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 149.

Prior to the implementation of martial law, during the May 13–19 period, Chinese media outlets were able to report on the protests with little restriction.5. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 148.8. "China expels two reporters as crackdown continues," The Ottawa Citizen, June 14, 1989, A1.9. Jim Hoagland, "Blanket Television Coverage Gives Demonstrators a Media Security Blanket," The Washington Post, May 19, 1989, A35. Author Nan Lin suggests that local broadcasts were popular with the Chinese citizens for their "immediacy and accuracy".5. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 148. During the period prior to martial law, the Chinese were less dependent on foreign media broadcasts as demonstrated by a rise in newspapers sales and an increase in television and radio audiences.5. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 148. The VOA, among other sources, used official Chinese news media as a listed source of information on 25% of its stories during the protests.10. He, Media and Tiananmen Square, 115. After martial law was implemented, the popularity of foreign media outlets resumed.5. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 148.

Enactment of martial law

Foreign media faced many restrictions when covering the Tiananmen protests. After the declaration of martial law, foreign media was no longer permitted to visit Tiananmen Square.7. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 149.11. "Troops march near Beijing square; foreign press coverage restricted," The Globe and Mail, June 2, 1989, A4. Foreign correspondents gave reports from guest rooms in tourist hotels; these became the backdrop for many live broadcasts from American networks.5. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 148.12. Jan Wong, "Tiananmen Square draws foreign tourists seeking radical chic," The Globe and Mail, May 31, 1989, A9. This ban was originally not strictly enforced, but soon security personnel and police spoke to foreign media correspondents and pushed them to leave stating that Gorbachev's visit had ended.7. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 149. Author Nan Lin states that when the journalists were slow in leaving, "forceful actions were taken to block news gathering and transmission".7. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 149. Photography of the Square was also not permitted.11. "Troops march near Beijing square; foreign press coverage restricted," The Globe and Mail, June 2, 1989, A4.13. Harrison E. Salisbury, Tiananmen Diary: Thirteen Days in June (Little, Brown and Company, 1989), 16.14. Frontline: The Tank Man, directed by Antony Thomas (April 11, 2006), DVD. Transporting film from Beijing became difficult, often requiring it to be taken apart frame by frame, sent out on ordinary phone lines, and reconstituted elsewhere.15. Salisbury, Tiananmen Diary, 24.

Foreign media faced other difficulties in reporting on the Tiananmen Square protests. As the military entered the square and violence erupted, there was confusion as different outlets were isolated between east and west Beijing.16. "Chinese Army Detains Journals // CBS correspondent, cameraman missing in suppression of protests," Austin American-Statesman, June 4, 1989, A13.17. Salisbury, Tiananmen Diary, 64. Correspondents faced detention,16. "Chinese Army Detains Journals // CBS correspondent, cameraman missing in suppression of protests," Austin American-Statesman, June 4, 1989, A13.18. Johnathan Kaufman, "Canadian Reporter Thwarts Abduction Try," The Boston Globe, June 20, 1989. including numerous Hong Kong correspondents19. Salisbury, Tiananmen Diary, 62. and a CBS correspondent.20. Salisbury, Tiananmen Diary, 54. Journalists were also reportedly beaten.11. "Troops march near Beijing square; foreign press coverage restricted," The Globe and Mail, June 2, 1989, A4.21. Jonathan Mirsky, "Revenge of the old guard," The Observer, June 11, 1989. Dan Rather of CBS was confronted by Chinese security personnel during a live broadcast.7. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 149. Even after major television crews left China reports continued to surface via satellite channels.7. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 149.

Interpretations of the foreign media presence Foreign media and the Chinese government have different perspectives on the influence of foreign correspondents during the protests. Foreign reporters were often looked upon as "sympathetic" towards protesters as they broadcast world-wide "appeals" for the pro-democratic movement7. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 149. Journalist Harrison E. Salisbury described the response of the Chinese government as "xenophobic" towards foreigners and cites the criticism of foreign correspondents during the protests as evidence.22. Salisbury, Tiananmen Diary, 112. As a counterpoint, Salisbury recognizes that the Chinese government believe that the United States media, particularly Dan Rather, "had distorted the picture and not presented the government's side".22. Salisbury, Tiananmen Diary, 112. Salisbury attempts to understand the government perspective, reasoning that they believed "that the United States had a false idea of the nature of the student movements, [and] that American television was to blame [because it] had exaggerated the idealism of the movement".23. Salisbury, Tiananmen Diary, 111.

Jay Matthews of The Washington Post writes in the Columbia Journalism Review that "most of the hundreds of foreign journalists that night, including me, were in other parts of the city or were removed from the square so that they could not witness the final chapter of the student story. Those who tried to remain close filed dramatic accounts that, in some cases, buttressed the myth of a student massacre".Jay Mathews, "The Myth of Tiananmen and the Price of a Passive Press," Columbia Journalism Review September/October 1998 He previously held Bureau Chief posts at locations including Beijing, as its first Bureau Chief in 1979–1980, and Los Angeles. He spent several weeks back in Beijing in 1989 to cover the Tiananmen protests at the time,Jay Mathews, "Back to School in Beijing," Washington Post August 13, 1989 and has since challenged the dominant foreign media narrative of a student massacre inside Tiananmen Square, reporting that all remaining students at the square, were allowed to leave the square peacefully when soldiers arrived, and that instead "hundreds of people, mostly workers and passersby did die that night, but in a different place and under different circumstances".Jay Mathews, "The Myth of Tiananmen, And the Price of a Passive Press." Columbia Journalism Review Sept/Oct 1998

Author Nan Lin concludes that the protests drew international attention through press, allowing the government to "justify counteractions" while warning the population that China would "be humiliated in the eyes of the world" while the protesters used the attention "to maximize public attention and sympathy" for their movement.24. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 165.

Lin Chun of the London School of Economics writes, "Even in front of the cameras of an intensely manipulative international media (whose numbers jumped when Gorbachev visited China in May), students in a political theatre of 'acting out democracy' did not produce a single anti-socialist slogan."

Role of Asian media correspondents

There were a variety of different correspondents present for the Tiananmen Square Protests, including from then British-controlled Hong Kong and Taiwan.2. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 150. These correspondents were familiar with the politics and proficient in the language; they were able to gather important information and conduct interviews with locals.24. Lin, Struggle for Tiananmen, 150.

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