New Culture Movement
Chinese newspaper journalism was modernized in the 1920s according to international standards, thanks to the influence of the New Culture Movement. The roles of journalist and editor were professionalized and became prestigious careers. The business side gained importance and with a greater emphasis on advertising and commercial news, the main papers in Shanghai such as "Shenbao", moved away from the advocacy journalism that characterized the 1911 revolutionary period. Much of what they reported shaped narratives and realities amongst those who were interested in what was becoming the New Culture Movement. Outside the main centers the nationalism promoted in metropolitan dailies was not as distinctive as localism and culturalism.