Transpacific News Reporting: The Chongqing School of Journalism and the Negotiation of Press and Propaganda During Wartime, 1943–45

In 1943, two former classmates, Hollington Tong (1887–1971), China's Vice-Minister of Publicity, and Carl A. Ackerman, Dean of the Pulitzer School of Journalism at Columbia University, collaborated to establish a wartime post-graduate school of journalism in Chongqing, China. Staffed by Columbia faculty and funded by the Chinese Nationalist government, this school aimed at training top-tier professional international news reporters for China. During its two years of operation, the school graduated two classes comprising fifty-seven students, many of whom went on playing vital roles in journalism, diplomacy, and education in post-war China and the United States.

While scholars have examined the Chinese Nationalist government’s efforts in international propaganda during the early years of World War II, the role of the wartime journalism school in Chongqing (1943–1945) remains largely understudied. This paper investigates the founding and operations of this school through archival materials, student-run newspapers, and private correspondence between Columbia faculty and their families. By analyzing the negotiation between professional journalism ideals, free press, and the state’s control of information during wartime, this study sheds light on the broader tensions between press freedom and propaganda. It highlights the critical role of trans-Pacific collaboration in shaping journalistic practices and underscores the ongoing relevance of understanding how access to and control over information are contested in moments of crisis.