“The Currency of Truth provides a fascinating account of how news and publics are co-produced. Engagingly written and thoughtfully theorized, it will become a valuable read for scholars, practitioners, and policy makers alike.”
— Pablo J. Boczkowski, Northwestern University
“The Currency of Truth is a highly readable, compelling, and insightful study of newsmaking in contemporary China. In addition to offering original arguments about the dynamics of the Chinese media, this book is simply one of the best workplace ethnographies I’ve ever read.”
— John Osburg, University of Rochester
"Emily H. C. Chua's book provides a rare ethnographic insight into the work of Chinese journalists at a Beijing and Guangzhou-based weekly newspaper. . . All in all, although focused on China, the book's ethnographic insights and theoretical framing of news as currency would be of interest to researchers from around the world."
—European Journal of Communication
— European Journal of Communication
"Chua details the complexities and contradictions of China’s news sector and makes a convincing argument that news in contemporary China is “a medium of texts that work less as means of mass communication than like a kind of currency,” used by news professionals, company bosses, and government officials seeking personal, professional, political, and financial gains."
--CHOICE Connect, rated Recommended— Y. Liao, CHOICE Connect
"The book has four significant contributions to the journalism literature. First, it offers insights into the Chinese media system, which is understudied. Second, it explores an exciting conceptualization of the news as a currency. Third, it joins other scholars (Almiron, 2010; Anderson, 2013; Boyer, 2013; Henry, 2007; Carlson, 2017) in exploring the transformation of newsmaking influenced by technological advancement and expanding it to China. Fourth, the book offers an interesting insight into what the institution of news can be in a post-socialist society."
—Journalism
— Mushfique Wadud, Journalism