The sensation of Under the Dome Casual analysis from the perspective of investigative journalism

Yuming Cui

Ⅰ.Introduction

Under the Dome is an investigative journalism practice in the form of documentary directedand made by Chai Jing， who was a former China Central Television journalist. This documentary lasts 103 minutes， which portrayed air pollution in China and how it influenced Chinese people. In whic Chai Jing used varied and effective methods to present the massive information to the public. Consequently， this reporting caused sensation over the nation and even the world， which was viewed 200 million times within two days after releasing （Yang & Li， 2016）. This essay will focus on the reasons for the sensation of this documentary by three points from the stands of the investigative journalistic norms and standards that Chai Jing had contributed to， the combination of objective fact and subjective personal biographical information， and Chais engagement with the political and social issues.

As a form of journalism， investigative journalism requires to go in-depth of aninterested topic， involving crime， corruption， or corporate wrongdoing in political， economic， cultural and social fields （Singh， 2014）. It is about revealing， extracting and presenting the news which was concealed. Chinese investigative journalism is becoming a popular research topic. In the 1980s， the media theoretically proposed the discussion on the function and the role of “political textbook” transforming to perform a multi-function and multi-role in accordance with social development. As Chinese media market competition is becoming increasingly intense， media industry pays more attention on transforming from merely regarding journalism as ideological superstructure to admitting the industrial nature of journalism， and introducing market mechanism in the field of communication （Wang & Li， 2014; Repnikova， 2018; Zeng， 2006）. For example， in 1993， the popular of news programs from CCTV， such as “Oriental horizon” and then “News Probe” and so on， means that China has been systemic rehabilitated and reconstruct. Chai Jing， who served as a host for “Oriental horizon” and a reporter for “News Probe”， and resigned from CCTV in 2013， is a freelance journalistnow.

In February 2， 2015， a self-funded investigative documentary Under the Dome released， which is directed by Chai. Offeredby a TV media practitioner Wu Qing， as of 21：13 PM on February 28， the amount of play of Under the Dome is more than 45 million times on online video platforms. Probably not everyone had watched all 104 minutes， however， the click rates certainly suggests the prominent characteristics of spread， quickly and influentially. Many scholars have made analyses of the factors contributing to the success of this documentary from the viewpoint of communication studies （Xiong， 2015; Zhang， 2015）， the discourse and narrative strategies （Yang & Li， 2016; Guo， 2015; Ouyang， 2015）， and also the internet and new media （Xia， 2015; Yao， 2015; Wang & Li， 2015）. These researches contributed to the understanding of which methods and practices are associated with the success of this film. Despite there have been many achievements， they still neglected that the essence of this documentary is an investigative journalism. Therefore， this essay will focus on the role that investigative and journalistic factors play in the success of Chai and Under the Dome.

Ⅱ.Casual analysis

1.Journalistic norms of interview and Chais practice. Interview plays an essential role in conducting investigation （Burstiner， 2009）. In the process of interview， one interview could lead to another one.Aiming at the issue of oil standards and its price， Chai firstly interviewed an employee from vehicles enterprise， he complained it was the poor quality of oil results in air pollution. Chai then questioned the officer from Ministry of Environmental Protection National Development and Reform Commission， who participated in the formulation of oil standards. The official explained that it is the person from the petrochemical industry lead the development of standards. They had no superiority to intervene in the pricing of oil products， or the oil suppliers would break the supply. When Chai reflected these doubts to an official from the oil industry， he pointed that the reason is the political officers lacked of professional knowledge about oil industry.

Reflected by Chais endeavor， she kept interviewing and verifying the data and information from different groups of people， until she got the answers. Moreover， it can be seen from the source list from the end of the documentary， she did not interview a large number of people， but focus on the quality of the interviewees， who are important and indispensable. This is an effective method to obtain information. Furthermore， the information she gained from the former interviewee was applied to the background knowledge while interviewing the next. Therefore， Chai could generate comprehensive understanding of this issue. Investigative journalists should perceive the purposes of interview， which are seeking information， opinion or evidence could expose ones mind state， or investigating and disclosing the a lie or a wrong-doing （Keeble， 1998）. Shown by the above example， by collecting information and evidence through interview， Chai expounded the source of haze from the oil-related perspective. As a channel between ordinary people and government， she further disclosed the chain of formulating the oil standards to the public.

The combination of subjectivity and objectivity

Mark Lee Hunter （2011） pointed out that investigative reporting is about using objectively material， which could be truly observed， towards the subjective goal of renovating the world. Moreover， stated by Richards （2004）， objectivity is an essential component of “professionalism”， however， after redefining the objectivity， investigative journalists could use their passion and perspective. With the ethical judgements， being subjective is acceptable in reporting. This is also practiced by Chai. On the one hand， she wrote in her autobiography， she cared most about the people in the news. This viewpoint essentially reflects a kind of news value of returning to humanism. In Under the Dome， Chai firstly used her personal biographical experience to get the audience interested in and introduce the theme. This method aroused audiences sympathyand even emotional resonance. Moreover， the clip and musical score of investigative video are another subjective means of rendering atmosphere and emotion. Additionally， this method contais numerous messages and promote audiences understanding to the difficult concepts and issues.

On the other hand， Chai dug series of detail and data from the experts and authorities related to her topic.Using objective facts contributes to achieving her subjective intention. Moreover，she interviewed different stakeholders， providing the equal and comprehensive views of various stakeholders， rather than solely over-reliance on the one side. She investigated the in-depth story through these views， though contradictory， to strengthen the authenticity and reliability. In this sense， the combination of subjectivity and objectivity is not contradictory but could narrow the distance between Chai and the audience， and meanwhile maintains the objectivity， accuracy and authenticity of investigative reporting. Additionally， based on the journalistic theory， Chai exposed the facts and truth to the public， and hence promoted public understanding of haze， also the governance of haze. Furthermore， the effects of air pollution is at national scale， therefore， this documentary could facilitate the function of public service-driven， thus gaining public confidence in investigative journalism.

2. Chais engagement with political and social issues.Political censorship plays a vital role before releasing news reporting. Different from the general channels of report publishing， Chai upload her work through internet platforms， avoiding censorship from the government. Therefore， the public can receive more comprehensive information. However， Central state will censored the news related to the authoritarian and the national image （Kuang，2018）. Therefore， Chais documentary was regarded as a perilous factor and was later removed from online platform. Another engagement with the political factors is agenda-setting. The online platform has become the main battleground for the discourse of public agenda. Under the Dome is a successful practice of media-driven the setting of the public agenda， rather than government-driven.

Social issues related to the public is another factor conducive to the influence this documentary. Firstly， as introduced in the film， air pollution is closely relate to every individual. Chai choose this issue reveals the concerns with public interests， conforming to a norm of investigate journalism： playing the role of public conscience. Secondly， protecting individual journalists is becoming a culture in Chinese investigative journalism（Tong & Sparks， 2009）. This provides individual journalist the commitment and encourages them to discovere the truth.Sheding light on this topic， Chai presented the report to the public. Thirdly， aggravating air pollution is becoming a common phenomenon among the region， which provided ideas to produce this documentary. After the release， broad dispute with environmental protection were aroused. Moreover， correct values related to environment protection were delivered to the citizens， which could help to the dissemination.

Ⅲ.Conclusion

The reasons for the success of Under the Dome derive from three journalistic factors. Firstly， Chai adopted the correct norms of interview，contributing to exposing information to the public. Secondly， rather than limited by the requirements of “keeping objective”， the combination of subjectivity and objectivity had achieved a profound propagation effect. Lastly， Chais positive engagement with political and social issues reveals how the external factors impact on journalism. The above three factors are not enough to deal with the casual analysis of the sensation of Under the Dome， Chai also innovated the presenting form of delivering the investigation， TED-style talk for instance， is different from the traditional audio-visual news programs. The diversification methods that Chai had alleviated the irrational， emotional and aimless criticism of the government on the issue of haze from the public. The scientific surveys and data visualized this issue to everyone andinspired expectation for solutions as well.

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【作者簡介】Yuming Cui （1997- ）， female， born from Shijiazhuang， Hebei. Cui is a Bachelor candidate in the School of Film and TV Arts at the Xian Jiaotong Liverpool University.