The number of journalists in China has doubled compared with 20 years earlier, official statistics show.
Figures released by the General Administration of Press and Publication indicated that more than 700,000 people chose journalism as their career last year, 150,000 of them armed with a journalist certificate.
According to the administration, Chinese journalists are increasingly entering the profession at a younger age, have a higher education, are from diverse ethnic groups and are divided equally along gender lines.
"More than 98 per cent of them have junior college degrees or higher," Xinhua News Agency said over the weekend, citing the administration.
Among them, 64 per cent are equipped with a bachelor degree, 20 per cent have a junior college degree, 13 per cent have a master's degree and 1 per cent have doctorates, Xinhua said.
This group also majors in subjects such as art, science, engineering, medical science and foreign languages.
In terms of age, the group is becoming younger, with 29 per cent of them between 20 and 30, 27 per cent are in their 30s, 24 per cent are in their 40s and only 20 per cent are above 50.
In contrast, a sample survey conducted 10 years ago by the Research Centre of Journalism and Social Development under Renmin University of China, showed the average age of Chinese journalists then was about 37, five years older than their American counterparts.
"The overall quality of work from news workers has improved," Cheng Fangjun, a deputy director of the Changsha Evening News in Central China's Hunan Province, said yesterday.
"They know how to better serve their readers or audiences," said Cheng, a winner of the "National Outstanding Journalist" title.
