Chinese Young Journalists and Red Envelopes: Choosing Lesser Ethical Violations in a Shifting Journalistic Field

This study explores how structural forces influence young Chinese journalists in forming a journalistic habitus regarding the controversial practice of accepting red envelopes. Drawing on Bourdieu’s field theory, we interviewed 22 journalists working in traditional media outlets. Our findings identify three heteronomous forces. Politically, closer ties between party media and propaganda institutions increase opportunities for red envelope practices. Economically, stagnating salaries in commercial media render red envelopes essential income supplements. Technologically, digital platforms have expanded the space for red envelope journalism, while commercial-oriented media’s greater reliance on metrics tends to disadvantage certain reporting beats, thereby reframing red envelopes as covert work subsidies. Under structural pressures and limited forms of capital, journalists’ habitus is negotiated based on their positions within the field. Only a few news organizations maintain strict refusal policies, while journalists share tacit presuppositions regarding professional boundaries. They distinguish between hard news and soft promotional content, print and online versions, as well as between red envelope acceptance and paid news or hush money. Journalists justify this practice as a lesser ethical violation compared to more unprofessional behaviors. They frame red envelope acceptance as a pragmatic adaptation to structural constraints rather than an ethical lapse or overall unprofessionalism.