Journalists play crucial role at key meetings

I have been working for China Daily for six years and have conducted interviews at the annual two sessions three times. Were it not for the two meetings that gather China's top legislators and political advisers every March, a young reporter such as I would not have an opportunity to meet so many Chinese elites, from President Xi Jinping to basketball player Yao Ming.

Yet, to my disappointment, many reporters like to run after star conference attendees, asking questions about their private lives and businesses that are irrelevant to the conference agenda or the person's role in the meeting. Such reports or programs are popular because of the celebrity effect.

Some reporters are better. They ask some experts or ministers about their proposals to the government or lawmakers, or their viewpoints on some issues with meaning for the public. But such interviews are invariably short, taking place on staircases or in the corridors of the conference halls. After taking a photo and recording a two-minute answer, the journalist fulfills the task and returns like a happy hunter.