Does news media’s coverage of autocracies hinge on their relationship with those regimes? Exploiting a large-scale media crackdown in May 2019 in China, in which multiple influential UK- and US-based news sites were blocked, we find that news outlets adopted a more negative tone in coverage of China and reported more frequently on sensitive topics such as human rights after being blocked, compared to those with no access change. Such effects are absent in news on economic topics and opinion articles. This set of findings can be organized by the interpretation that the media censored themselves less after losing access. We also investigate various other potential mechanisms that might contribute to the observed changes, such as the reallocation of journalistic resources and shifts in readership composition.

I am an Associate Professor of Economics at the business school of the University of Hong Kong. My main research interests are political economy and learning. My previous work on collective actions is at the intersection of these two areas, particularly focusing on the role of information friction in economic and political crises. In my research, I have explored a variety of subjects within the realm of political economy, such as judicial decision-making and news markets. Before moving to Hong Kong, I obtained my PhD in economics from the University of Zurich.