Zhang Rongjia: Consolidating the Foundations of Editorial Work through Excellent Conduct [1]
By Zhang Rongjia
Editor’s Note: In order to earnestly carry out study and education for the in-depth implementation of the spirit of the central Eight-Point Regulations, and to encourage the youth of the entire Academy to deeply study and implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on strengthening the Party's work style construction, as well as to consciously cultivate a clean and upright political ecosystem and academic ecosystem, the Youth League Committee of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), in collaboration with the Chinese Social Sciences Net (cssn.cn), has launched a special column for written discussions titled "CASS Youth Talk: Study and Education on the In-depth Implementation of the Spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulations." We have invited outstanding young cadres and scholars from across our Academy to write interpretative articles based on their insights and practical experiences in studying and implementing the spirit of the Eight-Point Regulations and their implementation rules. This initiative aims to demonstrate the high degree of political, ideological, and actionable consciousness among our Academy's youth, contributing youthful strength to the opening of a new chapter in our Academy’s political construction through new achievements in work style construction.
Zhang Rongjia, PhD in Economics, is an Assistant Researcher at the Institute of Quantitative and Technological Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. She serves as a senior editor for the editorial departments of the Journal of Quantitative & Technological Economics and China Economist. Her primary research field is industrial economics. In recent years, she has published over ten articles in journals such as Social Sciences in China and Economic Research Journal. Her research has received the Second Prize of the 9th Outstanding Achievement Award for Scientific Research in Higher Education Institutions (Humanities and Social Sciences), and portions of her work have been reprinted or abstracted by the Renmin University Photocopying Service and Xinhua Digest.
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized during the 21st collective study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee that self-revolution is the second answer [1] for our Party to escape the historical cycle of rise and fall, and that advancing comprehensively and strictly governing the Party by starting with work style is an important experience of the Party’s self-revolution in the New Era. This major strategic deployment must be integrated into the entire process of the development of the cause of the Party and the state.
Editorial work shoulders the heavy responsibility of disseminating truth, inheriting civilization, and leading ideological trends. The work style of the editorial team is directly related to the effectiveness of propaganda, ideological, and cultural work, and concerns ideological security. Deepening the construction of the editorial team’s work style is an inevitable requirement for implementing the spirit of self-revolution and realizing the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party; it is the fundamental guarantee for consolidating and strengthening mainstream ideological public opinion and serving the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation.
I. Aligning with the Political Direction and Forging the Essential Quality of Loyalty
Editorial work must take "political excellence" as its primary criterion. Faced with a complex public opinion environment, editorial personnel must always maintain political clarity and safeguard the ideological front with a work style of "strictness, meticulousness, prudence, and pragmatism" [2]. First, we must strengthen ideological guidance and accurately grasp the direction. We must persist in using Marxism to command ideological work, deeply study and implement the Party's innovative theories, and accurately grasp the spiritual essence of the CPC Central Committee’s policy decisions and deployments, ensuring that editorial and publishing work always proceeds along the correct political direction. Second, we must strictly observe political discipline and guard the content gateway. Political discipline and political rules must be maintained throughout the process, taking a clear-cut and firm stand on major issues of principle. We must conduct a strict audit of the political stance and value orientation of every manuscript and every expression, resolutely preventing the spread of erroneous viewpoints. Third, we must keep the "top priorities of the nation" [3] in mind and serve the overall center of operations. We must consciously integrate editorial work into the overall development of the Party and state enterprises. In areas such as topic planning, manuscript organization, and layout arrangement, we should proactively connect with national strategic needs, actively reflect the voices of the people, broadcast the strongest notes of the era, and tell China’s story well, contributing editorial strength to building consensus and serving development.
II. Refining Content with Meticulous Care and Forging Professional Quality
"Rigorous meticulousness and striving for perfection" are the core requirements of the editorial profession and a concrete manifestation of work style construction. We must hold the bottom line of information quality and earnestly fulfill the responsibility of professional content gatekeeping. First, we must consolidate content responsibility and strictly control the quality of writing. We should carry forward the "craftsman spirit," conducting multiple rounds of in-depth verification of manuscript expressions, data citations, and bibliographic annotations. We must comprehensively eliminate errors in knowledge, logic, and grammar to ensure accurate content and refined expression, thereby enhancing the authority and credibility of publications. Second, we must persist in seeking truth from facts and deeply investigate points of doubt. We must resolutely overcome a high-strung or impetuous mentality, aiming for "zero errors." Any doubtful content must be verified in depth through consulting authoritative literature, seeking expert advice, or cross-referencing, with particular attention paid to implicit errors and sensitive expressions that could easily lead to ambiguity. Third, we must improve institutional guarantees and build a strong defense line for quality. We must strictly execute the "three-review and three-proof" system [4], refine job responsibilities, and construct a quality control system with clear responsibilities and interconnected links. While making good use of intelligent proofreading aids, manual reading must always remain the core means of quality control, giving full play to the professional judgment of editorial personnel. We must establish error-tracing and accountability mechanisms to form a long-term quality guarantee mechanism that is scientifically standardized and efficiently operated.
III. Strictly Observing Discipline and Rules and Cultivating a Clean and Upright Style
The editorial position shoulders the responsibilities of manuscript auditing and public opinion guidance, making it a key area for the prevention and control of integrity risks. We must put discipline and rules at the forefront and eternally preserve the political essence of integrity and self-discipline. First, we must uphold professional ethics and maintain public credibility and authority. We must strictly abide by publishing laws, industry norms, and internal institutional rules, resolutely resisting "favoritism manuscripts," and strictly prohibiting the use of manuscripts for personal gain, ensuring the fairness and independence of manuscript selection and publication. Second, we must strengthen self-restraint and build a strong ideological dam. We should conduct regular integrity warning education, guiding editorial personnel to practice self-respect, self-reflection, self-caution, and self-encouragement, nipping problems in the bud [5], and consciously resisting various material temptations. Third, we must improve supervision mechanisms and standardize the exercise of power. We should proactively accept supervision from the organization, colleagues, and society, and smooth the channels for reader feedback. We must strictly implement systems such as collective discussion of topic planning and "back-to-back" scoring of manuscript reviews, ensuring open processes and transparent operations to build an all-around supervision network for risk prevention.
IV. Persisting in Upholding Fundamentals and Breaking New Ground to Shoulder the Missions of the Era
The construction of editorial work style in the New Era must be based on upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground, adapting to the trend of deep media convergence. First, we must embrace technological innovation to empower content production and dissemination. We should proactively learn new media technologies and communication laws, explore new forms of integrated publishing, and innovate modes of expression. We should skillfully use big data and artificial intelligence to optimize workflows and improve efficiency, persisting in the principle that "content is king" to achieve simultaneous improvements in both technology and quality. Second, we must broaden knowledge boundaries and forge composite capabilities. We should establish a routine learning mechanism to continuously update our knowledge reserves in various fields, including politics, economics, culture, and technology. We must deepen our foundation in language and writing, learn interdisciplinary knowledge, and strive to become composite talents who are politically strong, professionally proficient, and broadly knowledgeable. Third, we must strengthen user orientation and improve service effectiveness. We should conduct in-depth research on reader needs and market trends, optimize topic planning, content organization, and product presentation, and create precise, personalized, and high-value information services and cultural products, effectively playing the role of guiding public opinion and leading values.
Within the small space of editorial work lies a weight of a thousand jun [6]; between the lines, it concerns the stability of the overall situation. An excellent work style is the foundation for the editorial team to perform its duties, the key to the high-quality development of the publishing cause, and the shield for consolidating and strengthening mainstream ideological public opinion. All editorial personnel must refine a hardy work style with a high sense of responsibility and mission, strictly guarding the gates of political orientation, content quality, and value guidance. In a complex public opinion environment, we must stand firm, guard the front well, lead ideological trends, and earnestly build a strong defense line for ideological security, contributing solid editorial strength to the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation.
Source: Chinese Social Sciences Net Web Editor: Tongxin