Hu Shuli, a longtime friend and source of China insight, is the subject of a great profile by Evan Osnos in this week's New Yorker. (Subscription only)

More than just a straight profile, Osnos explores China's media scene and how Shuli (and her Caijing magazine) manage to avoid getting jailed while writing some of China's raciest journalism.

Two choice quotes:

Xinhua reports the news before it happens:

Last September, Xinhua published a story on its Web site detailing how China's Shenzhou VII rocket made its thirtieth orbit of the earth. The story had plenty of gripping detailâ€""The dispatcher's firm voice broke the silence on the ship." Unfortunately, the rocket had yet to be launched.(The news service later apologized for posting a "draft.")

How Caijing lets others take the lead before publishing:

In political-corruption casesâ€"which are acutely sensitiveâ€"Caijing's investigative reporters often collect information for weeks or months while they wait for an opening. In many cases, once Xinhua makes a brief announcement of an official being arrested, Caijing is ready to publish a full story.

When, on June 8th, Xinhua issued a one-sentence report saying that the mayor of Shenzhen had been detained in a corruption probe, Caijing posted an in-depth piece twenty-nine minutes later.

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