During the period of reform movement of 1898, Hunan transformed from a “city with iron gates” into the most vigorous province of the country. Within this process, some local elites represented by Tang Caichang, Tan Sitong, Liu Shanhan and Xiong Xiling gradually built a partnership around a new newspaper to modify the existing conservative atmosphere, thus starting the modern newspaper industry in Hunan. In the context of the reform movement, this paper aimed to reveal the distinct characteristics present in the formation process of this community: frst, the unprecedented change in society is the biggest impetus to the appearance of a new type of newspaper publishing and newspaperman in Hunan; second, the new type of newspaperman in Hunan originated from the imperial examination system but combined with new political, academic and commercial identities; and third, in the formation process, Hunan newspapermen created a unique model of cooperation with newspapermen in Hubei province and in Shanghai.