ZHANG Guo, Candidate Number: 690053262

11th Feb, 2020

Preface

I am familiar with both the traditional and new media because before I study MA Creativity: Innovation Business & Strategy at the University of Exeter, I have worked as a journalist for three years in Chengdu Radio & Television, which provided me with an opportunity to understand how traditional media works. At the same time, my undergraduate major was digital technology media, compared with others, I have more theoretical knowledge about the new media industry and many of my classmates work in the new media industry, we still exchange ideas, and share working experience, keep in touch with each other. These two help me have a deep understand of the Chinese media industry.

Introduction

The digitalization is closely linked to modern people’s daily lives and works. On the one hand, it drives economic growth and social changes(Brynjolfsson & Kahin, 2002). Take an example, it provides a few firms with more opportunities to expand their business much more quickly and efficiently due to it deregulates the limitation of the physical number of employees, geographical locations, and time. On the other hand, it also brings an increasing number of competitions, some of the old and backward organizations are facing to be eliminated in this digital era. As a typical industry which is most affected by the digitalization, traditional media have begun to start self-evolution and change their business model.

This article will base on my own working experience about being a journalist in Chengdu Radio & Television and mainly focus on the changes of the Chinese media industry, through a series of comparisons and analyzes to explain how the domestic media industry be transformed. Besides, it will predict this industry’s development and shape in the next decades.

The Journalists’ Changes & New requirements

– Use The Internet For News Gathering

For traditional journalists, face to face interview is the most basic method for news gathering. It requires the reporters to go to the physical news happening locations and have face-to-face talks with the interviewees or witness the whole process of the occurrence and development of news events. However, this type of interviewing method has its disadvantages. For examples, sometimes it will spend much time for reporters to arrive a far news scene which leads to losing timeliness of news value(Anthony, 2013). Secondly, it is often limited by time, place and traffic conditions, such as the international breaking news. Third, it is easy to be affected by interviewees during the process, which could cause news to lack of authenticity, accuracy and impartiality.

According to an article from People’s Daily Online(available at: http://media.people.com.cn/GB/22114/46419/72000/4904445.html), with the development and popularity of the computer and Internet technology, online interviews began to appear in the US in the 1990s. Computer-assisted reporting describes the use of computers to gather and analyze the data necessary to write news stories. In fact, in many traditional media(including newspapers, radio, and television stations), journalists who are proficient in the use of various Internet tools are slightly better, in terms of quality and quantity. Thus, using the Internet for news gathering is regarded as one of the basic quality of being a journalist in this digital era(Zhao, 2006).

– Multimedia Reporting

As a disruptor, digital technologies have brought a new revolution, which has greatly changed the ecosystem of the traditional media industry, even the cultures: A new audiovisual culture has much more quickly and widely changed the younger generations’ watching habit, which is from the big to the small screen(Pardo, 2015, pp. 23-45). Under such a shift, Internet media appeared. The relationship between the traditional media and Internet media are not only competitors but also partners due to its appearance help the traditional media implement the gap between their services and young people. Finally, both of them integrates with each other. This process is regarded as Media Convergence.

Britannica Encyclopaedia says: “Media Convergence is a phenomenon that involves the interlocking of computing and information technology companies, telecommunication networks and content providers from the various media platforms like magazines, newspapers, radio, television, films and the likes. It also says that Media Convergence is the confluence of the 3 C’s – Communication, Content and Computing”(Flew, 2017). Converged media have changed the management methods and working process in traditional media industry. It requires journalist who are proficient in various media and are good at integrating communication planning. It also needs versatile journalists who are proficient in using multiple technical tools for multimedia reporting.

The Developing Trend

– A Converged Journalism Era

In China, an increasing number of traditional media have started to transform their internal structures and exploit new business models. For example, a few Newspapers and TV station designed their applications to post their contents on them. Operating their online platforms to attract more audiences and investors. For new media companies, they increasingly focus on the depth and follow-up reports of the news, which helps them become the more professional platforms. At the same time, both of them are not only competitors but also partners, which leads to a series of positive results(win-win) and finally makes the Chinese media industry become an integration: converged journalism.

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Reference

1. Brynjolfsson, E., & Kahin, B. (Eds.). (2002). Understanding the digital economy: data, tools, and research. MIT press.
2. Anthony, C. (2013). A Brief History of Social Media, Mass Communication Dept., University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
3. 赵志立. (2006). 网络时代, 我们怎么做记者. 网络传播, (10), 42-43.
4. Pardo, A. (2015). From the Big Screen to the Small Ones: How Digitization is Transforming the Distribution, Exhibition and Consumption of Movies. In Besides the Screen (pp. 23-45). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
5. Flew, T. (2017). Media Convergence. Encyclopedia Britannica.