With the advent of the new media era, traditional Chinese media is facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities. This article takes “How Traditional Media Adapts to the Development of the New Media Era” as its theme, first analyzing the dilemmas faced by traditional media in the new media era, such as limited distribution channels, loss of audience, and declining advertising revenue. Subsequently, it discusses strategies for traditional media to adapt to the development of the new media era from aspects such as innovative communication methods, expansion of content domains, and improvement of service quality. Finally, in light of China’s actual conditions, it proposes a new path for the integrated development of traditional and new media. The article believes that for traditional media to survive and develop in the new media era, they must accelerate their pace of transformation and upgrading, achieve deep integration with new media, and together build a diverse media ecosystem.
1.Emerging Media Currently Popular in China
Emerging media refers to various new media forms and platforms that have emerged in the context of the rapid development of internet technology. Specifically, emerging media includes, but is not limited to, the following types:
Social media: Such as Weibo, WeChat, TikTok (Douyin), Kuaishou, etc., which allow users to post information, photos, and videos, and interact with others.
Content aggregation platforms: For example, Tencent News, NetEase News, Toutiao (Headlines Today), etc., these platforms use algorithmic recommendation technology to push news and information to users based on their interests and behavioral habits.
Online video platforms: Such as Tencent Video, iQIYI, Youku, etc., where users can watch various video content, including TV series, movies, variety shows, etc.
Live streaming platforms: Such as Douyu, Huya, Bilibili Live, etc., which provide real-time video live streaming services, allowing users to watch or participate in interactions.
Blogs and microblogs: Such as Sina Blog, Weibo, etc., where individuals or institutions can publish and share long-form or short-form content.
Forums and communities: Such as Zhihu, Baidu Tieba, Tianya Community, etc., where users can post and discuss topics, sharing knowledge and experiences.
Mobile applications: Various apps that provide specific services, such as shopping, payment, navigation, education, health, and other types of apps.
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR): Such as Tencent’s VR news experience, which provides immersive news reading experiences through VR or AR technology.
Artificial intelligence (AI) assistants: Such as news AI assistants, which can provide news summaries and analysis services through natural language processing technology.
Online news portals: Such as Sina News, Sohu News, etc., which provide news information and integrate various new media content and services.
The characteristics of emerging media are strong interactivity, rapid information dissemination, wide coverage, and diverse forms. They have changed the way people obtain and exchange information, becoming an important channel for information dissemination in modern society. At the same time, emerging media is also constantly developing and evolving, integrating various communication means to form a comprehensive, multi-level, and three-dimensional communication pattern.
2.The decline and transformation of traditional media
As of now, the number of closures of traditional media worldwide is a figure that is constantly changing, with new media institutions facing financial pressure and business transformation challenges every day. Traditional media includes newspapers, magazines, radio stations, and television stations, and they are under pressure to transform digitally, as well as facing multiple challenges such as declining advertising revenue and audience loss. For example, according to the “2019 Print Media Circulation Statistical Data” released by China Post Group Co., Ltd.②, the total circulation of newspapers nationwide was about 170 million copies, down about 10% from 2018. Affected by audience loss and reduced advertising revenue, many traditional media have had to reduce their circulation, and some have even suspended publication or gone on hiatus. In recent years, for instance, many cities in China have seen newspapers suspend or cease publication. The market share of traditional media is continuously being eroded by new media, and advertising revenue has generally been on the decline. According to the “2019 China Internet Advertising Market Report” released by Ericsson Consulting Company①，the Chinese internet advertising market reached 88.98 billion yuan in 2018, with a year-on-year growth rate of 21.5%, while the advertising market size of traditional media continued to decline.
Under this environment, some traditional media institutions have chosen to close down because they cannot adapt to market changes. These closures may be due to the inability to compete with emerging digital media or because their business models are no longer effective in the digital age. However, many traditional media have successfully found their place in this new media environment through transformation and innovation. For example, after being hit by the impact of new media, “China Newsweek” actively expanded into new media businesses, forming a new media matrix including its official website, official Weibo, official WeChat, and mobile tablet client, achieving transformation and upgrading.
3.The impact of the closure of traditional media on journalists
The decline and transformation of traditional media have a profound impact on journalists. The closure of traditional media may lead to significant layoffs and a halt in hiring, as these institutions scale down their operations and size. Journalists may find it harder to secure new job opportunities. For those who have worked in traditional media for many years, they may need to face the pressure of career transformation. Their professional skills and experience may need to be updated to adapt to the demands of the new media environment.
As traditional media transform or shut down, journalists may be forced to adapt to new work environments and roles, which may include shifting from traditional newsroom work to emerging fields such as digital content creation, data journalism, and multimedia production. The closure of traditional media may result in reduced income for journalists, especially in cases of layoffs and salary cuts. At the same time, those who successfully transform may find new growth opportunities in the new media sector.
With the decline of traditional media, journalists may face increased pressure towards commercialization and pursuit of traffic. In such an environment, maintaining journalistic professionalism and ethical standards is particularly important. Although the closure of traditional media poses challenges, it also offers new opportunities for innovation and transformation for journalists. Those who can adapt to the new environment and learn new skills may succeed in the new media field.
Overall, the closure of traditional media represents both a challenge and an opportunity for journalists, requiring them to continuously learn new skills and adapt to new environments, and to seek new career paths in the face of change.
4.How do journalists adapt to the new media environment?
Journalists’ strategies for adapting to the new media environment encompass multiple aspects, with the core focusing on resource integration, innovative technology application, optimized content production and dissemination processes, and adherence to the correct public opinion guidance.
Firstly, journalists need to embrace technological change. They should actively learn and master new media technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud computing, which can help improve the efficiency and quality of news gathering and editing, enable personalized推送 and precision dissemination. By analyzing data, journalists can understand audience preferences and produce content that better meets their needs.
Secondly, build a comprehensive media communication system. News organizations should promote the deep integration of traditional and new media, leveraging their respective advantages to form a complementary relationship. In the comprehensive media environment, journalists should not only be skilled in writing and editing but also possess diverse skills such as video production and data analysis to meet the varied communication channels and user needs.
Thirdly, focus on user experience. Journalists should start from the perspective of users to produce content that is closer to their daily lives, strengthen interaction and communication with the audience, and enhance the user experience. Understanding the information consumption habits of different user groups and providing content accordingly can increase user engagement and stickiness.
Fourthly, adhere to the correct public opinion guidance. Facing complex and changing social environments, journalists should even more firmly adhere to correct values and public opinion guidance, ensuring that information is true, accurate, and objective, actively transmit positive energy, and guide the public to form a positive and healthy social mindset.
Fifthly, improve self-cultivation. Journalists should continuously enhance their political literacy and professional abilities, raise their professional level and ethical standards to ensure that they can still produce high-quality, in-depth news content in the rapidly changing new media environment.
Finally, journalists should actively participate in international communication, tell Chinese stories well, and present a positive Chinese image. Through multilingual, multi-platform, and multi-channel communication methods, let the world hear China’s voice and enhance the international community’s understanding and recognition of China.
In summary, journalists’ strategies for adapting to the new media environment are multifaceted, requiring active embrace of technology, adherence to the correct public opinion guidance, as well as continuous improvement of their professional abilities and international perspective, to meet the challenges and opportunities of the new media environment with a new attitude.
5.The integration of new media and traditional media
The integration of new media and traditional media is a global trend, especially in China, where this integration reflects the country’s high attention to the development of the media industry. Here are some new paths for the integration of new and traditional media:
Content Integration: Traditional media can utilize new media platforms to present high-quality, in-depth reporting content to a wider audience. Meanwhile, new media can also learn from the rigorous approach of traditional media to enhance the professionalism and authority of content.
Technology Integration: Traditional media can adopt new media technologies such as big data analysis, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, etc., to improve their own communication efficiency and user experience.
Channel Integration: New and traditional media can jointly utilize various communication channels, such as social media, television, radio, print media, etc., to achieve comprehensive coverage of information.
Platform Integration: Traditional media can create or cooperate with new media platforms, such as apps, Weibo, WeChat, etc., to attract more users and expand their influence.
Business Integration: New and traditional media can achieve resource sharing and mutual benefits in advertising, branding, operations, etc., and explore new business models.
Management Integration: Traditional media can learn modern management methods from new media, such as performance appraisal, data analysis, etc., to improve management efficiency.
Talent Development: New and traditional media can jointly cultivate journalists, editors, and operational talents with cross-media capabilities to promote in-depth integration.
Institutional Innovation: Traditional media need to innovate institutionally, break down barriers, and achieve resource sharing and interconnection with new media.
Through these new paths, traditional media can effectively utilize the advantages of new media to enhance their own communication power, guidance, influence, and credibility, jointly promoting the prosperity and development of the media industry.
References:
Ke Xiaoming,
Group 549mi
