王倩文　孙正林

Abstract：With the development of new technology， the social media has become the most important media form in the modern media landscape. The appearance of social media has provided a chance for the mass journalism that allow the print media transfers to the digital media. Although under the Chinese background of the non-democracy that the mainstream media and journalism controlled by the government， the online journalism has offered an opportunity for the reader to approach the truth behind the journalism. In addition， although there are some disadvantages on the online environment， for example， source reliability， information dependability， network violence and troubles in confirming evidence in the network world， online media has been the most effective way for the journalists to deliver the newsworthy journalism. This essay is a case study， which is about the Chinese online journalism. Therefore， this essay will from three perspectives such as digital audience， audience orientation， and social media spread characteristic to explore the positive influence of social media on the online journalism.

Keywords：Social media， Online Journalism， Digital Audience， Audience Orientation

Case description

This case is Chinese news which spread by Weibo. Dacai Yang who was the leader of the Shanxi province work safety administration. There was an accident because of a collision between a bus and a tanker carrying methanol， and 36 people were killed by this serious accident （chen， 2017）. However， when Yang arrived at the accident scene that he showed his smile on his face （chen， 2017）. This photo uploaded on Weibo by a professional journalist that Yangs smile angered lots of audiences. The audience researched his history， and the journalist investigates him. In the previous news report photos， he wore a variety of expensive watches， which did not conform to the wages in him as a government official （Welbers et al.， 2015）. Finally， he admitted that his graft and corruption， then he had been jailed for 14 years （Welbers et al.， 2015）.

Analysis

The social media environment as an open circle that can involve the online users opinion and provide an opportunity to the journalists to communicate with the audience （Chan， Lee and Pan， 2006， p926）. For the print media， which is the one-way communication approach. That the audiences just have been the receiver when they watched the TV and newspaper （Gei?， Jackob and Quiring， 2013， p1075）. Under this kind of situation， no matter the audience believe the information or not， they had to accept it （Gei?， Jackob and Quiring， 2013）. However， the online journalism has made the audience not only to be the receiver but also to be the transmitter （Chan， Lee and Pan， 2006， p930）. In Dacai Yangs case， when the picture of he smiled at the accident scene that made the audience angry and mad. Therefore， they left the comments for the journalist to let him do the further research for Yang. Then they found his corruption. That can say to a certain extent， every participant in the comments is the judge and the police. Due to the interaction between the journalists and the audience that encourage the journalists to contribute their responsibility to reveal the truth. China as a non-democracy country， the duty for the print media is to maintain government image and deliver the positive energy （Tang and Sampson， 2012， p460）. Nevertheless， in that case， by the network， the audience has figured out that there still exists some government official like Dacai Yang who took money from people and deliberately break the law. That can evidence the social media has broken the boundary between the audience and government. If this news published on the print media at the beginning， which maybe not arouse the strong social repercussions. Because the audience can not communicate with the journalists directly. The appearance of social media that make the audience to be the master of the journalism， and they can control the direction of the news development （Tang and Sampson， 2012， p461）. Although in the era of the digital media， the media is also the mouthpiece of the government， the audience can through the online journalism has done confrontation with the government directly. Thus， the social medias application is the democracy behavior in a non-democracy country. Moreover， the number of the Chinese online media users has grown up immediately from 2003 （Tang and Sampson， 2012， p466）， those people surface on the internet not only for entertainment but also can provide their opinion. The characteristics of the digital audience are personalization， interaction， curiosity and freedom （Berkowitz and Liu， 2016）. Therefore， the internet provides an alternative for people to express their point of views and articulate issues comparatively securely （Berkowitz and Liu， 2016， p160）. In Dacai Yangs case， on the one hand， the audiences were angry because of Yangs behavior. On the other hand， the audiences were curious. Those led to an update of the follow-up results. To sum up， the social media has promoted the interaction between the audience and the journalism further to made the audience to be the master of the journalism.

On the one hand， online journalism can use the digital database and technology analysis to identify what kind of information can reach the audiences interest （Berkowitz and Liu， 2016， p161）. Before Dacai Yangs situation， the Chinese President Xi Jinping and his party declared that they must crack down on corrupt government officials and did a series of anti-corruption campaigns， which had a good connection with the Chinese people （chen， 2017）. However， Yang wore many expensive watches in this sensitive period， which made the deep impression on peoples mind. So this news was published in this period that can reach more audiences attention and allow them to join the discussion. By using the database analysis， the Weibo showed Decai Yang was one of the most popular ten topics in 2013 on the Weibo news platform. So that can evidence once catch the audiences interest， which is effective for the journalists to produce the newsworthy news further to improve the page views. For a long time， the core of the media industry is that there are enough readers （Hille and Bakker， 2013， p660）. How to deal with the relationship with the audience is a serious topic that needs to be considered by the whole journalism industry. Furthermore， the social media platform helps the journalism to reach the audiences interest further to reflect the industry value to the audience （Hille and Bakker， 2013）. On the other hand， because of the social media is a section of a broader media ecosystem that online journalism as a private and transparent method has been becoming a standard in modern journalism models （Welbers et al.， 2015， p1040）. Under the background of the new media， the audiences no longer want to be controlled by the journalism. As the digital audiences who want to own an equal relationship with the modern journalism （Welbers et al.， 2015， p1042）. Thus， in this case， the reason of the audiences took part into the discussion and interaction that because they realized the message need to be transparent. In addition， the audiences involvement compelled the affair to be public and fair， and no one can escape from the truth， even the government official. The appearance of the digital media had made the journalism cannot cover the darkness and let people really exercise their right to speak （Welbers et al.， 2015， p1040）. Consequently， the social media has provided an equal platform for everyone in the journalism industry. Additionally， in the social media environment， the audience orientation is the guideline for the news research.

One of the characteristics of social media is its timeliness， which can spread quickly and widely （Webster and Ksiazek， 2012， p40）. Through to combine with this kind of characteristic of social media， the online journalism can obtain more audience and attention eventually （Webster and Ksiazek， 2012， p40）. In this case， Yangs news through was published on the Weibo platform， that there were 400，000 online users followed （Welbers et al.， 2015）. That can show the news breaks the limitations of time and territory further to enhance the influence of journalism industry. Further to explain that the appearance of social media has turned a static news into a dynamic one. When the news spread by social media， the audience can watch the news anytime and anywhere， that can make a deep impression in audiences mind and improve the news exposure and responsiveness （Webster and Ksiazek， 2012， p50）. Thus， in the transition period of traditional media， the online journalism offers more possibilities for the whole journalism industry （Welbers et al.， 2015）. Once people knew Yangs news， they would have a strong awareness of the cases consequence and they would follow-up it. That formed an excellence loop between the digital media and journalism. Furthermore， the development of social media has kept journalists in line with professional ethics （Gei?， Jackob and Quiring， 2013， p1060）. According to the primary audiences are the young audience on the social media platform that allowed the digital journalists should pay more attention to the news authenticity and source （Welbers et al.， 2015）. The journalists as the news recorders whose reasonability is recording the reality. In addition， the online journalism spread quickly and widely that allowed the online journalism should afford the correct guideline rather than mislead the audience （Hille and Bakker， 2013）. In Yangs news， which advocates the right values for the society. When this news published by Weibo that remind people not to be the same person as Yang is， and to share the just opinion bravely on the online platform. Furthermore， the social media has affected the online journalism to show the reality and spread the right value for the young audiences. To sum up， the timeliness and transmissibility as the features of social media， which can improve the efficiency of the news spread and make the audience to explore the journalisms newsworthy.

Conclusion

According to the above analysis， that can indicate because of the social medias influence， that the Dacai Yang can get the punishment he deserved eventually. China as a non-democracy country which needs more media channels to reveal the truth and political darkness. On the one hand， due to the social media platform， that the audiences can interact with the journalists to share their opinion and interests. In addition， by this kind of two-way communication method， that audience can realize more facts further to encourage the journalism industry development. On the other hand， under the background of the digital technology， the online journalism has the characteristics of timeliness. The online news spreads widely and quickly that can reach more audiences attention in short time. In conclusion， to the certain extent， the development of social media has an advantage impact on the online journalism in modern society.

Reference

Berkowitz， D. and Liu， Z. （2016）. Media errors and the ‘nutty professor： Riding the journalistic boundaries of the Sandy Hook shootings. Journalism， 17（2）， pp.155-172.

chen， s. （2017）. Time runs out for ‘Brother Watch Yang Dacai. [online] South China Morning Post. Available at： http：//www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1300579/chinas-brother-watch-official-goes-trial-graft [Accessed 9 May 2017].

Gei?， S.， Jackob， N. and Quiring， O. （2013）. The impact of communicating digital technologies： How information and communication technology journalists conceptualize their influence on the audience and the industry. New Media & Society， 15（7）， pp.1058-1076.

Hille， S. and Bakker， P. （2013）. I like news. Searching for the ‘Holy Grail of social media： The use of Facebook by Dutch news media and their audiences. European Journal of Communication， 28（6）， pp.663-680.

Lee， J. （2015）. The Double-Edged Sword： The Effects of Journalists' Social Media Activities on Audience Perceptions of Journalists and Their News Products. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication， 20（3）， pp.312-329.

Sparks， C.， Wang， H.， Huang， Y.， Zhao， Y.， Lu， N. and Wang， D. （2016）. The impact of digital media on newspapers： Comparing responses in China and the United States. Global Media and China， 1（3）， pp.186-207.

Tang， L. and Sampson， H. （2012）. The interaction between mass media and the internet in non-democratic states： The case of China. Media， Culture & Society， 34（4）， pp.457-471.

Webster， J. and Ksiazek， T. （2012）. The Dynamics of Audience Fragmentation： Public Attention in an Age of Digital Media. Journal of Communication， 62（1）， pp.39-56.

Welbers， K.， van Atteveldt， W.， Kleinnijenhuis， J.， Ruigrok， N. and Schaper， J. （2015）. News selection criteria in the digital age： Professional norms versus online audience metrics. Journalism， 17（8）， pp.1037-1053.

作者簡介：

第一作者：王倩文（1992.12）女，汉族，山东青岛，教师，硕士研究生，研究方向：影视艺术、创新创业教育

第二作者：孙正林（1995.06）男，汉族，山东德州，本科学士，研究方向：创新创业教育