Symposium on the Innovative Development of Journalism Studies in Contemporary China Held

On September 21, 2024, the Symposium on the Innovative Development of Journalism Studies in Contemporary China was held at Renmin University of China. The event was jointly organized by the Chinese Journal of Journalism & Communication, the Chinese Association for History of Journalism and Communication, and the School of Journalism and Communication at Renmin University of China. Experts and scholars from institutions including Fudan University, Communication University of China, Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University, Nanjing University, Beijing Normal University, Xiamen University, Jinan University, Nanjing Normal University, Northwest University, China People’s Police University, Guangzhou Sport University, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Shanghai United Media Group, and Renmin University of China gathered to engage in in-depth discussions on key phenomena and pressing issues of Journalism in China, focusing on themes such as “Contemporary China” and “Journalism Studies.”

At the opening ceremony, Zhou Yong, Dean of the School of Journalism and Communication at Renmin University of China and Vice President of the Chinese Association for History of Journalism and Communication, extended a warm welcome and heartfelt gratitude to academic colleagues from all over the country. He pointed out that journalism, from both theoretical and practical perspectives, is facing pressures associated with a transitional phase. Liu Hailong, Professor of the School of Journalism and Communication at Renmin University of China and Editor-in-Chief of the Chinese Journal of Journalism & Communication, stated in his welcome speech that journalism is encountering multifaceted challenges amid social changes and policy shifts, with the boundaries of the profession becoming increasingly “blurred”—highlighting the significance and necessity of this symposium. The opening ceremony was hosted by Chen Yang, Associate Professor of the School of Journalism and Communication at Renmin University of China and Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Chinese Journal of Journalism & Communication.

The symposium featured four parallel sessions.

Session 1 was chaired by Bai Hongyi, Professor of the School of Journalism at Fudan University. Liu Peng, Senior Editor at Shanghai United Media Group; Zhang Weiwei, Associate Professor of the School of Journalism and Communication at Nanjing Normal University; Wang Yue, a postgraduate student of the School of Journalism at Fudan University; and Wang Liang, Professor of the School of Journalism and Communication at Northwest University, respectively engaged in in-depth discussions on topics such as the “Anti-fake News Movement,” “News Value Research,” “News Authenticity Studies,” and “Incidental News Exposure.”

Session 2 was chaired by Liu Yusi, Professor of the School of Journalism and Communication at Nanjing University. Discussions included “Algorithm-driven Segmentation of News Space-time” by Huang Yangkun, a Ph.D. candidate of the School of Journalism and Communication at Tsinghua University; “New 'Yellow Journalism' in Mainstream Media” by Li Hua, Lecturer of the School of Journalism and Communication of Beijing Normal University; “The Impact of Entertainment News Participation on Public Agenda Discussions” by Zhou Jinjin, Lecturer of the Department of Journalism, School of Journalism and Communication at Jinan University; and “Weibo’s Transformation into a News Platform” by Li Zhe, a Ph.D. candidate of the State Key Laboratory of Media Convergence and Communication at Communication University of China.

Session 3 was chaired by Zhao Xiaoman, Associate Professor of the School of Journalism and Communication of Renmin University of China. Zhang Qirui, doctoral candidate of the School of Journalism and Communication of Nanjing University, Zhang Xue, Assistant Professor of the School of Journalism and Communication of Xiamen University, and Liu Yusi, Professor of the School of Journalism and Communication of Nanjing University, gave wonderful explanations from the aspects of “Peripheral Actors of Journalism”, “User Data” and “Media Differentiation Power”.

Session 4 was chaired by Shu Kairong, Lecturer of the School of Journalism and Communication of Renmin University of China. Zhang Yin, Associate Professor of the School of Sports Media of Guangzhou Sport University, Lin Zhongxuan, Professor of the School of Journalism and Communication of Jinan University, and Yang Pengcheng, doctoral candidate of the School of Journalism and Communication of Tsinghua University, respectively made reports on “Means of Performance in Journalism Innovation”, “Multi-Cultural Conflicts Faced by Journalism Innovation in China”, and “The Interaction between Human and Technology in the in the Process of Intelligent News Production”, and exchanged relevant thoughts.

The closing ceremony of the conference was presided over by Prof. Yang Baojun, Professor of the School of Journalism and Communication of Renmin University of China and Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Chinese Journal of Journalism and Communication. The four session hosts reported the discussion in turn and summarized the views and opinions exchanged today. The 14 papers discussed in the conference have a wide range of research topics and different methods, reflecting the diversified characteristics of journalism research in the new era, bringing inspiration for the development of journalism nowadays, and adopting novel research methods that can be further explored and applied.

Prof. Yang Baojun, in his final concluding remarks, suggested that epochal changes bring questions of the times, and new technologies in the age of intelligence bring new challenges to journalism. Intelligence will become the background of subsequent research and practice innovation, and researchers should have a brand new concept of world composition and pay attention to the nesting and linking of the real world and virtual world. In journalism innovation, theoretical innovation comes first and practical innovation comes later. Prof. Yang Baojun encourages academic researchers to be fully confident and believe in the unique value of theoretical research, and to form a joint force to promote the overall development through exploration in different research fields of journalism.

翻译：林可 张林睿

编辑：刘志凌