Page 178 - Feasibility Study of New Media Technology on Constructing Online Public Sphere

Feasibility Study of New Media Technology
on Constructing Online Public Sphere

event, Luo said that:

‘I think it is a social activity for citizen awareness and public participation. We are
lucky to be involved and to provide a platform for free speeches. We are proud of
this. Offering a space for public voice is a meaningful thing… In fact, I feel hap-
py for the readers of Bullog. Articles that discuss social problems usually have a
higher click through rate on our platform’ (Li, 2013, N.P.) .
31
This statement implied that: at first, as a private service provider, it takes the gov-
ernment’s orders seriously; secondly, influential bloggers are opinion leaders in collec-
tive events and finally, that elite bloggers’ insistence on advocating for public affairs

and citizen awareness attracts larger audiences.
No matter whether it is an established commercial site or grassroots site, the gov-
ernment plays the leading role in government-media interaction in China. During the
interviews, the interviewees were asked to explain the considerations in operating an
internet media site according to its importance. Four factors were given: commercial

interest, ethical codes for media professionals, government regulations and policies,
and supervision and guidance of users’ behaviour. The interviewees ranked the factors
according to their importance and their own working experience. Of eight interviewees,

seven put government regulations and policies as the priority in media operation, fol-
lowed by commercial interest. Only one respondent took commercial interest as the top
consideration, and he was from a state-owned media company.
The third consideration was supervision and guidance of users’ behaviour, but
they function more as a guidance rather than supervision. Being a media service pro-

vider, neutrality is the key attribute in covering news reports. The problem is that some
media companies may mostly push negative news – social contradictions and problems
to appeal to audiences – which is irresponsible. Positive news is worth coverage as

well, because it is also what is happening in society.
However, there are internet media companies which do not practice this principle.
The ‘clickbait’ is a common approach used to draw audiences’ attention, which is un-
derstandable and necessary. The Interviewee 8 sees the ‘clickbait’ as a creative method,

31 Translation provided by the author.

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