Convergence and de-convergence of Chinese journalistic practice in the digital age

Abstract

The existing literature broadly suggests that newsrooms are adapting to the media convergence world at the cost of traditional quality journalism. However, based on my ethnographic study of the Beijing News, I propose a convergence and de-convergence model of journalistic practice. The model explains how one Chinese newspaper preserves the legacy of critical journalism, on the one hand, while negotiating the challenges of adapting to the converging trends on the other. I argue that a well-established organizational culture and a working routine are crucial in the newspaper’s transformation, which makes it impossible to redesign the newsroom and redefine journalism with technology alone. Moreover, the article calls for a more nuanced understanding of the transformation of legacy media in the digital age, especially considering a non-Western context. I argue that the Chinese newspaper’s response to technological and economic impacts brought by the Internet is in fact mediated by political concerns.