How does the platformization of journalism scholarship contribute (or fail) to practice? Chinese Journalists’ views

Abstract

Previous literature has explored how the penetration of platforms into the news sector influences the organization, production, and dissemination of journalism. However, it has overlooked the platformization within the backstage of journalism - how journalism scholarship intersects with practice. Utilizing the concept of relevance gap, this study explores whether the platformization of journalism scholarship can meaningfully contribute to journalistic practices. Focusing on the case study of China’s WeChat Public Accounts (WPAs), and drawing from in-depth interviews with 26 Chinese journalists, our findings reveal four perceptions that journalists hold towards various journalism research on the quadrants of readability and relevance, as well as three different ways these perceptions influence their subsequent journalistic practices. We argue that platformization, as a driving force, improves the access gap on the technological level between journalism research and its potential audience. However, increased visibility struggles to bridge the content gap at the socio-political level and may exacerbate the discord and debates between academic work and journalistic practice.