Instrumentalization of platform dependency: Navigating the relationship between party media and social media platforms in China

Abstract

Guided by the theory of new institutionalism and platform dependency, this study examines how Chinese party media engage with social media platforms. Based on in-depth interviews with 18 social media editors from central and local party outlets, the findings reveal three interrelated dynamics. First, party media are simultaneously dependent on audience traffic and autonomous from it in news selection, a balance shaped by platform preferences, journalistic norms, and political identity. Second, party media's visibility on platforms is sustained not only by state policies but also by the outlets’ invisible political and symbolic capital, which helps maintain institutional continuity amid evolving digital landscapes. Third, dual-track performance assessment standards emerge, wherein audience traffic is strategically emphasized or de-emphasized to enable party media to balance the goal of maximizing audience reach with the imperative of maintaining ideological authority. These findings highlight the instrumental nature of platform dependency in party media and the guided role of the state in shaping media-platform relations.