Zhao Yupei Li Qiuxian Zhang Yi
Chinese Journal of Journalism & Communication.
2024, 46(4):
156-176.
The rapid development of eSports industry has transformed itself into a multilateral platform model and a career development path with high-level literacy requirements. This study introduces the concept of “media literacy” and adopts Meyrowitz (1998) “three-part division” of media literacy, namely content literacy, grammar literacy, and medium literacy, to propose the theoretical framework of “eSports literacy”. The study attempts to explore the dynamic relationship between media and technology, labor, and employment. By treating eSports as a medium that spans across sports, technology, culture, and media, the study examines how eSports professionals understand and use media, and ultimately integrate into the media environment to enhance their media productivity. This study identifies six key actors, including Tencent Esports, the Ministry of Education, the Sports Bureau, esports clubs, vocational colleges, and universities, who play a crucial role in constructing eSports literacy. These actors promote a shared value proposition among professionals in the industry, collaborative innovation, and sustainable self-development, thereby constituting the three levels of eSports literacy: content literacy, grammar literacy, and medium literacy. The contribution of this study lies in concretizing the macro-level development of the eSports industry into the micro-level requirements for media literacy among professionals. By interpreting the mutually constitutive relationship between media literacy and the industry ecosystem, the study clarifies how professionals can enhance their media production practices in the eSports medium and achieve digital survival.