The rapid development of artificial intelligence technology has led to significant advancements in human-computer interaction. However, the resulting confusion regarding self- identity and the emerging crisis of human-computer trust warrant closer attention in theoretical research. The emergence of AI anchors has not only driven profound changes in the intelligence transformation of the online live-streaming industry but also presents significant opportunities and challenges for reshaping media trust and constructing new forms of human-computer trust relationship. This study employs social trust theory as the foundation and media equation theory as the research perspective. Utilizing survey data and structural equation modeling, it examines the mediality of AI anchors and reveals the path and mechanisms of human-computer trust construction under the iterative development of artificial intelligence technology. The study found that anthropomorphic and intelligent mediality presentations directly impact the formation of human-computer trust in AI anchors; mediality also indirectly affects the human- computer trust relationship through the mediator variable of perceived value; technology self- efficacy plays a moderating role in the relationship between mediality and the trust formation, and individuals with higher levels of technology self-efficacy being more likely to develop trust in AI anchors during interactions. The innovative ideas put forward in the study can promote the construction of a new human-computer relationship with the core concept of “intelligence for good, technology for humans”, and thus improve the social trust system in the context of new technologies.

This article selects innovative journalism papers in addressing research questions, offering unique perspectives, and employing novel argumentation methods from nearly 30 Chinese academic journals (including Hong Kong and Taiwan) published in 2024. In 2024, Chinese journalism research maintained a relatively stable focus on topics and continue advancing through innovative perspectives. Firstly, research on journalism theory, news production,media convergence, journalistic practitioners, and audience engagement has supported the core foundation of news knowledge production over the past year. Secondly, with the continuous reshaping of news practice by digital communication technology, theoretical explorations on journalism business models and diverse storytelling techniques have returned to the forefront of journalism research. In addition, researchers have made significant progress in tracking and comparing innovative practices in Chinese journalism, critiquing and revisiting classic journalism concepts, conducting cross-disciplinary research between journalism history and socio-political history, and exploring issues such as gender representation in news and its role in society.

The year 2024 marks not only the 30th anniversary of China’s full access to Internet services but also a pivotal moment in the accelerated development of generative artificial intelligence technologies and applications. This year has witnessed extensive scholarly discussions and in-depth analyses on topics such as knowledge production and human-computer relationships in the context of generative AI. Guided by criteria including topical relevance, theoretical innovation, and research depth, this article identifies five key themes from new media research published in core journals in 2024: the transformation of the knowledge production paradigm driven by generative AI, evolving dynamics and challenges in human-computer relationships, cross-disciplinary interactions and innovative emotional practices in the AI era, studies on digital nomadism, and research on micro-short dramas. By categorizing and briefly reviewing these themes, this article aims to provide a structured overview that serves as a reference for future research in the field.

The rapid development of live-streaming e-commerce in China has led to the formation of a business model uniquely characterized by affective interaction. Based on Slavoj Žižek’s critical psychoanalytic theory, this study employs digital ethnography and in-depth interviews to offer a “symptomatic interpretation” of the affective labor performed by e-commerce livestreamers. It examines deep connections between ideological mechanisms and the psychological dimensions of the livestreamers, within the framework of the political economy of communication. The research finds that the affective labor of e-commerce livestreamers is reconstructed into a “hybrid affective labor” through the mediation of digital technology, with its core symptom being digitalized intimacy. This symptom manifests as a dual fragmentation of the subject, perceptual fragmentation and cognitive fragmentation, which reveals the contradictions and complexities of commodified affects. By analyzing the exploitative forms that result from the simultaneous operation of capital logic and desire logic within hybrid affective labor, the study examines how to transcend the surplus enjoyment illusion of the digital big Other on two levels: namely, the reshaping of affects and the reconstitution of identity. The study proposes that e-commerce livestreamers should reconnect with the essence of labor by emphasizing the embodied and authentic dimensions of affective labor, thereby effectively resisting capitalist ideology.

Over the past few years, there have been historical transformations in the global political, cultural, and communication landscape. Under these remarkable changes of the new era, academics have argued that the fundamental philosophy of China’s global cultural communication has to be advanced from “intercultural communication” to “transcultural communication”. This study will delineate the theoretical foundations of transcultural communication by following three trajectories--the communicative consequences of globalization, the critique of post-colonialism, and the methodological reflection--and inspect its implications within the current global political, economic, and cultural milieu, inspiring its potential to engage with China’s global communication practices. Based on this, we explore three transcultural practical directions for China’s global communication. The primary direction is to establish multicultural connections and fostering the networks among cultures worldwide. The second direction aims to attain the “liberation” of diverse cultural entities in practical politics within the framework of “critical transculturalism”, and to facilitate the “transformative reproduction” among Chinese and other cultures through hybridity. The third direction involves embracing a comprehensive perspective of global cultural fluxion, absorbing the traditional Chinese philosophical idea of “all-under-heaven” (tian-xia), considering the transcultural actors and establishing a “cosmopolitan risk collectivity” based on “rationality-cognition” throughout cultural interaction and transformation. These three directions are interconnected and mutually supportive, creating a synergistic mechanism when implemented collectively.

In contrast to western research on “digital disconnection”, which focuses on the digital “connection” or “disconnection” from the perspective of technology-based individual use, this paper explores the concept of “alienated connections”. It situates the disconnection practices within social media when the Chinese cultural context of guanxi, and focusing on the reconnection between contemporary youth who influenced by individual culture and their family and acquaintances in the context of guanxi-individualization, as well as the change of differential mode of association. In the horizontal, parallel relationships with family members and zijiaren (one of us), the traditional emphasis on deferring to parents (“obliged affection”) is no longer prominent. This has been replaced by “natural affection” expressed through intimacy without respect and the construction of pattern of “filial piety but disobedience”. Conversely, within the vertical hierarchical structure, the rule of renqing and mianzi continue to serve as strong forces in interaction. The inherent “order” structure of superiors and subordinates remains intact, manifesting itself as expressions of “obliged affection” characterized by respect without intimacy. In parallel acquaintance relationships, the intertwining of instrumental and emotional dimensions jointly determines the direction of the relationship. Under the mediation effect of digital media, the “internet-based relationship” established with potential relationships has become a new form of online acquaintance relationship. On the one hand, instrumental considerations cause such relationships tend to become distant. On the other hand, “natural affection” has become dynamics of such relationships to be close. In short, “alienated connections” is a coupling relationship strategy between individualization (self-culture) and guanxi culture for contemporary youth in the context of guanxi-individualization. “Alienated connections” not only aligns with Chinese practice between the guanxi structure and the process of individualization, but also has the theoretical potential for further dialogue with the western concept of “disconnection”.

Existing research often frames interns as proactive individuals under the concept of “manufacturing consent”. However, fieldwork reveals a private side marked by indignation and resistance, raising questions about the contrast between their onstage and offstage personas and its formation. Using the hidden transcripts theory and a processual perspective, this study examines the psychological transitions and authenticity shifts of interns at the Internet “giants” in China before and during their internships. Findings show that interns experience an emotional cycle of expectation, disenchantment, and resistance when facing the gap between ideals and reality. Yet, practical constraints compel them to endure temporarily through “compromise”. As self-awareness of authenticity grows, they adopt script-adjustment strategies to safeguard their interests. However, this compromise has limits, and triggering events may lead to performative withdrawal as a form of resistance.

The practice of “self-certification” has become widespread in contemporary Chinese fandoms. From selling fan-made merchandise and joining online communities to publicly expressing emotions, self-certification has become a crucial prerequisite for establishing trust among fans. The normalization and routinisation of “self-certification” reflect the trust crisis faced by individuals in the digital age, providing an entry point for studying digital communication among young people. This study conducted semi-structured interviews and participatory observations with fan groups from different areas to sort out the genesis and operational mechanisms of the digital “self-certification” phenomenon from the theoretical perspective of “the transparency society”. The findings reveal that the rise of self-certification reflects a shift from private interactions to the public sphere, in which fans retroactively construct transparent identities on social media and engage in self-governance according to fanquan rules. In building a trust system, fan groups generate “reputation capital” through diverse practices and evaluate emotional intensity using a complex “multi-currency” system. As interpersonal trust among fans becomes more abstract and technologically-mediated, digital tools like lists, screenshots, and watermarks play an increasingly central role. However, the logic of digital transparency, characterized by an overload of data and the erasure of emotional nuance, also brings about existential anxieties and deepens the difficulties surrounding trust. The potential for underlying violence within these dynamics deserves further exploration.

The process of connecting the things we perceive with concepts and their meanings is representation. Throughout its century-long history, the Walt Disney Company has established a dominant presence in the global cultural market, not only through audiovisual productions centered on iconic character series such as “princesses” and “superheroes”, but also through its widely acclaimed animal-themed films, which have resonated with audiences across generations. However, the research on Disney’s animal-themed movies and their global dissemination has rarely drawn the attention of Chinese communication scholars. This paper sorts out the diachronic evolution process of animal images and the representation of views on animals in Disney’s animated films over the past century, and explores the value tools through which Disney’s cultural products achieve global dissemination. The study finds that Disney has produced animal-themed movies with global influence in different historical periods. The representation of its views on animals has echoed the historical development of the global ecological trend of thought, which has become main reason for its cultural products to possess global cultural influence. Nevertheless, since entering the 21st century, as a representative of the capitalist cultural industry, Disney no longer closely follows the more internationalist ecological trends of thought like environmental justice, and relies excessively on digital technological means. Its animal-themed movies have fallen into a double trap of representation. The malfunction of the ecological ideological value tool has caused Disney’s animal-themed movies to lose their leading impetus in global dissemination in the 21st century.

This study employs the theoretical framework of agency affordance to explore the potential of Virtual Reality (VR) technology in facilitating immersive communication of cultural heritage, as well as its impact on the subjective experiences and attitudes of different individuals. Through controlled VR experiments manipulating the affordance of agency in three levels (none vs. low vs. high), the study finds that agency affordance can enhance the identification and attention to cultural heritage, but this effect is only significant at low level. Higher level of agency affordance is more effective in promoting the willingness to replace physical visits with virtual tours. Flow experience has a suppression effect on the relationship between agency affordance and cultural identification, and a mediation effect between agency affordance and the virtual replacement of physical tours. Media experience moderates the effect of agency affordance on offline engagment intention: for individuals with extensive VR experience, high level of agency affordance may reduce their willingness to engage in offline cultural heritage activities, leading them to prefer virtual tours instead. This research provides a new theoretical perspective and empirical support for understanding the impact of VR as a new medium for cultural communication, and offers evidence-based insights for designing more targeted communication strategies for cultural heritage.

This article adopts key criteria such as problem-oriented research awareness, practical concerns, theoretical perspectives, and methodological rigor to analyze the state of communication studies in China in 2024. Based on a selection of 148 studies from 18 Chinese academic journals (including those from Hong Kong and Taiwan), it categorizes the research into eleven thematic areas: the continuity and transformation of communication research paradigms, human-machine communication and human-machine relationships, critical algorithm studies, platform labor and digital nomadism, health communication, digital interactions, media memory, rural governance in the digital era, parenting practices and aging in a mediatic age, the media practices of marginalized groups, and media materiality. These topics collectively outline the knowledge landscape of Chinese communication research last year.

Incidental news exposure is a crucial way for social media users to encounter news. Different strategies for handling incidental news exposure affect users' knowledge acquisition, news engagement, and social participation. However, existing research has rarely focused on users' strategies for dealing with incidental news, leading to a lack of cumulative knowledge in studying the effects of incidental news exposure. This paper, based on the PINE model, categorizes incidental news handling strategies into browsing and reading. Using a configuration analysis approach, it examines key factors across three dimensions—user, social network, and content—to study how these factors interact and combine to influence users' handling strategies for incidental news. The research identifies the specific conditions under which social media users browse or read incidental news and finds that both news cues and social cues jointly determine users’ strategies for handling incidental news. The results reveal the reasons behind social media users’ handling of incidental news and provide empirical validation and theoretical integration of existing theories on incidental news exposure.

While the field of Communication Studies has evolved through perspectives such as the “communication as transmission” and the “communication as culture”, it is in need of developing new epistemological orientations. With the development of new technologies, the media landscape has undergone profound transformations and the emotional tone of society has shifted dramatically, yet the epistemology of communication studies has remained stagnant. This stagnation not only reflects but also exacerbates the ongoing predicament of communication research and the discipline’ s development. How communication studies should develop and what stance it should adopt to conduct research that is social, public, and powerful is a matter of common concern among communication scholars. This paper presents an interview with Professor Yang Guobin on his concept of “communication as translation”. Professor Yang discusses a translation-oriented view of communication from the perspective of stance and methods. He emphasizes the importance of respecting differences and approaching the subject with a humble, learning-oriented mindset. By reflecting on and correcting existing biases, he advocates for conducting academic research that is not only rigorous but also compassionate and hopeful.

As a discourse strategy to strengthen personal reputation and avoid public discussion, the proliferation of bullshit in the era of social media is threatening the communicative rationality. Through three interrelated surveys or experiments (N = 400), this study examines Chinese netizens’ receptivity of the pseudo-profound media discourse and its influencing factors, the differential receptivity levels of pseudo-profound media discourse in different fields, and what systematic methods can enhance people’s ability to identify bullshit. It is found that Chinese netizens have a relatively high receptivity of bullshit, intuitionistic beliefs and performative refinement reduce their sensitivity to bullshit, and the discursive suspicion brought by the preference for market economy is partially offset by the obedience to cultural authority. People were relatively good at identifying empirical issues, advertising, and evasive bullshit, but could not distinguish machine-generated passages from human work in given issues. This paper discusses the effects and conditions of using public accountability writing task and blocking disgust excitation to reduce the receptivity of pseudo-profound media discourse, and puts forward countermeasures to avoid polluting public discourse with bullshit.

Empathy is an important factor in revealing how individual emotions connect in the era of globalization, and has important constructive significance for “communities”. Children are often visual hooks that evoke empathy. This study was based on eye-tracking technology in communication physiology and psychology research. A 2 (children’s visual frame: with vs.without children) × 2 (photo caption: with vs. without photo caption) × 2 (graphicness level:high vs. low) three-factor mixed experimental design was conducted to explore the mechanism of the influence of children’s visual frame, photo caption and graphicness level in news images on individual attention and empathy. The results showed that 1) children’s visual frame significantly aroused attention, but did not evoke empathy; 2) the dual pathways in the ELM could produce adaptive changes in the field of risk communication, and dynamic and fluid cognitive path judgments were more consistent with current risk communication situations;3) the high graphicness of news images did not trigger individual attention, in addition to instantaneous effects, attention should also be paid to their long-term effects.

In the current historiography of the Internet, the years 1994 and 1987 are marked as two competing temporal nodes regarding the origin of Chinese Internet. As early as 1986,Chinese overseas students had begun to disseminate information and form communities through computer networks, resulting in the launch of the world’s first English electronic journal established by Chinese, the first Chinese electronic journal and the first Chinese online forum. This article examines the “prehistory” of Chinese Internet from 1986 to 1994 and finds that intellectual elites at the forefront of information technology as well as on the national borders were full of anxiety about China’s technological and cultural modernization, and were prompted to actively explore computer input method for Chinese characters and seek community-based public expression. Despite the gradual decline of these Chinese online communities, they still had inextricable intersections with China, bringing talent and technical enlightenment to domestic Internet construction, shaping foreign and domestic political imagination on China’s Internet in the post-Cold War context and providing a reference for exploring alternative Internet culture and understanding the global Internet histories.

In 2024, the study of Marxism Journalistic Views in China continued to revisit the fundamentals and innovate, yielding considerable results and demonstrating academic consciousness. Numerous studies have returned to the classic texts of Marxism, examining and rethinking the revolutionary leaders’ newspaper practices and journalistic thoughts, clarifying the origins and tracing back to the source. Regarding the CPC’s journalism endeavors guided by Marxist journalistic views, scholars have continuously deepened their exploration from multiple dimensions, significantly expanding the scope of research on Marxist journalism. Meanwhile, an increasing number of studies have focused on the present, integrating theory and practice, and discussing the new development of Marxist journalism in the new era, showing a distinct characteristic of “integration of essence and application”. Looking forward, the academic community should continuously promote the study of Marxism Journalistic Views to reach new heights and achieve new developments in the great journey of China’s modernization.

Adolescents in rural Western China, who are influenced by the developmental characteristics of adolescence and regional constraints, are prone to problematic mobile phone use. As the primary socialization setting for adolescents, understanding family communication patterns and their impact on adolescent behavior is essential for addressing and alleviating problematic mobile phone use among junior high school students. Based on psychological and behavioral data from 601 rural junior high school students in Western China, this study reveals that: (1) Among approximately 8.59 million rural junior high school students in Western China, the prevalence of problematic mobile phone use ranges from 31.6% to 39.2%, which is higher than that of their peers at home and abroad, with boys being particularly affected; (2) Influenced by both western Confucian traditions and modern educational values, family communication patterns in rural Western China can be categorized into three types: “authority- conformity”, “guidance-conformity” and “respect-conversation”; (3) Family communication patterns significantly impact problematic mobile phone use of rural junior high school students in Western China, among which the “guidance-conformity” pattern is more likely to induce their loneliness, and thus positively predicts problematic mobile phone use. This mediating effect is further strengthened when there is a high level of school connectedness. Thus, addressing the challenge of “overloaded media” hinges on restoring “lost connections” within the family.

Online health information avoidance, a modern form of “ignoring health issues”, has become a crucial public health concern in the context of an aging society. This study aims to uncover the mechanisms by which algorithm-recommended content influences elderly individuals’ health information avoidance behaviors and to evaluate the effectiveness of digital intergenerational support as family intervention. Study 1 (N = 343) constructs a influence model of health information avoidance behaviors of the elderly based on the “Stress - Strain – Outcome” (SSO) framework, which is validated using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Study 2 (N = 110) conducts an intergenerational digital support intervention experiment to test its intervention pathways and effectiveness. The findings are as follows: 1) The similarity and overload of algorithm-recommended content contribute to health information avoidance behaviors through increased information fatigue of the elderly; 2) Information relevance does not lead to health information avoidance; 3) Intergenerational digital support significantly reduces elderly individuals’ information fatigue regarding digital health content and effectively mitigates subsequent health information avoidance behaviors. The conclusions provide both theoretical insights and practical guidance for understanding health information avoidance behaviors among the elderly and developing effective interventions.

Contemporary game production aims to change gender and racial stereotypes, but these efforts often yield minimal results. This study employs the “warmth-competence” stereotype model and computational text analysis to conduct a “encoding-decoding” analysis of character stereotypes in the game “League of Legends.” The findings reveal that at the encoding level, game creators strive to break the strong association between character types and gender/race. However, when Chinese players perceive characters, they still project gender and racial stereotypes onto them, although some stereotypes dissipate as character types diversify. This research constructs a Chinese stereotype content dictionary and conducts a computational analysis of the bullet comments from videos interpreting “League of Legends” characters by Chinese audiences. The results show that audiences rate male characters lower in warmth but higher in competence than female characters. Women portrayed in traditional roles, such as heroes, are perceived as having lower abilities, whereas those in non-traditional roles, such as anti-heroes, are rated similarly to their male counterparts. This suggests that non-traditional roles can help dismantle gender stereotypes. Additionally, Chinese audiences rate characters representing Asian and White individuals higher in competence than those representing other people of color. However, the interaction effect of race and character type on stereotype perception is not significant. This indicates that Chinese game audiences have a persistent view of racial stereotypes, and the strategy of diversifying character types has little impact on changing these racial stereotypes. This study illustrates the need for game encoding to shift away from traditional stereotypes, promoting diverse perspectives among audiences through multimodal approaches.

The expression of the early dissemination of the concept of Leninism in China generally experienced the process of subordinate phrase of Lenin's/extremist's ism, the word translated from English and Japanese, and the borrowing of the original English word "Bolshevism" and its transliteration and free translation. and then consciously interpreting and finally shaping into a special concept of “Leninism”. Before and after the appearance of “Leninism”, its acceptance and stereotype showed that Leninism gradually changed from “acquaintance with” to “knowledge about” and then became a guide to action.This process reveals the media bias, power relations and even accidental factors in the early dissemination of Leninism as knowledge in China. Among them, it not only comes from the insight into the knowledge source of “Leninism” and the struggle for meaning in the process of Leninism from thought to practice, but also is influenced by specific events, mobility of staff, even translation and writing, which suggests the process of historical choice.

In the context of rural revitalization, discussing mediated governance requires going beyond media logic and delving into deeper social structural layers. A field study of an agri-tourism project in M Village, Jiangsu Province, reveals that the logic of intermediary rural governance is a more fundamental and structural logic beyond the technology and content of mediated governance. As an intermediary medium, the agri-tourism project not only connects the urban and rural economies and values’ but also actively reproduces urban-rural relationships, thereby creating a new rural village that integrates urban and rural areas. This holistic process reflects the mediated logic of rural governance, which contains three levels. First, it emphasizes connection and the resolution of contradictions; second, it stresses linkage, focusing on the capacity, process and changes brought to both ends by the medium’s active reproduction; finally, it highlights regeneration, shifting from process to outcome, and focusing on the new things that emerge from the collision of the both ends, which reflects the era and future potential.

The findings regarding the relationship between information attributes and communication effects on social media have predominantly been derived from textual information in previous research, while video information in the form of audiovisual symbols remains an area in need of further exploration. Questions such as: What is the relationship between its information attributes and communication effects? How do its formal and content characteristics intertwine to influence communication outcomes? —have yet to be fully addressed. This study conducts a full-sample analysis of short video content related to the 2017 NPC & CPPCC released by the official accounts of three central mainstream media outlets on Weibo. Employing computer-assisted and manual coding for content analysis, combined with participatory observation, the study examines the relationships between the communication effects and three dimensions of short video information, including the textual features of video titles, content characteristics, and audiovisual format attributes. Findings reveal that short videos with better communication effects tend to convey positive, equitable, and stable informational attributes. Compared to previous studies based on textual information, video information aligns more closely with the social attributes of social media, such as information communication and emotional management. However, the positive impact of formal features remains limited.

Research on the philanthropic activities of commercial platforms has rarely explored the underlying power dynamics and governance techniques. Taking “Ant Forest” on Alipay as a case study, this paper employs participatory observation and semi-structured in-depth interviews, and proposes the concept of “new production politics” of commercial platforms within the framework of Michael Burawoy’s production politics theory. The study analyzes why and how commercial platforms engage in philanthropic activities from the three dimensions of “state-platform-individual”. The findings reveal that commercial platforms respond to government policy demands through policy sensitivity and discourse appropriation strategies; they utilize gamification mechanisms to drive users into labor competitions and create labor consent through redesigning the digital platform with factory-like features; Within this political framework, individuals’ capacity for “self-organization” is constrained, and behaviors such as “cheating” and “lying flat” are viewed as forms of weak resistance, manifesting more as “labor burnout”. This paper argues that the embedding of commercial platforms into “state-society” relations represents a governance technique that absorbs resistant forces and fosters social stability.

The study aimed to explore the impact of relatively objective and subjective dimensions on digital inequality, considering both structural and agency factors. Based on data from the China General Social Survey (CGSS 2017), the study analyzed the degree, pathways, and group discrepancies of how structural social capital, cognitive social capital, relative deprivation, and subjective well-being affect digital inequality. It revealed that cognitive social capital and subjective well-being were elemental factors affecting perceived digital inequality, among which cognitive social capital significantly negatively predicted digital inequality, particularly in male or youth groups; and subjective well-being also significantly negatively predicted digital inequality, particularly among women or young people; while the relative deprivation and structural social capital had no significant impact. Therefore, it suggests that digital inequality should be a multi-perspective, multi-dimensional, and multi- stage issue. When determining intervention measures to enhance digital equality, it is necessary to take a long-term perspective, combine social and technological development prospects and predictions, and consider integrated factors as a whole, such as subjective and objective social capital, psychological capital, and adopt comprehensive measures with multiple subjects, levels, and dimensions.

International communication should not only emphasize “what” and “how” to say, but also the creation and maintenance of “relationship”. Utilizing the exponential random graph model (ERGM) as a framework and taking the “Belt and Road” issue as a case, this study investigates the impact of “emotion” and “identity” attributes of media organizations on the creation of relationships between media accounts on X(Twitter). The results show that, from the perspective of emotion, negative emotion inhibits the sending of interactions, that is, media dominated by negative emotion show a tendency of monologue-style speech; positive emotion has a homogeneous effect, and media dominated by positive emotion forms a tightly-connected “emotional community”. From the perspective of identity, the identity of “Media in Belt and Road Cooperation Countries” facilitates the sending of interactions; the common regional identity has a homogeneous effect, which results in the creation of a closely-knit “regional identity community”. Theoretically, the study elucidates the mechanisms by which emotions and identity attributes influence interactions among media. Practically, the study provides insights into how to conduct international communication from a “relational” perspective.

As digital connectivity causes four harms which include time displacement, interference, boundary blurring, and exposure effects, disconnection and optimization of connection based on technological affordances have become alternative choices for social media users. Unlike WeChat Moments, which is a curated circle of friends, and Weibo, where no one cares about posts, WeChat Status has built a middle stage where users can show their authentic selves and gain attention from close friends through imagined visibility and concrete visibility provided by the platform. Based on the qualitative analysis of 23 WeChat Status users’ in-depth interviews, this paper finds that users domesticate some functions of WeChat Status in order to break the “online siege”, reduce social burnout, and regain the dominance of the “social neighborhood”, thus increasing the “de-connecting” online social behavior in the middle region. In order to meet the new social needs that are difficult to perceive, can be forgotten online, and can shape identities, users have appropriated traditional in-person communication ways such as “electronic diaries”, online “tree holes”, and ceremonial “wish pools” through WeChat Status to find the middle region of online social spaces and have shown a new “reconnection” behavior of online interactions that will balance users’ desire for privacy and expression. Whether it is the de-connection social regulation based on the connection function or the reconnection social expression based on the disconnection demand, it is a communication behavior of user domestication technology and reversing connection function, in which online social mediation is achieved in the process.

With the rise of online videos, the dissemination of emerging technologies and technological achievements in the country has become more vivid. The younger generation, who have grown up amid the national rejuvenation, has also demonstrated stronger confidence and identification in the nation’s science and technology in the comment area. This paper takes the comment text of science and technology videos on Bilibili as the research object, and applies sentiment analysis, semantic network analysis, BTM topic model and other techniques to examine youth audience’ attitudes towards national identity after watching science and technology videos through the cognition-affect-conation model. The results show that after watching science and technology videos, youth audience always take the country as the core subject in cognition process; they also show strong positive emotions in terms of affect and mainly express their emotions through four ways: comparing China to other countries, endorsing local brands, honoring researchers, and forming collective memories; in terms of conation, they mainly show positive behavior intentions such as support, expect and tribute. This paper aims to explore cognation, affect and conation towards national identity among youth audience which shown in comments on science and technology videos, and to provide a new research perspective for the research on the effect of science and technology video communication.

Digital and intelligent technology is deeply embedded in the society, which makes the knowledge circulation and communication network in the social technology system more complicated. The existing researches mainly focus on the mediating role of platform and technology in knowledge transmission, but neglect the function of knowledge translation and transmission of human in knowledge transmission network. Through participatory observation and interviews, this study further expands the relevant discussion by taking the knowledge mediation and translation practice of medical companions in the medical health system as the entry point. The study finds that medical companions play the roles of “knowledge expert”, “knowledge navigator” and “knowledge tinker” in transferring patients’ disease experience and medical expertise, the tacit knowledge of medical organization system and the knowledge of digital medical technology system, and become human patches embedded in the medical health system through the intermediary and translation of relevant knowledge of the medical system. The inclusion of human as an important intermediary in the analytical framework of knowledge transmission is helpful to reveal the cognitive regulating role of human in the complex knowledge transmission network and the bridging and complementing role of human in supporting knowledge flow.

Under the national situation of aging and childlessness, intelligent elderly care products and services represented by companion robots are coming into families. For companion robots to better serve the elderly, inner social support from the family is important. Through 9-month participant observation and 4-stage in-depth interviews, the study found that the inner social support from children, grandchildren, and spouses in the family that aging people get from using companion robots is mainly reflected in instrumental, informational, and emotional support. Intergenerational support shows a dynamic and intertwined process of “nonsupport- limited support-moderate support-excessive support”. Aging people also generate reverse support for their children and grandchildren. Spousal support is predominantly emotional, and male older adults are less likely to support their female partners, while female older adults are more dependent on spousal support. The companion robot is more of a mediator in the family that connects aging people than a companion in human-robot communication.

From the perspective of media studies, this paper first presents a comprehensive overview of the experience materials related to the “Qianle Bridge,” including its historical evolution and current status, as well as various local rituals held at the bridgehead. Following this, the article explores the connotations of “bridge” in Chinese, elucidating why “bridge” can be considered a “medium” within the Chinese context. Building upon this foundation, the paper reconnects with the experience materials from the “Qianle Bridge” to enrich and refine the specific meaning of “bridge” as a “medium” - that is, connectivity and separation. Furthermore, based on these empirical materials, the paper uncovers another layer of the specific significance of “bridge” as a medium, namely that its role in connecting and separating also manifests between yin and yang, giving it the meaning of a “spirit medium”. Engaging in such dialogues holds great importance for enhancing the theoretical framework of media studies. It facilitates the academic convergence of Chinese and Western theories, transforms certain abstract concepts of media studies into more tangible discussions, and embodies the efforts towards localizing and theorizing Chinese communication research.

The rapid development of artificial intelligence enabled it to closely link various things such as human-cyber-physical system, creating a social pattern of interconnection of everything positioning AI as an increasingly critical media force. However, how countries understand, shape and govern the mediated use of AI remains an area that requires further in-depth analysis. Utilizing the discourse network analysis method, this research dissects the AI governance policies of China, the United States and Europe. It specifically scrutinizes the structural composition and authority distribution within their collaborative governance systems. Through this analysis, the research aims to unravel the imagined content, subject relations, and construction logic of the AI sociotechnical imaginaries. It is found that there are some differences in the governance objectives and key governance stakeholders across countries, leading to distinct challenges related to discursive closure. It also verifies that the AI collaborative governance is a subjective political decision. To prevent the AI sociotechnical imaginaries from succumbing to Collingridge’s dilemma due to discursive closure, this research suggests that China can enrich the content of AI sociotechnical imaginaries and foster the diversity of imaginary actors by examining the governance systems of other countries, while grounding its approach in the context of its own national conditions.

Imaginary serves as a crucial tool for understanding the early internet, reflecting the intertwined relationship between the internet and society. It provides a valuable pathway for exploring the early stages of internet development. Adopting a “long duration” analytical perspective and drawing upon the framework of sociotechnical imaginaries, this study integrates language, rhetoric, and action to investigate public and memory discourses about early Chinese internet imaginaries (1984–1999). The findings reveal that early internet imaginaries, as assemblages of materiality, meaning, and normativity, unfold across technological, value, and social dimensions, centering on connecting the world, realizing national revival, and reconfiguring daily life. These imaginaries exhibit characteristics of macro-level comprehensiveness, strong technological optimism, and pronounced pragmatism. Within the narratives of “catching up” and “revival,” the internet, as embedded in Chinese society, was envisioned as a means for underdeveloped regions to leapfrog in development, reflecting its unique socio-cultural significance in modern China. Significantly, 1995 emerges as a pivotal exploratory node in this “long duration,” marking the transition of the internet from an abstract concept to practical implementation. This period witnessed profound changes across technical infrastructure, policy support, commercialization, and social applications, with imaginaries shifting from elite-driven narratives to broader public participation, and themes extending from macro-level visions to everyday experiences. Internet imaginaries serve as an analytical lens, offering insights into the evolving perceptions of the internet in Chinese society and presenting a promising avenue for studying the social history of the internet in China.

In light of the ambiguous nature of value appeal and the emergence of novel crisis response strategies, this study integrates empirical data from China to investigate the potential influence of cultural characteristics such as “fact and value”, “public and private”, “internal and external”, and “domestic shame should not be publicized”. The research aims to provide theoretical insights and empirical evidence from China to complement the predominantly Western discourse on crisis communication. Three experiments (N1=193; N2=246; N3=243) revealed that factual appeals are more effective than value appeals; public values facilitate more effective apologies than organizational values; the internal letter format enhances participants’ perceptions of sincerity in apologies; and internal letters amplify the differential impact of public interests and organizational interests on the perception of apology, while attenuating the differential effects of public values and organizational values on perceptions of sincerity in apologies. This study also addresses its limitations and discusses both theoretical and practical implications.

Over three decades ago, the internet entered China as a new medium inherently equipped with international communication attributes. Today, international communication has risen to the level of a national strategic priority—an outcome not only of China’s own developmental trajectory but also of the global proliferation of the internet. To fully grasp China’s strategic position and contemporary mission in international communication, it is imperative to re-examine the internet’s essential role and historical evolution as foundational infrastructure for cross-border communication. It also calls for a critical reflection on the long-standing cognitive separation between international and domestic communication. Revisiting this trajectory and re-centering the internet’s transformation from an “inward-facing” to an “outward-facing” infrastructure is key to achieving breakthroughs in China’s international communication. Looking ahead to the next thirty years of the internet, the challenges of China’s international communication will not only be limited to the traditional levels of technology, application, market and policy, but will also go deeper into the “deep-water zone” of how China can truly go global and deeply integrate with the rest of the world.

Complete History of Ta Kung Pao (1902-1949) By Wu Tingjun. Shanghai: Fudan University Press, 2023, 2580 pages, ISBN: 978-7-309-16393-3, ¥680.

Village cadres are intermediaries in the interaction between the state and rural society. The implementation of national government platforms in rural areas often relies on village leaders for coordination and execution. Based on field research on the implementation of government service platforms in rural areas in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, this study found that village cadres are tasked with handling state’s digital tasks, such as national information collection and platform downloading, and there is a trend towards screen-based approaches for village cadres. The platform interface fixes the identity of village cadres as state agents, and the state’s standardized digital formats are embedded in the rural governance system, enhancing governance clarity. The essence of the interaction between the state and village cadres is the interaction between the state and rural society, which is mediated by national platforms. The state interacts with village cadres through platforms to form a more structured rural social interaction order. However, during the process of platforms reaching rural areas, there have also been issues such as “digital formalism” and “digital suspension” in rural society. This study aims to investigate the experience of using village cadre platforms and promote the theory and practice of national rural governance in the digital age.

In the context of urban and rural China, returned migrant workers starting businesses, as an “adaptive” measure in response to economic and social development, is embedded in the institutional logic of state governance. In specific entrepreneurial actions, the practice of multiple subjects is intertwined with significant tension, and the dilemmas in connecting each subject presents significant risks. As an example, the establishment of a tea-specialized cooperative by the farmers of Xiaohua village, is the result from the combination of internal entrepreneurship and external push. The external actors assist the cooperative in connect with the urban market, the grassroots government and the rural society by actively investing social capital and advancing communication practice as much as possible. However, the tension between the different subjects remains. From the angle of communication and social linkage, this case shows that building a community of seeking connectivity can be regarded as a practical approach for returned migrant workers’ starting businesses in urban and rural China. It is necessary to build an intermediary system composed of people and technology within a specific social structure and social situation, and to adopt “seeking connectivity” as the action logic, to try to connect different subjects with multiple and appropriate intermediary actions. To build a community of seeking connectivity, in addition to improving infrastructure and social support networks, greater attention should be paid to human factors.

In recent years, researchers in the political economy of communication have actively engaged in interdisciplinary explorations of the new phenomena and problems introduced by digital technology and information and communication technology within global society. While this trend has facilitated an empirical turn and the intergenerational inheritance of the field, it has also overshadowed the everyday life experiences, work processes and cultural practices of individuals as subjects, causing both “people” and “technology” ensnared in the framework of a computational world. Based on an examination and overview of the background, theoretical development, core viewpoints and research steps of institutional ethnography, this article provides a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the commonalities between the political economy of communication and institutional ethnography in terms of their research traditions, interests, subjects and objectives. On the one hand, these commonalities establish a solid academic foundation for their mutual construction. Combining their research approaches can re-establish diverse connections between micro-level individuals, meso-level organizations, and macro-level power structures, as well as the dynamic relationships between social structures and “meaning in action.” On the other hand, exploring the main pathways for the integration of the two fields, particularly through in-depth research on social issues that have recently garnered significant attention in academia, such as platform labor, digital nomads, and rural communication, can further advance the innovation and development of the political economy of communication. Such integration and its pathways offer new possibilities for transcending the simple combination of theory and method while giving rise to a series of novel and open academic practices.