How Newspapers Respond to Technological Change: a Comparison Between the UK and China
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WestminsterResearch http://www.westminster.ac.uk/research/westminsterresearch How newspapers respond to technological change: a comparison between the UK and China Miao Mi Faculty of Media, Arts and Design This is an electronic version of a PhD thesis awarded by the University of Westminster. © The Author, 2015. This is an exact reproduction of the paper copy held by the University of Westminster library. The WestminsterResearch online digital archive at the University of Westminster aims to make the research output of the University available to a wider audience. Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the authors and/or copyright owners. Users are permitted to download and/or print one copy for non-commercial private study or research. Further distribution and any use of material from within this archive for profit-making enterprises or for commercial gain is strictly forbidden. Whilst further distribution of specific materials from within this archive is forbidden, you may freely distribute the URL of WestminsterResearch: (http://westminsterresearch.wmin.ac.uk/). In case of abuse or copyright appearing without permission e-mail [email protected] How Newspapers Respond to Technological Change: a Comparison between the UK and China Miao Mi A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Westminster for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy April 2015 Declaration of Authorship I, Miao Mi, herewith certify that all material in this dissertation is a product of my own work or, if not, it has been appropriately referenced. Signed: Date: i Abstract This study investigates whether Internet technology and New Media innovations have been homogenizing British and Chinese press journalism, and, if not, in which ways and why they have responded differently. The basic assumption of the thesis has been raised from Fidler's mediamorphosis theory and it argues that the transformation of mass media is normally brought about by a complex interplay between many variables (1996). To do this, the study examines the complex processes through which news organizations have been repositioning their brand identity and value, and through which journalistic professionals have been redefining the notion of their craft and their work prac- tices in the UK and China. It first takes a historical perspective identifying the commonalities and differences between press journalism of the two countries as well as social and economic conditions that have influenced the ways in which newspapers have responded to the development of communication technologies. The thesis then selects four well-established newspapers from the UK and China and compares the commonalities and differences between the online content they produced, their editorial organizational patterns, established journalistic culture in the four selected newsrooms. This study in the end discusses the impacts of the complex interplay between historical journalistic traditions, commercial drives and organizational structure as well as journalistic practices upon the ways in which newspaper organizations in the two countries have responded to Internet technology and New Media innovations. This study finds that although all newspapers claim to be multi-platform content providers, the two British newspapers, the Guardian and the Daily Mail, have enhanced their brand value on the Internet by extending their journalistic values and good practice online, while the two Chinese newspapers, the China Youth Daily and the Southern City Daily, have faced a decline in brand credibility, a decrease in journalistic integrity and an erosion of self-satisfaction among Party journalists. This study identifies the changes in organizational structure, as well as the negotiations between the Internet's social and technical dimensions with newsroom culture; and it goes on to evaluate how newspapers have managed to achieve a good online strategy and excellent online journalistic practice, and have enhanced journalists' self-perception. iii However, the findings have also shown that there is a danger of deterioration in the quality of journalism, and the reasons have been identified as: 1. requirements for multimedia skills; 2. increased competition between 24-hour news channels, online news portals and social media platforms; 3. the replacement of traditional editorial judgments and journalistic practice through the availability of various technical supplements. The study makes two contributions to knowledge. First, the comparison between the UK and China is a starting-point in seeking a new approach to the under- standing of media convergence and New Media phenomena, and a new way of reasoning as to how the interplay between technological, cultural, commercial and political pressures might shape journalism in terms of newsroom practice/routines and organizational structure in different countries. Second, it is the first doctoral study in the UK and other English{speaking countries to compare how newspaper organizations practice online journalism in the UK and China as responses to the development of Internet technology and New Media innovations, not only by providing empirical evidence, but also by providing quantitative content analysis of newspapers' online websites and a comparison between each newspaper's online and offline versions. It will bring the understanding of Chinese journalism up-to- date. Acknowledgements First and foremost, I want to thank my supervisor Prof. Hugo de Burgh, for his valuable advice, unfailing commitment, generous support and continuous encour- agement that have made my PhD experience stimulating and productive. I really appreciate his contributions of time, thoughts, contacts and enthusiasm that have been putting into my research. I have learnt from him. I am also very grateful to the help I received from the colleagues from China Media Centre at the Uni- versity of Westminster, Dr. Rong Zeng, Alja Kranjec and Yiru Chang. Without the funding, support and friendship I received from China Media Centre, I would not be able to go through the journey alone myself. My warmest thanks also go to Prof. Colin Sparks, Dr. Xin Xin and Dr. Paul Dwyer. Their expertise and inspiration are always there helping me to get out of mental block. I would also like to thank the editors, journalists and newspapers managers who have generously offered me their time, expertise and knowledge. The Deputy Managing Editor of MailOnline, Tal Gottesman, the managing editor of the Guardian and its website Elisabeth Ribbans kindly helped me to access to their newsrooms and meet their colleagues for interviews although under the constant pressure of rolling deadlines. The deputy Chief of the China Youth Daily's web- site helped me to get access to senior meetings and acquired scripts of speeches made in these meetings attended by Chief Editors of Party newspapers in China. Without their generous help, I would not be able to complete this thesis. Their curiosity about the research topic and their encouragement also helped me to believe the possible contribution that this thesis could make to the industry and the academy. In addition, the friendships I have developed at Southern Media Group have made my fieldwork a productive and joyful journey. In the end, I want to express my deepest thanks to my family. My parents' love, understanding, support and encouragement have motivated me to never give up. Special thanks to Wu who has been committed to bioengineering research at the same time as I have been undertaking this thesis. Without his understanding, I could not be as happy a person as I am now. There is also my son Lucas, without whom, I could probably have finished the thesis one year earlier. iv Contents Declaration of Authorshipi Abstract ii Acknowledgements iv Contentsv List of Figures ix List of Tablesx 1 INTRODUCTION1 1.1 RESEARCH BACKGROUND....................1 1.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES.....................4 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS......................5 1.4 RESEARCH METHODS.......................8 1.5 THESIS OUTLINE..........................9 2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 11 2.1 INTRODUCTION.......................... 11 2.2 ONLINE JOURNALISM DEBATE................. 12 2.2.1 Debate on the Practice of Journalism............ 15 2.2.2 Debate on the Change of Newsroom Culture........ 20 2.2.3 Debate on Media Convergence................ 22 2.3 MEDIAMORPHOSIS ........................ 25 2.4 COMPARATIVE JOURNALISM STUDIES............ 28 2.4.1 Content-Oriented Comparative Studies........... 30 2.4.2 Comparison of Journalism Culture............. 34 v Contents vi 2.4.3 Comparison between News Organizations and Media Systems 39 3 METHODOLOGY 43 3.1 INTRODUCTION.......................... 43 3.2 SELECTION OF RESEARCH METHODS............. 43 3.2.1 Comparative Journalism Studies............... 43 3.2.1.1 Why Use Comparative Journalism in this Study. 44 3.2.1.2 Comparability................... 45 3.2.2 Content Analysis....................... 49 3.2.3 Semi-Structured Interviews.................. 51 3.3 ETHICAL CONCERNS AND LIMITATIONS........... 55 3.4 CONCLUSION............................ 58 4 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF PRESS JOURNALISM IN THE UK AND CHINA 59 4.1 INTRODUCTION.......................... 59 4.2 PRESS AND PRINT JOURNALISM IN THE UK AND CHINA. 60 4.2.1 British Press and Print Journalism............. 60 4.2.1.1 Twists and Turns in the Seventeenth Century.. 60 4.2.1.2 The Birth of a National Press and the Period of the Radical Press.................. 64 4.2.1.3 The Emergence of the Popular Press....... 67 4.2.2