Chinese Young People's Engagement with Journalism
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CHINESE YOUNG PEOPLE’S ENGAGEMENT WITH JOURNALISM: PERSPECTIVES AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE NEWS XIN ZENG A thesis submitted is in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Bournemouth University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy November 2014 Copy right statement This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and due acknowledgement must always be made of the use of any material contained in, or derived from, this thesis. I Abstract The changing media landscape in China has created a diverse society where young audiences often suffer from confusing and conflicting values. There is an increasing concern that young people‘s sense of citizenship is in decline, suggesting a lack of awareness that may be indicative of an alienation towards news. The purpose of this study is to enhance scholarly understanding of the relationship between Chinese young citizens and news. The research was conducted in Beijing, involving 12 focus groups and 40 semi-structured interviews with teenagers, and 10 in-depth interviews with their parents and teachers. Evidence obtained highlights that young citizens have a general negative view towards national news media regarding news objectivity, balance, and depth. Results also suggest that young citizens struggle to understand the top-down form of news in China. The gaps between young people and news raise questions about their relative grasp of news literacy, and their perspectives on what counts as good journalism. Briefly, the analysis reveals that: a) while news plays an important role in providing young citizens with information in their daily lives, consistent consumption of news does not necessarily result in enhancing their news literacy; and b) young citizens‘ perspectives on news are shaped by both foreign news concepts and domestic news stereotypes. The study reaffirms that multiple dimensions of citizenship and cultural traditions in different social contexts need to be integrated when examining the relationship between young citizens, news and news education. Looking to the future, the thesis presents a strong case for a new approach to help reduce the gap between young II people and national news, offering specific recommendations for better developing news literacy education strategies best suited for China. III Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................... II Contents ....................................................................................................................... IV Contents of Figures ...................................................................................................... IX Contents of Tables ........................................................................................................ X Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... XI Declaration ................................................................................................................ XIII Chapter 1 Introduction: Young citizens in the changing social and media environment ........................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 1.2 The social context of the study ........................................................................ 2 1.2.1 Social transition and changes in Chinese journalism........................... 2 1.2.2 Values in transition and the changing Chinese journalism .................. 4 1.2.3 Media literacy education...................................................................... 7 1.2.4 Young people as media users and news audiences ........................... 19 1.3 Research rationale and aims of the study ....................................................... 29 1.4 Conception and general research methodology ............................................. 33 1.5 Structure of the thesis and layout of the dissertation ..................................... 34 Chapter 2 Young people, citizenship and news ........................................................... 36 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 36 2.2 Young audiences, media and culture ............................................................. 37 2.3 Young people and citizenship ........................................................................ 38 2.4 Media and young people‘s political socialization .......................................... 44 IV 2.5 Young people, media and identities ............................................................... 46 2.5.1 The relationship between young people, media and identities ........... 46 2.5.2 Young citizen’s identity in Chinese social context .............................. 50 2.6 Youth and news.............................................................................................. 53 2.6.1 Young people, news and politics ......................................................... 53 2.6.2 Youth and news literacy ...................................................................... 59 2.7 Summary of literature review ........................................................................ 64 Chapter 3 Methodology ............................................................................................... 66 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 66 3.2 General research design ................................................................................. 66 3.3 The sample for this study ............................................................................... 69 3.4 Conceptual references .................................................................................... 70 3.5 Justification of the methods ........................................................................... 73 3.6 The research framework and gaps identified in the literature........................ 81 3.7 Specific procedure.......................................................................................... 83 3.7.1 Pilot study ........................................................................................... 83 Purpose and rationale.................................................................................. 83 Sampling and data collection....................................................................... 83 Data Analysis ............................................................................................... 84 3.7.2 Focus Groups ...................................................................................... 85 Purpose and rationale.................................................................................. 85 Sampling and data collection....................................................................... 86 Data analysis ............................................................................................... 88 3.7.3 Semi-structured intensive interviews .................................................. 89 V Purpose and rationale.................................................................................. 89 Sampling and data collection....................................................................... 89 Data analysis ............................................................................................... 91 3.8 Ethical considerations .................................................................................... 92 3.9 Strength and weakness of the methods .......................................................... 93 3.10 Concluding reflections ................................................................................. 95 Chapter 4 News in the eyes of young people ............................................................. 96 4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 96 4.2 News in young people‘s daily lives ............................................................... 96 4.2.1 What is news?...................................................................................... 96 4.2.2 What news do young people consume? ............................................. 100 4.2.3 News apathy ...................................................................................... 109 4.2.4 Indiscriminative news consumption .................................................. 113 4.2.5 Further discussions ........................................................................... 116 4.3 Young people‘s requirements, preferences and expectations of news......... 120 4.3.1 News requirements and preferences ................................................. 120 4.3.2 Difficulties in understanding news.................................................... 121 4.3.3 Further discussions ........................................................................... 123 4.4 Perceptions of news quality ......................................................................... 124 4.4.1 Definitions of quality news................................................................ 124 4.4.2 Perceived criteria for quality news ................................................... 125