Integrating media forms urged to better serve the public

The general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council recently released a guideline to further beef up media convergence.

All media platforms were urged to better understand the importance and need for media convergence and for reform and innovation to advance the integration of traditional media－such as printed media, television and radio－and emerging media－such as the internet and portable technologies－into more diverse forms of information products.

The task involves identifying the policies, management, talents and technologies needed to build a group of "new mainstream media with strong influence and competitiveness" as soon as possible.

This is not the first time that the central authorities have stressed the importance of media convergence.

In January 2019, after visiting People's Daily in Beijing and learning about the development of social media and other new media products at China's largest newspaper group, President Xi Jinping said boosting integrated media development had become an "urgent topic".

The new guideline emphasizes "internet thinking" and calls for pooling more high-quality content, advanced technologies, talents and funds with internet and mobile terminals to strengthen the online network.

The connection between the media and the audience should be strengthened by applying more new technologies and adhering to the people-centered principle, the guideline said, and that the platforms had to be more engaged with their users and produce content they like.

Highlighting integrated development driven by advanced technology, it stressed the need to better use 5G, big data, cloud computing, the internet of things, blockchain and artificial intelligence to strengthen research on news communication.

Mainstream media were called on to become more aware of market competition and to continue reforms in organizational structure and editing process to form an intensive and efficient content production system.

Media organizations at the State, province, city and county level should enhance international communication capabilities to better tell Chinese stories and spread Chinese culture to the world, the document said.

In addition, the guideline called for a more active, open and effective media recruitment policy and putting more young and middle-aged professionals who are adept at new media into key positions.