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March 7, 2016

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Home » Opinion » Chinese Views

Regulation governing self-media accounts reminds us of value of proper journalism

By Ni Tao | March 7, 2016, Monday | Print Edition

AS a WeChat user, I normally begin my day by checking for updates and incoming messages.

Some messages make refreshing reads over breakfast, some don’t. Some are so irrelevant and trivial that I delete them right away.

Much of this information is delivered by what are known as self-media accounts. These accounts are managed by registered organizations or individuals, who send out free content to subscribers on every topic imaginable, including the latest government policies, social news, stock prices and celebrity gossip.

Although what’s shared on WeChat is mostly enriching, I’m already starting to experience what can only be called “information overload.”

For instance, the biggest news last week was no doubt Leonardo DiCaprio’s Academy Award win.

Within minutes, this news was being circulated on WeChat — so much so that a friend posted a screen capture of his mobile phone showing at least a dozen headlines saluting DiCaprio and his moment of glory.

Unless one is a fan of Xiao Li, as DiCaprio is affectionately nicknamed in China, one could perhaps feel disoriented or perturbed at being bombarded with information of such a homogeneous nature.

According to estimates, there are now upwards of 10 million self-media accounts in China. The explosion in their ranks has helped WeChat evolve from a mere mobile-messaging app to an integrated information provider. In fact, it’s fair to say that the app has revolutionized the way people in China access information.

With so much news content now being channeled to tablet computers and smart phones, many newspaper veterans are leaving print journalism for the brave new world of self-media, a trend that has hastened the decline of print media.

Although quite a few traditional print outlets have opened self-media accounts of their own, they are held back by rules and standards that sometimes elude their self-media peers.

Self-media has become a magnet for VC or PE funding, and stories abound of obscure operators being catapulted to overnight fame and fortune.

Their future, however, may now hang in the balance thanks to a new joint-regulation issued by the country’s publishing watchdog and information authority.

Especially unnerving is a provision that self-media operators must possess certain certificates to prove their qualifications. For instance, a WeChat account management team should comprise a minimum of eight editors, who must pass the same national tests administered to professional reporters and publishers.

This may be a tall order, since many self-media account operators are micro operations with only two or three people. Depending on how strictly the new regulation is enforced, they could face an existential crisis.

Blatant lies

The regulation signals an attempt by officials to rein in and bring order to Internet publishing, which now resembles a jungle devoid of rules.

This is evidenced by the fact that WeChat has been used to wage smear campaigns between business rivals. Besides, riddled with misinformation and blatant lies, it looks poised to replace the Twitter-like Weibo as the next rumor mill.

With the new regulation taking effect on March 10, we expect to see more stringent standards being applied to constrain the excesses of self-media. Hopefully, this will also remind us of what is essential to good journalism.

Viewpoints and comments may be the backbone of what has come to be known as “WeChat journalism,” but they are no substitute for assiduously researched news stories.

A recent topic of heated discussion on WeChat is the Oscar-winning film “Spotlight,” which is inspired by the work of Boston Globe journalists who were awarded a Pulitzer Prize for exposing a sex abuse scandal implicating the Catholic Church.

The film’s message is particularly poignant for Chinese journalists. Barely a decade ago, muckraking and investigative journalism were still championed as the pinnacles of the profession. Since then, the proliferation of new media has seen timeliness trump all other concerns, setting the stage for the decline of in-depth reporting.

Media watcher Wei Wuhui observed recently that the metrics used to gauge the financial potential of self-media should not be the yardstick against which “slow” journalism is judged.

Too many tycoons are rushing to invest in self-media, while completely ignoring other forms of media and their role in upholding journalistic principles, he said. It will be interesting to see whether the new regulations regarding self-media will curb its unbridled expansion. At the same time, it will also be in the public’s best interest to see more balance in China’s media landscape.

Chinese Views


 

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