New Media and Global Communication

The line between communication to the home and the world blurs Multi-actors: grassroots gaining momentum： When governments representing nations play the role of global communicators, there are limitations to the national image they present and there are problems with the effect in the international communication system.

UGC：UGC is born to be close to people. When individuals become communicators, they will be more aware of their role in global communication. Eg. Drudge Report, an important individual news aggregation website.

The web campaign by netizens home and abroad against the biased reporting of western media on Tibet issue.

New media, more convenient in cross-border communication, pose challenge to the control over international communication ： Traditional media communication is linear with limited number of media. Thus the control of media means the control of information flow. The Internet is totally different. It is both medium and channel, open to everyone. Anyone can set up a website, send emails, publish blogs, etc. The communicators are multiplied and individualized, which makes possible the spread of diversified information and ideas. Thus the information supervision and control becomes difficult.

Eg. On May 2, 2011, the death of Bin Laden was revealed first on twitter at 22:24 after it was proved at 19:00, 20 minutes earlier than traditional media. The internet traffic immediately increased, with more than 4 million page views per minute, though it was midnight. President Obama made a speech of confirmation at 23:35. At this time the news was already widely spread around the world via the Internet. The next day, news stories hit the headline in the major newspapers like the NYT, the Times, the Guardian, etc.

More media forms and methods： Text, audio, video, web link Multi-channels, multi-terminals, multi-platforms, with integration of the Internet, broadcasting network, broadband network and mobile communication network, including computer, TV, mobile phone, and tablet. Rich information sources, publication realized at web TV, digital TV, blog, podcast, e-paper, app, social media, mobile media and so on.

Haiti was hit by earthquake on Jan Haiti was hit by earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010 and infrastructure was destroyed. Thus media like TV and newspapers could not function normally. Social media like Facebook soon filled the blank. The news and information on Facebook aroused people’s attention and international aid followed. On Jan. 14, Facebook launched a homepage about global aid and users could find the information about how to give aid to Haiti. It showed the Internet’s significant function of connecting people at times of disaster.

Multi-services beyond news: Traditional media mainly provide news for global communication (TV provides a bit more entertainment). New media: movie, sports, entertainment programs, games, long-distance call, mail, message services; delivery and download of text, pictures, data, and audio-visual materials; online shopping, transaction, e-commerce, forum, teaching, academic exchange, etc. An integration of information exchange and multi-services.

Direct effect traditional media: one-way and linear, time lag between sending and receiving, lacking in immediate feedback new media: immediate, direct feed back, greater impact

Two results of immediate feed back: When government or mainstream media do not provide information immediately, other sources including individuals will fill in the blank When mainstream sources do not provide accurate or true information, other sources will correct them. In the two situations, the credit of the mainstream sources will be affected. Eg. Tianjin Blast

More countries could participate in global communication and make themselves heard in the international community with the help of new media.

Eg. Anti-CNN website Anti-Carrefour campaign mobilized by video websites, personal blogs, MSN, etc.

The way of research？ The change of media consumption: eg. choice of online news may differ from offline news. Individual interest counts more. Possible paths for study: Internet as media content, eg. Study of what is contained in online media Internet as public, eg. Online survey Internet as intervening variable, eg. How does it intervene in agenda-setting process?