Wei Wuhui
Editor's Note:
As Weibo (microblogs) have blossomed in China, traditional media has been eclipsed. Journalists have leapt over to Weibo, looking for fame. But does Weibo also encourage the spreading of false information? Can it produce a quality culture of journalism? Global Times (GT) reporter Gao Lei talked with Wei Wuhui (Wei), a former media executive and a lecturer at Shanghai Jiaotong University, on these issues.
GT: What do you think of the rise of Weibo in news coverage?
Wei: There have been many social incidents recently, and Weibo has been one of the main sources where people learn about and discuss the news. But it is very difficult to tell whether information posted there is genuine or false. Even when people make efforts to check and correct false information, it has little effect. For example, a journalist once published a message, which was later proven false, about a social incident. When he realized the mistake and went to delete the message, the information had already been retweeted thousands of times, and his clarification was only seen by a few dozen people.
GT: You mentioned that journalist working for printed media have enjoyed a huge boost of their reputations with the help of microblogs. Some previously unknown reporters have even become stars on the new information platform. But why now?
Wei: In the past, the only way reporters could present themselves was through articles. For instance, Yang Jisheng is quite a well-known journalist working for the Xinhua News Agency, but he only start to draw public attention when his own book was published. But most journalists are very busy and don't have time to write books. Doing interviews with famous people may be another way, but the public would rather focus on the celebrities. Thus, unless they could produce reports that can shock the world, such as the Watergate reports by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, journalists used to normally remain unknown.
GT: Does that mean the fame of many of the newspaper and magazine journalists we know today is actually the creation of microblogs?
Wei: Compared to the older generations, modern journalists who won their fame on Weibo still have much to learn. But in a world flooded by information, journalists hardly have any time to learn. Market competition forces them to standby 24/7 in order to deal with any breaking news. Time is still the most precious thing in the industry and even a tiny delay would be seen as unprofessional. But journalists need time to study their field in-depth.
GT: Some argue that there are journalists who deliberately post sensational but inaccurate news in order to boost their reputation. Do you agree with this?
Wei: I think that argument is more like a conspiracy theory. Motivation is a very personal emotion. But I would agree that media people are more motivated than others to express themselves and they have a drive to become famous.
There are also other people, besides journalists, publishing inaccurate or false information, thus, I don't think market competition has a role in driving journalists' publication of inaccurate or false information.
My theory is that the easier a piece of information can be published, the more likely it is to be inaccurate. Microblogs are a platform where everyone can publish information, but this convenience has a downside, which is the quality of the information.
GT: Do you think journalists who publish false information on Weibo should take any legal responsibility?
Wei: Publishing false information may get journalists into legal trouble. But I would prefer this to be a civil issue, rather than a criminal suit. It is also necessary to ask whether a media company should be held accountable if its staff publish false information and are sued for damages. My view is that the media company should be exempt from this, if the information is published under the worker's personal identity.
GT: Your article argued that media in China and in the West perceive and use microblogs differently. Do you think this has anything to do with the quality of China's media industry which some believe is not well-developed or regulated compared to its Western counterparts?
Wei: I think this is more to do with the difference between the two worlds' political structures rather than the regulation and development of their media industries. In fact, yellow journalism is still very popular in Western countries.
GT: Do you think Weibo has increasingly become a battlefield of political ideologies, or it is just the public trying to supervise their government? And what role should the media take in this?
Wei: I think what has been happening on Weibo is that the public has been trying to supervise their government and the media need to join them. But the media and its practitioners should remain calm and hold on to their code of ethics, such as being objective and rational.
Therefore, the media's involvement in Weibo should be more detached and should balance voices from both the government and the public. We call this zhongyong in Chinese culture, which is an ancient wisdom that values the middle path.