JOURNALISTS TODAY FACE FAR MORE CHALLENGES THAN BEFORE, SAYS CHINESE REPORTER
Huicheng Ou: “Operating digital subscription models like the New York Times will be the trend in the future.”
Cici Yu
He has been reporting news on the frontline for over three decades since graduating college. During this time, Huicheng Ou has also witnessed the rapid development of Chinese journalism.
Ou, a 48-year-old city reporter in Foshan, China, is responsible for daily reporting about education and transportation. In his professional career at the local press, Pearl River Times, he has encountered the churn of advertisers, the impact of the internet, and increasing challenges for journalists.
“Paper outlets are in trouble since advertising is falling off a cliff,” Ou pointed out in an online interview with Boston Common News. In the past, traditional newspapers were ideal carriers for advertisers to promote their products and build their reputation. With the development of technology, people are increasingly relying on online news platforms. Due to this fact, Ou said nowadays advertisers prefer investing money in cheap and interactive online advertisements to attract more audiences. He expressed helplessly that the transition of newspaper audiences has caused traditional paper media to lose their advantages.
“We used to prioritize the quality of news stories,” Ou said. “But news outlets reward reporters based on the number of clicks their articles attract under the mobile internet era.”
Consequently, the cost of producing news has gone down, Ou said. Overall the press standards have dropped. And he faces competition from an increasing number of substandard writers.
“Working in the frontline makes me realize modern journalists not only need to master professional interviewing, writing, and publishing skills,” he said. They also need to “be proficient in digital skills in areas like photos and videos.”
The news industry also requires journalists to know how to engage the audience via social media and to operate live-streaming applications.
When asked about the future of Chinese journalism, he responded that the press should continue to find the balance between content quality and financial profits.
“Operating digital subscription models like the New York Times will be the trend in the future,” predicted Huicheng Ou. “However, the premise of paid news is to provide high-quality news.”
The discussion was conducted mostly in Chinese. English translations are approximate.
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