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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Commun.
Sec. Media Governance and the Public Sphere
Volume 9 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2024.1480659
This article is part of the Research Topic Press Freedom, Journalism Practice, and Professionalization in Times of Uncertainty View all 5 articles

Navigating Constraints: News Values and Journalistic Role Performance in Chinese State Media VR News

Provisionally accepted
Yongyuan Zhou Yongyuan Zhou *
  • Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This study explores the intersection of virtual reality (VR) technology and journalism, with a particular focus on the application of VR in news productions by China Central Television (CCTV). Through a comprehensive content analysis of 234 VR news productions, the research evaluates how immersive elements are utilized, the prevailing news values, and the performance of journalistic roles within these productions. The findings indicate that, while VR enhances audience engagement through immersive experiences, its application in CCTV's VR news remains limited in scope. The technology is primarily employed within traditional journalistic frameworks, often emphasizing the loyal-facilitator role. The study reveals that immersive journalism at CCTV tends to support statealigned narratives, promoting positive news values and limiting the critical engagement typically associated with more interventionist journalistic models. By examining the news values and the nuanced performances of journalistic roles in the context of VR news, this research contributes to the broader understanding of how emerging technologies like VR are shaping journalistic practices in authoritarian media systems, offering insights into both the potential and limitations of VR in enhancing audience engagement while maintaining journalistic integrity.

    Keywords: Immersive journalism1, VR news2, news values3, journalistic role performance4, Chinese journalism5, journalism practice6, content analysis7

    Received: 14 Aug 2024; Accepted: 10 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhou. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Yongyuan Zhou, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.