From its inception in 1995 to becoming one of China's mainstream media outlets today, news websites undoubtedly have their own glories. However, on the other hand, they seem to carry an inescapable "original sin." Labels such as "superficial," "fast-food journalism," "clickbait headlines," "entertainment-oriented," and "lack of credibility" have become hard-to-shake tags associated with online news.
Nevertheless, addressing these issues cannot be simply done by evaluating the merits of online news within the value framework of traditional media or setting its development goals accordingly. Neither can it fully adhere to the existing regulations of online news. The arrival of the Web 2.0 era signifies changes in the communication environment, audience needs, and market structure, all of which will lead to changes in the operational rules of online media.
Correspondingly, improving the quality of online news requires upgrades across various levels, including thinking, concepts, goals, operational methods, and business models. This necessitates paying attention to the changes in the environment of online information dissemination. Under this premise, recognizing the value and positioning of news websites and adjusting the concepts and reforming the business methods of news dissemination is crucial.
### I. Environmental Characteristics of Online News in the 2.0 Era
The reason online news must move towards the 2.0 era lies in the profound changes occurring in the communication landscape, technical platforms, and audience habits.
1. **Citizen Journalism Becomes a Strong Competitor to Professional Media**
Initially, citizen journalism was merely a supplementary force to professional media. However, as it deepens, we see that it has become a formidable competitor to professional media. Citizen journalism on platforms like blogs and microblogs not only challenges professional news websites in terms of timeliness and breadth but also, more importantly, in the concept of news dissemination. In a sense, it serves as a benchmark, prompting audiences to demand higher standards from news websites. It also influences the overall landscape of online news dissemination.
In such an era, the competitors for news websites are no longer solely traditional media. Only by considering citizen journalism as a new rival and reference point can news websites better understand their positioning and responsibilities and establish a new evaluation system for online news operations.
2. **Diverse Platforms Challenge the Single Mode of Web Sites**
Not long ago, an article by Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of *Wired* magazine in the U.S., caught the attention of some industry insiders. In this article titled "The Web is Dead; Long Live the Internet," Anderson discussed the impact of Apple's "Application" (app) technology on the Web (World Wide Web). Although I do not agree that this impact will destroy the Web application model in the near future, I resonate with Anderson on one point: today's internet is no longer dominated solely by the Web.
Since 2004, technologies such as P2P, RSS, Widget, and Application have made the internet's application platforms increasingly diverse. Web sites are no longer the sole platform for information reading on the internet.
Therefore, the dissemination platforms for online news will inevitably become more diversified. Different platforms require different forms and mindsets, and evaluations of news operations on these platforms need new frameworks. While maintaining the standard of quality in content, new evaluation indicators are required in form, such as user interface friendliness, reading efficiency, ease of retransmission, realization of personalized information dissemination, and depth of interaction among users.
3. **Personal Portals Undermine the Status of Mass Portals**
American scholar Nicholas Negroponte once predicted in his book *Being Digital* the advent of "The Daily Me": "Digital life will change the economic model of news selection. You won't have to read what others consider news or what others think is worth occupying space. Your interests will play a more important role... Future interface agents can read every newspaper and every news agency on Earth, grasp all television and radio content, and then compile personalized summaries. Such a newspaper produces only one unique version daily."
In a sense, "The Daily Me" represents a "personal portal." Today's technology is turning this vision into reality. The traditional "centralized" transmission model centered on portal sites is gradually being weakened due to various technological influences. A "distributed" or "fragmented" information consumption model is forming. In the future, more and more netizens will use SNS or microblogging platforms as their "personal portals," embedding the various information and services they need into these personal portals. This means that direct visits to portal sites will gradually decrease, posing a challenge to the existing model of traditional news websites.
### II. Value of News Websites in the 2.0 Era
The most significant impact in the 2.0 era comes from citizen journalism, but this does not mean the weakening or disappearance of professional media. In the context of citizen journalism, the value of professional news websites will manifest in two aspects:
1. **Professional Media as a Benchmark for Citizen Journalism**
In the early stages, citizen journalism inevitably presents a mixed bag of quality, making it difficult for people to judge the authenticity of the news. In such a complex situation, reports from professional media will serve as references for people to evaluate the truthfulness, objectivity, and comprehensiveness of the information provided by citizen journalism.
To fulfill this role as a benchmark, professional media need to further enhance their professional standards and continuously reform their operational methods to adapt to the new communication demands of the citizen journalism era.
Even so, professional media should not view citizen journalism as an adversary. They also need to uncover the value of citizen journalism, channel its energy into their systems, and achieve integration with their own capabilities.
2. **Professional Media as Organizers and Coordinators of Citizen Journalism**
Achieving value as organizers implies adjustments in the mindset and business model of news websites. The ability to identify, integrate, and organize the information and opinions provided by citizen journalism will become one of the professional capabilities of professional media.
Another crisis in the 2.0 era stems from the impact of "personalized" information consumption on news websites as mass media. Although personalized information consumption is a trend, overly personalized services will weaken the function of the internet as a mass medium for social integration. People immersed in their personal worlds may, to some extent, experience a decline in their ability to perceive and judge the overall environment. Therefore, purely emphasizing the personalization of network services is undesirable. Nicholas Negroponte, while considering "The Daily Me" an ideal, also believes that there will still be a need for "The Daily Us."
An important value of news websites in the future is to convey public information and values, serving as a link between individuals and an important force for social integration.
Thus, while promoting personalized information dissemination, news websites also need to enhance their capabilities in public information dissemination and social integration. This means that news websites should advance simultaneously in both niche and mass directions, rather than becoming increasingly niche.
### III. Several Extensions for Online News in the 2.0 Era
In response to new environmental changes, online media needs to elevate its level and realize its value through conceptual transformation, setting new goals and pursuits. The following extensions might be significant for the future development of online news:
1. **From 'Fast News' to 'Deep News'**
One of the earliest killer features of online media in competing with traditional media was its speed. The business model of online news in the 1.0 era had characteristics of "fast-food journalism." Both kinds of "fast" were features of online news and tools of the 1.0 era.
On the other hand, people have developed a stereotype about online news: it lacks depth. Factors such as restrictions on interview rights, the format of online news, and the needs of internet users indeed made online news, in its early stages, emphasize its advantages in speed and richness over traditional media rather than depth. However, equating online news with shallow news and viewing it as the opposite of deep news is also one-sided.
In the 2.0 era of online news, the first extension to be completed is moving from fast news to deep news. There are multiple reasons for this:
First, in the age of citizen journalism, this "fast news" will face fatal challenges. Professional news websites have limited reach, whereas internet users are everywhere. Their firsthand news at the first scene often outpaces professional journalists...