Newspapers are Dead? A Case Study on Chinese Newspapers’ Public Opinion Guidance in the Context of New Media

Abstract

With social media booming, newspapers are facing an enormous challenge, and some have even had to exit the market. Likewise, their role as a main force of public opinion guidance in China has also been challenged. They have lost their vantage ground. The present study conducted a case study on one well-known Chinese online public opinion event. Through analyzing the newspapers' role played in different public opinion development stages, this study displayed how Chinese newspapers worked together and successfully guided online public opinion in that case. The newspapers' advantages in guiding public opinion and suggestions as to how newspapers can survive and guide public opinion in the new media era are put forward in the final section.