Performing Transparency in vlog News: Self-disclosure of Chinese Journalists in vlog Reporting on COVID-19

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examines Chinese journalists’ use of video blogs (vlog) for news reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Situated within the “visual turn” of storytelling in the digital era, the vlog has risen in popularity as an audiovisual format on social media and video-sharing platforms, attracting followers’ attention through its attributes of apparent authenticity and intimacy. Journalists have also been riding the wave by employing the amateur-style vlog for professional purposes. Based on a case study of 224 journalists’ vlogs about the Wuhan lockdown, we found that the j-vlog, as a hybrid form of professional-amateur reporting, affords an alternative space for journalists to perform journalistic transparency through self-disclosure of their life and work routines, increasing intimacy and engagement with audiences. This study contributes to current research in innovative practices of digital journalism and expands existing debates on journalistic transparency by delineating its nuances in different digital news formats and national contexts.