Thoughts on the Innovation of Information Communication Model

On the morning of April 6, an article entitled “Records of British, American, Italian, and Spanish Anti-epidemic Policy and Measures” (hereinafter referred to as “Record”) was forwarded and commented, and soon had over ten thousand readers. As a bit delayed information record, why has it attracted widespread concern?

Since the outbreak of the COVID19 pandemic in the globe, the coverge of related information has been surging and it is difficult to tell the truth. If the epidemic situation is a big test for governments in various countries, then it is also a big test for the media and we-media. Due to the factors involving country, time difference, language, politics, diplomacy, etc., the same international news often has at least two or more opposite reports, and even the incident itself is opposite. Under this situation, what kind of report should be looked at? How to maintain the normal flow and true dissemination of information is becoming a problem.

Unlike many fast-paced and positional reports on epidemic information at present, the Report  in the introduction of the epidemic situation in the four countries (the UK, the US, Italy and Spain) has its distinctive features in terms of information sources, value trends, and treatment methods.

First, the information sources are reliable. The information on the anti-epidemic policies and government initiatives of these four countries is basically taken from government websites, authoritative institutions and various influential media in the countries. It is first-hand information, with reliable sources and wide coverage and high credibility.

The second is the great value of information. The Report is developed from the social, medical, economic and educational aspects stricken by the epidemic, focusing on the urgent issues of life safety and living conditions of people in these countries. As a result, it is not only true, but also of great concern, which can attract readers’ attention.

The third is the appropriate processing method of information. The articles are written in an objective manner and only narrate the facts, without much subjective evaluation. There are both policy statements and local media questioning and following up on these policies and initiatives. Thus they objectively respond with facts to some of the sensational claims that have prevailed these days about foreign outbreak of the pandemic.

Five children collected information and compiled them into an article within one week, which turned the elusive reports into definite and clear information. This is different from lot of online information lack of first-hand resources. The information they provide is vital and has consequently resolved the unnecessary disputes and grievances from opposing parties and even multiple parties in the dissemination of epidemic information in the above four countries. Because of this, Professor Wang Jianjiang, a doctoral tutor at Shanghai Normal University and the founder of Bie-modern Theory, believes that the information summary of these five children “is a pioneering initiative and will be included in the history of Chinese communication studies.” Also, Ph.D. tutor, Professor Lin Shaoxiong from Shanghai University commented: “New generation, new vision, new thinking and new ideas.”

This kind of “creation” and “novelty” is specifically an academic path in news, that is, a strong sense of problem, conclusive first-hand information, objective and comprehensive narrative, etc. This method of determining information with academic norms, thinking and methods makes the academic method act as a discriminator for the authenticity of information, so that fake news has nowhere to escape. Under the current situation of information chaos and obstructed information release, the attempt of this type of academic information dissemination model undoubtedly has positive significance in China as Mr. Wang Jianjiang said.

Of course, compared to the usual news report, this type of academic information report constitutes a continuum in units of over ten hours, rather than instant report, and will not be annotated like academic papers, but its academic perspective for seeking the truth can effectively prevent such many common disadvantages as distributing for the sake of timeliness without asking the true and false, and distorting the facts because of specific position, etc., so as to restore the original face of news and information. This is a characteristic news, a distinctive mode of  information dissemination out of frustration.

The grief of this epidemic is in essence the loss of information as some thoughtful scholars have said. Facts are regarded as rumors, and rumors are regarded as facts. The loss of information leads to the grief of the country and the world. Therefore, in the face of the academic information dissemination model created by the five children, we have to ask, in both joy and sorrow, how much information was neglected by us but deserves our concern, thought, research and learning from now on?