My journey toward journalism was ignited during my undergraduate studies in Communication. In my capacity as a member of the Student Union’s CCYL Committee of our faculty, I initiated a volunteer radio programme, through which I genuinely made sense of the power of the media in shaping perspectives and catalysing change. After interning at NetEase News, my fervour intensified as I learned the journalist’s role in illuminating the truth and fostering public discourse. Thus, a master’s degree in journalism became my subsequent academic pursuit.
During my undergraduate years, I have encountered diverse facets of journalism. Noteworthy among these is Intercultural Communication, an enlightening experience that unveiled the complexities of cross-cultural dialogue. This module reshaped my worldview by emphasising the significance of cultural sensitivity and global communication, whereas the Visual Reporting course extended my cognitive boundaries. Shifting away from conventional news reporting instilled a propensity to dissect visual symbols with keen precision. I also manage a social media account that garnered over three hundred thousand views. Inspired by this experience, I attempted to gain people’s perspectives through in-depth academic interviews and exchanges on the Gen Z platforms. I have accumulated over 100,000 words of empirical text, qualitatively verifying the existence and functioning mechanisms of “nano-influencers” and “micro-KOLs” on China’s online platforms. The experience has greatly honed my interviewing skills, which are crucial for journalnism studies.
I attached importance to applying new media tools to shrewd strategies when applying my academic knowledge to real-world scenarios. As a News Video Intern, I navigated the intricacies of NetEase News’ recommendation system. Uncovering latent patterns in short videos to align strategies with the product roadmap and emphasising the significance of data-driven content distribution taught me the hidden curatorial logic in online news. I went through the production of the interview program Chat Club by NetEase News and contributed to the planning of 24 exclusive interviews covering social celebrities and parties in news events, with a cumulated 29 million views across national network platforms. The negotiation and networking skills I gained through New Media Operations will be significantly conducive to singling out eligible information, enabling me to conduct thorough user research and creator recruitment.