Shangyuan Wu
Email Address
cnmws@nus.edu.sg
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Publication When Journalism and Automation Intersect: Assessing the Influence of the Technological Field on Contemporary Newsrooms(Informa UK Limited, 2019-02-27) Wu, Shangyuan; Tandoc, Edson C; Salmon, Charles T; Dr Shangyuan Wu; COMMUNICATIONS AND NEW MEDIAIn this era of “big data”, where information circulates in unprecedented amounts, this paper examines the use of automation in newsrooms to manage the data deluge—not from the perspective of newsworkers, but from the technologists driving these digital innovations instead. These technologists, in their work with journalists, have to learn about journalistic rules while carrying with them technology’s own internal logic. Using field theory and in-depth interviews with leading technological firms in data science and management, this study maps out the principles and practices of the technological field and the pressures and powers it exerts on the journalistic field today. Study findings reveal the extent to which technological firms are able to impose their own logics on the journalistic field and become a potentially transformative force, challenging traditional conceptions of what journalism is.Publication A Field Analysis of Journalism in the Automation Age: Understanding Journalistic Transformations and Struggles Through Structure and Agency(Informa UK Limited, 2019-06-24) Wu, Shangyuan; Tandoc, Edson C; Salmon, Charles T; Dr Shangyuan Wu; COMMUNICATIONS AND NEW MEDIAAs an unprecedented amount of information circulates, contemporary newsrooms are turning to automation to manage the data deluge. Amid claims of journalism in crisis, with falling revenues and newsroom closures, this study uses Bourdieu’s field theory to investigate how automation, as supplied by technological firms entering the journalistic field, may transform journalism in drastic ways. This study brings clarity to a field in flux, by reconciling structure and agency – social structures shape the logics of the journalistic field and the behavior of agents to adopt automation, and the agency of actors, in turn, will reshape the structures over time through the skillsets they accumulate and their attitudes towards field transformation or preservation. Through in-depth interviews with newsworkers, this study reveals that while automation adoption may increase the autonomous power of the journalistic field in the long run, the field remains a site of struggle due to a divergence in journalist attitudes.Publication Assessing the potential of Channel NewsAsia as the next ‘Al Jazeera’: A comparative discourse analysis of Channel NewsAsia and the BBC(SAGE Publications, 2013-08) Wu, Shangyuan; Dr Shangyuan Wu; COMMUNICATIONS AND NEW MEDIAIn the last decade, Western news organizations such as CNN and the BBC have been increasingly upstaged by satellite news services from the global South. The Qatari news network, Al Jazeera, has emerged as a prime example of a global media contra-flow that has been able to give its region a voice in the international news arena. At a time when developments like the global economic crisis have called for greater checks and balances on Western governments and corporations, this paper takes a critical look at an increasingly prominent news player in the fast-growing developing region of East Asia, Channel NewsAsia, to ascertain if it is likely to rise up the ranks to the level of Al Jazeera. A critical discourse analysis comparing the coverage of Channel NewsAsia and the BBC’s most salient stories, however, shows that the Singapore-based station falls short in its claim to ‘provide Asian perspectives’ because it is constrained by political-economic factors to operate within an authoritarian developmental news model.Publication An Asian version of data journalism?: Uncovering "Asian values" in data stories produced across Asia(SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC, 2022-10-12) Wu, Shangyuan; Dr Shangyuan Wu; COMMUNICATIONS AND NEW MEDIAData journalism in Western-centric research has been lauded for its investigative qualities, capable of bringing to light previously concealed information and enabling the press to play its watchdog function. That said, journalism outside the liberal West may operate within vastly different contexts, shaped by different historical experiences, political cultures, and philosophical traditions, thereby creating a different brand of data journalism. This paper examines data journalism practice in Asia specifically, a region known to be home to collaborative press systems that adhere to a set of “Asian values” pertaining to collectivism, social harmony, norm conformity and deference to authority. By examining 210 data stories produced by news outlets in six Asian countries, this study finds that Asian values are displayed in a vast majority of data stories produced in the region, most of which are news stories pertaining to the home country of these news outlets. Continued reliance on government sources for information and a lack of stories that reveal previously hidden information or scrutinize a powerful entity also suggest no strong push to leverage on the investigative qualities of data journalism to produce more “watchdog” journalism; focus is instead placed on the “civic” role of informing the public.Publication What Motivates Audiences to Report Fake News?: Uncovering a Framework of Factors that Drive the Community Reporting of Fake News on Social Media(Taylor & Francis, 2023-08-22) Shangyuan Wu; COMMUNICATIONS AND NEW MEDIAPublication Evaluating "exemplary data journalism" from Asia: An exploration into South China Morning Post's data stories on China and the world(SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC, 2022-05-23) Wu, Shangyuan; Dr Shangyuan Wu; COMMUNICATIONS AND NEW MEDIAAs more newsrooms practice data journalism in this age of big data through the use of analytical and visualization tools, much research on exemplary award-winning data stories continue to be Western-centric and associated with data journalism’s dewwmocratic role of scrutinizing government and corporations as watchdog. This study examines the news organization in the non-West that has scored the most wins in international data journalism awards, Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, to discover characteristics of the data journalism it practices, as its media operates within an environment with increasing government monitoring of the press, similar to countries in the Asian region subjected to various forms of authoritarian politics. Through a content analysis of 130 data stories produced from 2016 to 2020, this study investigates the topics that SCMP’s data team chooses to cover, how they are covered and the extent to which data journalism is able to work in the public’s interest amid Hong Kong’s increasingly complex political and social context. Findings show that even when stories are data-driven and evidence-based, with the use of diverse data sources and visualizations, topics related to China or Chinese politics tend to be approached with caution and the nature of stories more explanatory than investigative and less interactive. The roles of watchdog and interventionist are felt weakly in SCMP’s data stories, and the role of loyal-facilitator felt more strongly for stories on China than those on Hong Kong and the world, suggesting that data journalism may face challenges performing its democratic functions.Publication Asian Newsrooms in Transition: A Study of Data Journalism Forms and Functions in Singapore's State-Mediated Press System(Taylor & Francis, 2022-02-09) Shangyuan Wu; COMMUNICATIONS AND NEW MEDIAAs more newsrooms practice data journalism in this age of “big data”, discussions on the forms and functions of data journalism continue to be Western-centric, focusing on its ability to conduct investigations, enhance democracy and empower the public. This study focuses on newsrooms in Asia transitioning into greater data journalism practice that may have an abundance of data at their disposal but operate within strictly regulated media environments, to uncover if data journalism takes on different forms and plays different normative roles in the region. Focus is placed on Singapore, a global city in Asia, and interviews with local newsworkers and a two-part content analysis of their “nomination-worthy” data stories and actual data stories produced were conducted. Results indicate a view of improving the audience experience as consumer rather than citizen, and a tendency for data stories on politics to be set beyond one’s own borders. A lower data literacy among newsworkers may also have hindered the complexity and variety of data visualizations used and resulted in extensive reference to “official sources”. To be deemed exceptional, data stories need not play a watchdog role either, or feature investigative elements, but may be informative in less adversarial ways.Publication Data “Objectivity” in a Time of Coronavirus: Uncovering the Potential Impact of State Influence on the Production of Data-Driven News(Informa UK Limited, 2021-07-08) WU SHANGYUAN; Dr Shangyuan Wu; COMMUNICATIONS AND NEW MEDIANews reports on the Covid-19 pandemic have largely been data-driven, with coverage on infection numbers, deaths, recoveries, tests administered, economic impacts and vaccine trials; data for these stories tend to be disseminated from top-down, by governments and public health organizations, and often viewed as scientific and precise. This article examines critically the “objective” nature of data and discusses the social constructionist nature of data journalism, where data access and presentation may be shaped by power and social relations. This study focuses on Singapore, a global city in Asia that received praise in international media at the start of the pandemic when it was able to keep its infection numbers low while other cities went into lockdown; the turning point came when numerous infection clusters developed in the migrant worker dormitories on the island. Through in-depth interviews with newsworkers, this study maps out the potential extent of state influence on press coverage and journalistic sensibilities during the coronavirus pandemic through the stages of news production – from the news gathering and selection stages, to the newswriting and presentation stage – and offers an assessment of how data “objectivity” may be a powerful tool to shape public opinion in times of crisis.Publication A Field Analysis of Immersive Technologies and Their Impact on Journalism: Technologist Perspectives on the Potential Transformation of the Journalistic Field(Informa UK Limited, 2023-01-23) Wu, S; Dr Shangyuan Wu; COMMUNICATIONS AND NEW MEDIAGrowth in immersive journalism, involving virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies and 360° videos, has increased debate on whether such technologies can significantly transform the journalistic field. Technological firms and their agents, the technologists, who produce these digital offerings can be seen as new entrants capable of imposing their own logics to the field, but no research has focused on their voices yet to assess this impact, even as they are key drivers of this trend. This study uses Bourdieu’s field theory and in-depth interviews with 12 technologists from the world’s most prominent firms producing such technologies to examine potential influences on the principles, work experiences and skillsets of journalists. Findings indicate increasing focus on innovation and user experience, new journalistic tasks involving the conception and capturing of content to create immersive experiences and environments, and the need to acquire skills tied to story visualization and game mechanics. Significant transformation of the field however may be hindered by high costs, time constraints, and seemingly low returns on investment, but there is strong belief that increasing familiarity with augmented reality on smartphones will present a tipping point for immersive journalism, enhancing audience expectations towards agency in news consumption.Publication As Mainstream and Alternative Media Converge?: Critical Perspectives from Asia on Online Media Development(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2021-09-13) Wu, Shangyuan; Dr Shangyuan Wu; COMMUNICATIONS AND NEW MEDIAAs boundaries blur between mainstream and alternative media online, with each taking on characteristics of the other, much research has centered on their convergence within the liberal West, and their continued divergence in authoritarian states like in the Middle East. This study uniquely examines this alternative-mainstream dichotomy in hybrid societies susceptible to Western liberal ideals but whose media systems are subjected to authoritarian control or influence, by examining Asia’s two global cities, Singapore and Hong Kong. Through in-depth interviews with online newsworkers, this study uncovers how they define “alternativeness” in the digital age and their assessments on how “alternative” their news outlets currently are or are able to become. By analyzing their content offerings, community and audience engagements, organizational structures, and ownership and control, results indicate that the online space has not caused a significant merge between alternative and mainstream media in these two cities. That said, the extent to which Hong Kong’s online-only news outlets are “alternative” is much more significant than in Singapore, particularly where political engagement is concerned. Additionally, what it means to “be alternative” is also vastly different, pointing to the need to acknowledge both differences in “how alternative” and “what alternative is” across contexts.