Starting from the connotation of current affairs short videos and the influence of mainstream media, this paper analyzes the main advantages of current affairs short videos and the difficulties faced in the development process, and puts forward specific strategies to improve the influence of mainstream media on this basis.
The rapid development of smart phones and mobile communication technology has made the Internet function continue to improve, and the current political short video is facing a new outlet, both in terms of production quantity and demand, showing explosive growth, and its special viewing experience and creative personalized works have brought new development opportunities to the realization of the transformation of mainstream media and the expansion of its influence. However, due to the relatively strict requirements for current political short videos, there are huge differences in audience groups, so they face various difficulties in the process of communication. The author believes that only by changing the production method of traditional current affairs short videos, carrying out technological innovation, and improving their content can we conform to the development trend of the current era and expand the influence of current affairs short videos.
One
Definition of short videos related to current affairs
The so-called short videos of current affairs and politics are short videos about the facts that are happening or newly occurring in the current affairs and politics, and the specific content of news reports is mainly the activities, guidelines, and policies of social groups, political parties, and social forces in handling the internal affairs of the country and international relations. With the development of today's short videos, the dissemination of current affairs short videos has gradually covered traditional television, newspapers and other media, and the content of short videos has gradually become richer.
Two
Advantages of short videos on current affairs
(1) Short videos related to current affairs further enhance the influence of mainstream media
At present, the communication channels of current political news have undergone profound changes, and the short videos produced on the Internet-based platform will promote the formation of modern mainstream media power due to the establishment of a communication and real-time information dissemination mode. For example, the current affairs short videos of the observer network, due to the relatively short and concise content, compared with the traditional news communication channels, reduce too much text introduction, and show the content to be expressed in a straight way, which is more acceptable to the broad audience. This also further strengthens the content dissemination and lays the foundation for the expansion of its influence. Hanshan County Financial Media Center adheres to the principle of mobile first and content is king, and in November 2022, the entire program of "Hanshan News" will be moved to the video number for release, and it will be pushed to meet the needs of different users for current political information, and the background data shows that on the day the entire news program is pushed, more than 1,000 users clicked on it within 5 minutes after the mobile terminal was released. Since 2023, many short videos of current affairs such as "China Yuncao 2023 First University Art College Dean's Forum Opening" have been viewed 10,000+, indicating that users pay more attention to the short videos of current affairs information pushed by mainstream media.
(2) Short videos of current affairs further highlight the connotation of mainstream media
Because current political news is a "hard news", it has certain professional and political characteristics, and the content is relatively serious and not attractive enough, which hinders its dissemination to a certain extent. The emergence of the short video model, because it can make current political news show more soft connotation, because it is more "down-to-earth", it is easy to be accepted by the majority of audiences. For example, CCTV news and other platforms have made current political news more accessible and understandable on the basis of maintaining the original credibility, increasing the depth and breadth of current political news content. This not only expands the audience of current political news, but also further highlights the unique connotation of mainstream media.
(3) Current affairs short videos meet the current needs of mainstream media
The high-quality development of the social economy makes the pace of life increasingly accelerating, and people need to make full use of fragmented time to meet the spiritual needs of busy work and life. This not only satisfies the actual needs of the majority of audiences for fast-food information, but also caters to the psychological demands of users for real-time grasp of news information, so that the demand of mainstream media can be transformed and its influence has greater room for improvement.
(4) Short videos of current affairs give mainstream media audiences more right to speak
In the traditional process of current affairs news dissemination, the audience only has a channel to receive various news information, and cannot give feedback on their opinions in time. The emergence of short videos has made up for this shortcoming, and short videos of current affairs have given mainstream media audiences more power. For example, The Paper launched an audience voting function after reporting on current affairs in the form of short videos, so that audiences can share their views. In this way, the audience forms different opinion groups in the interactive communication, and each audience has more voice. This has played a strong role in promoting the improvement of the dissemination speed and further development of current political short videos.
Three
The dilemma faced by the development of current political short videos
The development of science and technology has led to the emergence of various short video platforms, and at the same time, the influence of current political news and information has been further enhanced. However, due to the short duration of short videos, the lack of sufficient time to pave the way, the content of which is relatively generalized, and there are also certain defects in the production of short videos, if these problems are not effectively solved, it will inevitably have an adverse impact on the promotion of the influence of mainstream media. Through comprehensive analysis, it can be seen that the current political short videos mainly face the following difficulties in the process of expanding the influence of mainstream media.
(1) There is a lack of high-quality short video content
The popularization of smart phones has made everyone have communication tools, but because the news communication industry is not without basic requirements for the majority of audiences, current political news and information only have sufficient elements to have the value of communication, some users have no in-depth understanding of news information, and the short videos they produce will have flaws in the content and picture, and even cause the situation that the short video cannot be played. In addition, the lack of high-quality content is a major dilemma faced in the process of expanding the influence of current political short videos, and the main reason for this dilemma is the homogenization of short video content. For example, when Yicai and Caixin broadcast the same current political news and information, there are often similar content and background music, resulting in the low quality of such short videos, which makes it difficult to win the favor of the audience, and also makes some audiences prone to visual fatigue after browsing, and gradually reduces their interest in this type of media, which damages the influence of mainstream media.
(2) Lack of high-quality short video creation talents
Talent is the driving force for social progress, and the same is true for the current political short videos. Short video is an emerging technology field, which requires a large number of video material collection and editing personnel in the process of current political news production, and the current demand for talents in short video production is far greater than the supply of talents, so the talent gap in high-quality short video creation also hinders the improvement of the influence of mainstream media. For example, at present, some mainstream media short video creators draw too much on the current affairs information materials already owned by short video platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou when producing current affairs short videos, and produce short videos in the form of "changing the soup but not the medicine", which lacks distinctive features and content advantages, making the short videos generated by them lack influence. At the same time, because some short video creators have not received professional skills training and cannot fully grasp the functions of short video platforms, the short video content produced by these people often lacks connotation, weakening the influence of mainstream media.
(3) There is a phenomenon of user diversion
Current affairs short videos themselves have a strong political nature and seriousness, bringing more current affairs information to the audience, and users are more inclined to share their views on short video platforms, and due to the lack of interactive functions of some mainstream media in short video platforms, or the obvious difference in the number of audiences of the same mainstream media in different short video platforms, there is a phenomenon of user diversion in current affairs short videos on different platforms, which will have a certain degree of impact on the influence of mainstream media. For example, the total number of views of the Observer account on the Bilibili short video platform is much higher than the data in the Observer app, because the Bilibili short video platform has powerful social features, while the app lacks a user communication platform. Due to the impact of user diversion, the influence of mainstream media in some short video platforms has also been hindered to a certain extent.
Four
A strategy to increase the influence of mainstream media with short videos related to current affairs
(1) Increase the affinity of short video content
In the process of traditional current affairs news reporting, due to the use of large-scale reports on various current affairs information content, current affairs news information is relatively lengthy and highly specialized, and the audience cannot quickly understand its specific connotation. In such a situation, it is difficult for the mainstream media to have enough influence. Based on this, in the process of disseminating short videos related to current affairs, the mainstream media should pay attention to improving the affinity of their content, so as to enhance the influence of the mainstream media. In order to achieve this goal, the mainstream media should carefully screen the content when producing short videos of current affairs news, and match them with music that the majority of audiences love, so as to enhance the affinity and appeal of the short video content of current affairs. For example, in the production of short videos related to current affairs, the "Central Committee of the Communist Youth League" added passionate background music loved by the majority of audiences on the basis of retaining the original voice of the announcer, and its playback volume has been significantly increased.
(2) Complete the degree of specialization of short videos
Nowadays, short videos of current affairs are still in their infancy, and due to the limitation of time, it is necessary to improve the professionalism of short videos. First of all, short video news creators need to carefully select news materials, select high-quality content, fully consider the actual needs of the audience, innovate the short video production process, and use new editing methods, subtitle display technology and background music to enhance the interest and visual impact of the short video itself, so as to further expand the influence of mainstream media on the basis of improving the quality of current political short videos. For example, in the production process of Xinhuanet's current affairs short videos, the creators added professional background music in line with the characteristics of information on the basis of in-depth excavation of news and information materials, thus attracting a large number of audiences and enhancing the influence of Xinhuanet's short videos.
(3) Establish a high-quality creative team
"If you want to do a good job, you must first sharpen your tools. "Only by forming a high-quality short video creation team for current affairs can we enhance the influence of mainstream media. In order to achieve this goal, the mainstream media should establish a sound talent introduction mechanism, introduce enough high-quality short video creative talents, and on this basis, form a high-quality current affairs short video creation team. In this way, the professional attributes and depth of current affairs short videos can be further enhanced, and the influence of mainstream media will be enhanced. Hanshan County Financial Media Center has selected skilled backbone personnel from among the editorial staff to lead the formation of a short video studio, and the members are freely combined by the center's editorial staff, independently planning and selecting topics according to their interests, shooting and producing high-quality short videos, and since 2023, more than 10 short videos with more than 50,000+ clicks have been produced. At the same time, mainstream media also need to conduct targeted training for short video creators on a regular basis, including the use of short video functions and the key points of current affairs short video production, so as to continuously improve their professional capabilities, create more high-quality current affairs short videos that can meet the needs of the audience, and further improve the influence of mainstream media.
(4) Enhance user stickiness
In the era of traditional media, the dissemination of current political news and information cannot take into account the subjective feelings of users, and its influence is greatly reduced. At present, short video platforms bring more valuable information to users, therefore, in the dissemination of current political short videos, in order to improve their own influence, mainstream media should enhance the stickiness of short videos and users. In order to achieve this goal, mainstream media should follow the concept of user-first short video creation, and constantly attract users to collaborate and participate in communication, so as to promote the innovation and upgrading of mainstream media. For example, Nanfang Daily used the topic of "China's Aid to Serbian Masks" to encourage users to participate in the creation and discussion of the topic, thus achieving a good information transmission effect, creating a strong enough stickiness between the mainstream media and users, and further enhancing its own influence.
(5) Carry out technical linkage
The development of science and technology has provided new opportunities for the current mainstream media to enhance its influence, so the mainstream media needs to consolidate its influence through technological linkage. For example, through the application of 5G communication technology and big data technology, the Beijing News has realized the organic integration of itself and short video technology, creating a more realistic, accurate and interesting short video of current affairs. At the same time, mainstream media can also form a video matrix by building Douyin accounts, Kuaishou accounts, and using intelligent user positioning mechanisms, so as to achieve a better drainage effect and further expand the influence of mainstream media.
Five
Conclusion
Short videos are a convenient way for users to obtain the latest current political information. Only by creating core content, improving the quality of short videos, changing the limitations of traditional reporting forms, and carrying out technological innovation can mainstream media ensure the effectiveness of current political short video communication, expand the influence of mainstream media, and bring development momentum to the dissemination of current political news and information.
Source: News World, Issue 11, 2023
Author: Guo Xiaojun (Hanshan County Rong Media Center)
Editor: Deng Rumeng
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