Chinese Media Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Chinese Media - Research Proposal Example In the endeavor to maintain their hold on the conventional media, the Chinese government has blocked the popular sites of facebook, twitter, and YouTube amongst other sites that are a platform for free expression. The Chinese people are left with the option of building their own sites that conform to the policies of their government. One of these sites is Sina Weibo. This site has been revolutionary since its inception in the year 2009. Much of its success is owed to the closure of Twitter, in China, around that year. In order to show the significance Weibo in the context of Chinese media freedom, this paper will analyze its role in reporting the high-speed train collision in Wuhan. Weibo has been instrumental in propagating social justice, as such; it has become a precipitate of government accountability that has been lacking in China. Sina Weibo has registered approximately two hundred and fifty million users to date. Chinese Weibo has the largest following in comparison to any one of the global sites operating in the world at the moment. Owing to the large Chinese population, Sina Weibo is larger than the sum of all other sites combined. Out of this, ten percent are frequent users on a daily basis. Ten percent of two hundred and fifty million is quite a considerable figure. It has become a platform of discussion of the most contagious issues pertaining to China. Most of these, however, arise from social, political and cultural issues. This is contrary to the social sites in the west. Western sites are primarily social interaction enhancing mediums. This is exemplified by the interactions on Facebook. The power of Sina Weibo is sourced from its function as a major forum for hosting public opinion. Unlike Twitter which is mainly a social networking site, its counterpart Sina Weibo mainly focuses on public opinion o f ongoing affairs. It achieves this by providing for its users a free opportunity to participate in public affairs. An avenue via which the public could voice out its concerns has been all but lacking.  Ã‚