In 2024, the School of Journalism and Communication continued its endeavors in structured scientific research, and demonstrated exceptional performance in both securing approval of research projects and publication of papers in top-tier academic journals. With a total of 4 national-level and 7 provincial/ministerial-level research projects approved, and 6 papers published in leading scholarly journals, both the number of research projects and the volume of published outcomes surpassed those of the previous year.
I. Approved National-level Scientific Research Projects
1. Yu Mengli's Research onCredibility Assessment and Dissemination Mechanisms of Health-related Short Videos Based on Deep Learning was approved for the Young Scientists Fund Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China in August 2024, with a contract funding of RMB300,000.
In advancing the “Healthy China” strategy, health-related short videos, as an emerging communication channel, play a crucial role in raising public health awareness. However, the dissemination effectiveness of health-related short videos is affected by concerns about their credibility. Based on this, the project aims to conduct in-depth research on non-textual content in health-related short videos and its impact on credibility. By utilizing deep learning technology and incorporating contextual factors, the project will explore new theoretical frameworks and methods to improve the quality and effectiveness of health information dissemination and promote national health literacy, which will be of marked scientific significance and broad social value.
2. Zuo Chaoyuan's Research on Key Technologies for Information Distortion Detection in Health Communication was approved for the Young Scientists Fund Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China in August 2024, with a contract funding of RMB300,000.
In recent years, the increasingly prominent problem of information distortion in health communication has become a key factor hindering public health awareness and behavioral changes. Misinformation, exaggerated publicity, and even fake news frequently appear in the health field, not only misleading public understanding of health, but also potentially causing direct harm to public health. This project aims to explore and develop a set of key technologies to address the issue of information distortion in health communication. The research results will provide a set of scientific and effective means for information distortion detection in health communication, thereby enhancing the authenticity and reliability of health information. This will offer the public more accurate and reliable health guidance, ultimately improving public health awareness and health behaviors.
3. Zhou Caishu's Research on Reproduction of Digital Literature and Artin Contemporary China was approved for the General Project of the National Social Science Fund of China in October 2024, with a contract funding of RMB200,000.
In the digital media age, the existence and expression of literature have undergone tremendous changes. Digital literature and art relies on digital technology for production, dissemination, and reception. Through comprehensive expressive techniques combining traditional literary and new forms of art, it forms a diverse and interactive literary practice. Reproduction refers to the re-production of the original text, including secondary creation of the text and AI generation of works. It reshapes the author's intentions and the aura of the original work, and reconstructs the relationship between the original text and the audience. As a prominent literary production mechanism today, the reproduction of digital literature and art, incorporating human-computer collaborative creation and expanding the boundaries of literary creation, urgently needs in-depth research. Addressing the phenomenon of digital literature and art in China, this project explores the multi-dimensional academic issue of the reproduction of digital literature and art in each dimension, aiming to achieve theoretical breakthroughs.
4. Wang Shan's Research on Political Correctness and American Genre Films (1910-1932) was approved for the Later-stage Funding and Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Publication Project of the National Social Science Fund of China in December 2024, with a contract funding of RMB200,000.
The project builds upon Wang Shan's doctoral dissertation, Political Correctness and Formation of American Genre Films (1910-1932), which was revised and refined for the application. The dissertation was honored as an Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation of Peking University in 2023.
The research distinguishes itself through its strong timeliness, keenly capturing the dominant role of the political correctness movement in contemporary America and globally. It focuses on the shifts and transformations in production systems, evaluation mechanisms, and audience reception within the film industry under the influence of political correctness. By examining early American film history and analyzing four classic film genres, the study traces the ideological origins and evolution of the political correctness movement, providing historical, political, and intellectual context for today's pervasive cultural phenomenon. The innovation of this research lies primarily in its conceptual and methodological advancements. First, the study clarifies the original definition of political correctness and redefines the concept in light of current cultural phenomena, assigning it a clear conceptual scope (rather than vague emotional expression) and anchoring it concretely within the historical trajectory of American cinema. Second, the research transforms political correctness into a methodological framework for studying American film history, using it as a bridge to connect the past and present of American cinema—an emerging research perspective with distinct contemporary relevance.
II. Approved Provincial/Ministerial-level Scientific Research Projects
1. Wang Ruoxuan's Research on Multi-Dimensional Construction and Integrated Communication of National Image in Regional Documentaries of the New Era, was approved for the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Youth Fund Project of the Ministry of Education in August 2024, with a contract funding of RMB80,000.
Since the dawn of the new era, profound transformations in Chinese society, shifts in the international landscape, and the trend of media convergence have significantly altered the foundational elements and communication context of China's national image. In the report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to accelerate the development of China's discourse and narrative systems, better tell China's stories, make China's voice heard, and present a China that is credible, appealing, and respectable. How documentaries, as a vital medium of communication, address this new mission is an urgent issue demanding critical reflection. This research project will focus on the construction and communication of China's national image in both domestic and international contexts, exploring how regional documentaries can establish a new paradigm for China's narrative system that is oriented towards consolidating mainstream values and facilitating international communication.
2. Shi Xiaoxi's Research on Current Development and Future Prospects of Mini-Drama in International Communication was approved for the Ministerial-Level Social Science Research Project of the National Radio and Television Administration in October 2024, with a contract funding of RMB50,000.
The project seeks to conduct an in-depth examination of the entire communication chain of mini-dramas, grounded in an analysis of the new directives, opportunities, and pathways shaping their global dissemination. The overarching focus of the research is the international spread of Chinese mini-dramas, with specific attention given to their themes and styles, distribution channels and platforms, audience reception, as well as existing challenges and future prospects. Adopting a problem-oriented approach, the study questions seemingly conventional assumptions, identifying symptomatic manifestations at every stage of the communication process to construct a substantive issue matrix. By interrogating the taken-for-granted, employing digital humanities methodologies, and integrating multidisciplinary perspectives and methods, the project unifies qualitative theoretical hypotheses with empirical analysis. It aims to recalibrate and reshape certain notions accepted as common sense, thereby overcoming limitations prevalent in existing report-based research, such as weak problem awareness in analysis, superficial conclusions limited to feature descriptions, and strategies detached from practical needs. Ultimately, the project strives to achieve innovative insights that contribute to knowledge increment, delivering both theoretical and applied values.
3. Chen Na's Research on Media Literacy Enhancement of Party Members and Their Efficacy in Serving the Public: Intrinsic Correlation and Mutual-Driving Strategies was approved for the Key Project of Tianjin Municipal Social Science Planning · Special Research Initiative on Merit-based Selection Mechanism for Studies on the Role of Party Organizations and Members in the New Era in December 2024, with a contract funding of RMB50,000.
The study focuses on the intrinsic connection between Party members' media literacy and their effectiveness in serving the public. Adopting a media literacy perspective, it integrates capacity building with outcome measurement in public service to conduct empirical examination, aiming to reveal the dynamic interaction mechanism between these two dimensions. First, the research clarifies that in the new media environment, improving Party members' media literacy is not only essential for personal development, but also critical for strengthening Party-community communication and enhancing service efficacy. Through methods such as questionnaires, scale measurements, and in-depth interviews, the project will comprehensively assess the current state of media literacy among Party members and cadres in Tianjin's governmental agencies, enterprises, and public institutions, identifying existing challenges. Second, the study aims to demonstrate how media literacy translates into tangible improvements in service efficacy through approaches such as information filtering and integration, public opinion management, and crisis PR. By analyzing real-world cases, it further illustrates the practical application of media literacy in daily work and its positive impact on service quality and public satisfaction.
4. Chen Na's Research on Digital Technology Risks and Governance in Media Expression was approved for the 2024 Annual Key Project of Tianjin Municipal Philosophy and Social Science Planning in December 2024, with a contract funding of RMB30,000.
The study aims to analyze the risks of digital hegemony, digital colonialism, and cognitive cocoons in media expression, and fully reveal their underlying technological logic, law of value, practical foundations, and potential real-world consequences. On one hand, the project will compile a comprehensive case database of digital risks to provide essential references for risk prevention and institutional safeguards in accelerating the development of China's discourse and narrative systems. On the other hand, it will integrate principles of digital technology governance to propose effective risk response strategies tailored to the communication and expression patterns of mass media. These efforts are designed to foster the healthy, stable, and sustainable development of digital media alongside discourse and narrative systems with Chinese characteristics.
5. Zhong Shenjun's Research on Theory and Practice of Local Party Organizations' Participation in Building the National Strategic Communication System was approved for the Key Project of Tianjin Municipal Social Science Planning · Special Research Initiative on Merit-based Selection Mechanism for Studies on the Role of Party Organizations and Members in the New Era in December 2024, with a contract funding of RMB50,000.
The project carries out theoretical and practical research on local Party organizations and Party members' participation in building a strategic communication system with Chinese characteristics in the new era through a systematic analysis of their roles and functions in China's strategic communication system. It aims to establish a new theoretical framework for integrating strategic communication theory into local international communication practices, while providing academic support and policy advisory recommendations for achieving breakthroughs in strengthening international communication work across various localities and departments in China.
6. Kong Xiangyu's Compilation and Study of Tianjin Cultural Heritage Imagery from the Perspective of the Four Cultural Guidelines, was approved for the 2024 Annual Youth Project of Tianjin Municipal Philosophy and Social Science Planning in December 2024, with a contract funding of RMB10,000.
In February 2024, during his inspection tour of Tianjin, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed the Four Cultural Guidelines—leveraging culture to cultivate citizens, enhance well-being, revitalize cities, and promote industries - which not only provide directional guidance for the construction of Tianjin as a culturally strong city in the new era, but also offer actionable pathways for enhancing the material living standards and spiritual-cultural life of Tianjin residents. Guided by the Four Cultural Guidelines framework, this project establishes Tianjin's cultural heritage imagery as its research focus, employs multi-stakeholder collaborative theory to conduct field investigations, and collects and organizes relevant visual documentation. Building upon this foundation, the study examines these visual materials' concrete contributions to fostering spiritual civilization, enriching public cultural life, shaping Tianjin's urban identity, and facilitating urban industry development, while further investigating methodologies and pathways for optimizing Tianjin's cultural dissemination efficiency, ultimately aiming to generate substantive insights for Tianjin's cultural construction and urban development.
7. Zhang Huan's Research on Chinese Online Literature Going-Out Effectiveness Evaluation and Enhancement Strategies, was approved for the 2024 Annual Youth Project of Tianjin Philosophy and Social Science Planning in December 2024, with a contract funding of RMB10,000.
The Going-Out of online literature has emerged as one of the most dynamic sectors in the Chinese publishing Going-Out initiative, with its overseas market value exceeding RMB4 billion. Recognized alongside American Hollywood films, Japanese anime, and Korean dramas as the Four Global Cultural Phenomena, it has been shouldered with the critical mission of telling China's stories well to global audiences. However, the dissemination efficacy of online literature varies substantially across different countries and regions. Confronted with the complex challenges inherent in cross-cultural communication, this study addresses the critical question how to leverage online literature to enhance the international communication of Chinese culture from the strategic perspective of China's Going Out initiative. In this context, the research positions the construction of an indicator-based evaluation system for assessing Chinese online literature Going-Out effectiveness as its core focus. By identifying strategic objectives, strategic actors, strategic narratives, and strategic audiences as evaluation targets, and establishing an effectiveness assessment framework across four dimensions: market competitiveness, international influence, value orientation, and behavioral drive, the study explores the determining factors impacting online literature Going-Out effectiveness. Employing strategic thinking, it examines the international communication of online literature to derive optimized solutions for its production, operation, and management.
III. Publications in Top-tier Academic Journals
1. Sun Dehong's paper Value Recognition:The International Communication of Shared Human Values and Aesthetics:A Case Study of the Overseas Dissemination and Reception of Chinese Literature was published in Social Sciences in China (English Edition), Iss. 3, 2024.
In his paper, Sun Dehong points out that international communication should fundamentally aim at promoting the exchange and mutual learning of civilizations, achieving a transformation from “cultural clashes” to “civilizational exchange and mutual learning”. He further elaborates that by civilizational exchange and mutual learning during international communication, it means that through this process, the values contained in the communication texts ultimately become integrated into the culture of the receiving party and, ultimately, into human culture as a whole. This process not only enriches the cultural connotation of the recipient, but also promotes global cultural diversity and symbiosis. Sun Dehong emphasizes that achieving this transformation requires “value recognition” efforts between the disseminating and receiving parties. He points out that focusing on the universal values of human happiness for all is the “greatest common divisor” of value recognition among different receiving subjects. By excavating and disseminating universal human values, we can enhance understanding and respect among people from different cultural backgrounds, thereby laying a solid foundation for cultural exchange and mutual learning.
Furthermore, he specifically highlights the significance of aesthetic communication in international communication, positing it as an indispensable path for the exchange and mutual learning among civilizations. Communicating culture through aesthetic means can transcend language and cultural barriers, touching people emotionally and promoting empathy and recognition among people from different cultural backgrounds. This way of communication not only helps to enhance the attractiveness of culture, but also strengthens the effectiveness of cultural communication.
2. Sun Dehong and Zang Yongqing's paper From Going Out to Going Deep: A Dialogue on the International Communication of Chinese Literary Publishing was published in Publishing Research, Iss. 3, 2024.
In their paper, the authors point out that the international communication of Chinese literary publishing constitutes both an important academic issue and an urgent practical challenge. The ideal benchmark for successful international communication lies in the values embedded within the transmitted texts ultimately becoming integrated into the recipient culture and even human culture at large through mutual exchange and learning. Value recognition serves as both the necessary precondition and fundamental guarantee for effective international communication, with aesthetic communication of literary texts emerging as the practical pathway. As a practical operational approach, adhering to the norms of international publishing markets, particularly through extensive adoption of other-mediated dissemination practices such as employing foreign copyright agents and recipient-language translators, represents an optimal choice within the overarching business philosophy of upholding commercial publishing.
3. Tian Yizhou's paper Conceptual Mistranslation, Keyword Nomenclature, and Localized Reconstruction: The Theoretical Travels of the Sound-Image Counterpoint Concept in Early Chinese Cinema was published in Literature and Art Studies, Iss. 4, 2024.
In his paper, Tian Yizhou points out that during the formative years of sound cinema, the concept of sound-image counterpoint was introduced to China as a globally significant framework for exploring cinematic art's developmental directions, playing a pivotal role in establishing China's indigenous film knowledge system. This paradigmatic case of theoretical travel encompassed complex historical processes including conceptual mistranslation, connotative evolution, keyword nomenclature, and creative recontextualization. Its discursive formation continuously transformed through multi-layered translations, iterative conceptual adaptations, cultural mediation, and local contextual influences, generating new semantic dimensions. By examining the translation, dissemination, and integration of the early concept of sound-image counterpoint in China, the research not only identifies translation's crucial function in shaping both the praxis of Chinese sound film and the construction of local film discourse, but also reveals a distinctive theoretical production model oscillating between foreign origins and domestic appropriation. Furthermore, it substantiates the historiographical axiom that history crystallizes in specific concepts and through them becomes historical, thereby proposing a linguistically-grounded epistemological approach for rewriting Chinese film theory history.
4. Liu Yunfeng and Chen Ling's paper A Preliminary Study of the Founding History and Intrinsic Value of Life Bookstore's Dianwu Tongxun (Bookstore Newsletter) was published in Publishing Research, Iss. 7, 2024.
Focusing on Dianwu Tongxun (Bookstore Newsletter), an internal publication established by Life Bookstore in January 1938, the study examines its founding background, column setting and design, editorial philosophy, and intrinsic value. Dianwu Tongxun was founded as Life Bookstore's official chronicle in response to its development needs. Though short-lived, it comprehensively documented the bookstore's internal management, operations, and development during the Anti-Japanese War era. Functioning as a vital bridge for internal communication and cooperation, the publication facilitated information exchange, business communication, and staff education. The periodical's intrinsic value continues to offer valuable references for research on modern Chinese editing/publishing history and contemporary publishing house management practices.
5. Ma Ruijie's paper Revisiting the Copyrightability of AI-Generated Content in the Anti-Monopoly Context was published in Publishing Research, Iss. 9, 2024.
In her paper, Ma Ruijie points out that current debates on the copyrightability of AI-generated content predominantly focus on content creation phase while hardly considering post-commercialization market responses. An analysis grounded in the competitive dynamics of the digital economy, when coupled with an examination of the technological processes and industrial realities of AI content production, reveals that extending copyright protection to AI-generated outputs may exacerbate platform monopolization crises, thereby adversely affecting the interests of various stakeholders including the general public, authors, and end-users. Conversely, the absence of such protection would neither dampen investment enthusiasm nor impede innovative development. The copyright governance framework for generative AI-related industries should prioritize mediation, emphasize procedural considerations, and focus on technological solutions, while resisting the substitution of copyright governance with copyright expansion, which would fundamentally contravene the original intent of copyright systems to maintain equilibrium between creator rights and public interests.
6. Qi Dexiang and Zhang Huan's paper Research on the Construction of an Indicator-based Evaluation System for Assessing the International Communication Effectiveness of Chinese Online Literature was published in Publishing Research, Iss. 12, 2024.
In their paper, the authors point out that while the international communication of Chinese online literature has generated substantial economic gains, the question of whether this success can translate into effective cultural communication and thus deepen international appreciation of Chinese culture remains a subject of great concern. The international communication of Chinese online literature constitutes a vital component of both the Chinese publishing Going-Out initiative and the broader international communication system of Chinese culture. The assessment of its communication effectiveness serves not only as a practical methodology for identifying core issues and enhancing quality and efficiency, but also constitutes a crucial measure for enhancing the international communication effectiveness of Chinese culture. Grounding their research in the overarching objectives of international communication and the fundamental characteristics of online literature, the authors employ the Delphi Method and Analytic Hierarchy Process to construct a comprehensive, multi-indicator, and operational evaluation system for assessing the international communication effectiveness of Chinese online literature.
