


































Communication, Society and Media 
ISSN 2576-5388 (Print) ISSN 2576-5396 (Online) 

Vol. 7, No. 1, 2024 

www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/csm 

1 

 

Original Paper 

Analysis of News Source Selection in the Digital Age: A Case 

Study of Micro-platforms Operated by People’s Daily and 

Southern Weekly 

Songhua Zhang
1*

 & WangWei
1
 

1 
School of Media, Guizhou Minzu University, Guiyang, China 

* 
Songhua Zhang, School of Media, Guizhou Minzu University, Guiyang, China 

 

Received: March 28, 2024        Accepted: April 15, 2024        Online Published: April 30, 2024 

doi:10.22158/csm.v7n1p1                         URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/csm.v7n1p1 

 

Abstract 

This study employs content analysis to compare and examine the selection of news sources in the 

micro-platforms of mainstream media, People’s Daily, and urban media, Southern Weekly. It attempts 

to interpret the impact of the digitalization process on the content production practices of different 

news media in China. The research reveals that in the digital era, media attributes and platform 

regulations are direct factors influencing the selection of news sources in news production. This 

transformation has significantly altered traditional news content production. Official news sources 

remain the primary choice for news media in producing content in the digital age. Additionally, 

grassroots news sources, representing the general public, are gradually incorporated into various types 

of reporting, demonstrating a trend towards democratization. 

Keywords 

news sources, digital news, news production, content analysis 

 

1. Introduction 

News source stands as the primary criterion for gauging the legitimacy of news production practices. 

Throughout the course of media development history, news media have formulated relevant rules and 

standards for news source selection to ensure the legitimacy of news production and reporting 

processes (Reich, 2011). In the realm of traditional journalism, the authority of news sources 

guarantees the authority of the news industry. However, with the advent of the digital age, significant 

changes have occurred in this regard. On one hand, empowered by digital technologies, the scope of 

information sources in the public sphere has rapidly expanded through the collaboration and 



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networking of news production, leading to the emergence of a plethora of online whistleblowers and 

self-media journalists who have become the primary providers of social events and breaking news. This 

has, to some extent, resulted in a phenomenon where the media is “reverse pressured” by news sources 

based on online popularity during the reporting process (Peng, 2019). On the other hand, digital 

technologies have empowered the subjects of news production, presenting a landscape where everyone 

becomes a potential media outlet. This exponential increase inevitably intensifies news competition, 

breaking the norms and ethics of traditional news reporting in the production of digital journalism. 

Consequently, the rules and standards regarding news source selection in the news industry are no 

longer strictly adhered to. 

 

2. The Arrival of the Digital News Era 

With the flourishing development of digital technology, the news industry has entered the digital age. 

According to the 53rd Statistical Report on Internet Development in China released by the China 

Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), as of December 2023, the number of internet users in 

China reached 1.092 billion, with an internet penetration rate of 77.5% (China Internet Network 

Information Center, 2024). In the internet environment, the expansion of the internet user base has 

diversified the information producers, presenting a scenario where everyone becomes a media outlet, 

and individuals have become news reporters, granting more freedom to news production and 

dissemination activities. However, this has also brought about certain negative impacts, especially with 

the openness of internet platforms. The competition for user attention between professional and 

non-professional media has intensified, leading to both entities broadening the scope of news source 

selection. This has resulted in a trend of declining credibility for news media and public institutions. 

Scholars argue that this is a direct consequence of the global wave of populism brought about by the 

empowerment of the masses through technology (Klein, & Robinson, 2020). Therefore, the process of 

digitalization not only changes the external form of news and the news industry but also alters the 

internal logic and mechanisms within the news industry. 

 

3. The Meaning and Importance of News Sources 

A news source refers to where the viewpoints, facts, and related discourse of news come from, in other 

words, the “provider” of news materials (Li, 1989). News sources determine where journalists obtain 

information and what type of information they acquire. They are the lifeline of journalists’ work; 

without news sources, journalists cannot conduct interviews (Carlson, 2009). As recorded in the 

“Chinese Practical Dictionary of Journalism”, “news sources are the authentic and reliable basis for 

news. They can be governments, political parties, organizations, companies and their spokespersons, 

qualified and authoritative individuals, or eyewitnesses to events. In the case of journalists conducting 



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on-site interviews, the journalists themselves are the news sources” (Zhang, 2016). Foreign scholars 

believe that news sources are an important tool for the public to understand the news industry and 

social life, and their existence and use can verify the bias of news media towards social rights (Carter, 

1958). 

In the 1980s, interviewing became one of the common ways for news media to obtain information 

sources in the reporting process, marking the formal transition of the news industry from the party 

newspaper model to objective reporting. On the one hand, this reflects the news industry’s desire to 

break free from the constraints of partisan newspapers and gain the right to freely choose news sources. 

On the other hand, it reflects the aspirations of journalists as a group to assert their subjectivity in the 

process of news reporting (Schudson, 2001). The news industry attempted to institutionalize news 

interviewing activities and the system of news source selection, repositioning news as a “professional 

culture”. The most significant feature of this culture is its widespread acceptance by society and the 

public, possessing a certain degree of autonomy (Singer, 2007). Therefore, journalists’ selection and 

use of news sources have always been regarded as important reference criteria for practicing the 

concept of journalistic professionalism. The authority of news sources to some extent determines the 

authenticity and objectivity of news reporting, further strengthening the legitimacy of the news industry. 

At the same time, as the authority of the news industry continues to increase, the selection of news 

sources in news content production can in turn consolidate the status of the identities behind the news 

sources, such as government officials, corporate entities, experts, and scholars. Their authoritative aura 

will be infinitely magnified with the increasing authority of the news industry, thereby placing the 

discourse resources in society under the control of the news industry (Manning, 2000). 

 

4. Research Design 

4.1 Research Objects 

This study selects news reports published on WeChat and Weibo by two major Chinese media outlets, 

People’s Daily and Southern Weekly. As digital technology continues to evolve, WeChat and Weibo 

have become significant channels for the circulation of digital news and for audiences to receive digital 

news. Therefore, examining these platforms is valuable for understanding the digitalization of China’s 

news ecosystem. WeChat and Weibo serve as vital channels for the daily reception of digital 

information by the public, making them significant for studying how the news industry selects sources 

in the digital age. WeChat primarily facilitates the circulation and dissemination of digital news through 

official accounts, linking content producers, operators, and receivers, relying on its robust online social 

features to enable networked transmission of news information. Weibo, known for its personalized 

information production and timeliness in information dissemination, utilizes “trending topics” as a 

direct channel to enhance its public attributes, displaying more interaction, timeliness, and openness 



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compared to traditional public spheres, often playing a crucial role in media sourcing and shaping 

public opinion. 

From the perspective of digital information flow, both WeChat and Weibo meet the public’s diverse 

information reception needs. WeChat official accounts, divided into subscription and service types, 

operate similarly to traditional newspaper subscriptions, requiring users to subscribe to receive 

information, which is then further disseminated to non-subscribers. Although WeChat official accounts 

have limitations in news content production, such as closedness and delay, they serve as important 

intermediaries for disseminating opinionated and interpretative content. Weibo’s anonymity, openness, 

and strong timeliness allow it to convey information to the public promptly, attract attention, and 

quickly gather public feedback, thereby rapidly shaping social discourse. However, its fragmented 

information dissemination is more suited to covering breaking and trending news. Currently, all media 

organizations in China have integrated WeChat and Weibo into their operations, tailoring their news 

content production to the features of each platform. 

4.2 Research Questions 

This paper uses content analysis to study the news sources used by People’s Daily and Southern 

Weekly in their WeChat and Weibo postings, focusing on three types of news reports: political, social, 

and disaster news. Based on this, it explores the current use and trends in news source selection by the 

news industry in the digital age, delving into the profound implications of news sources in the news 

ecosystem during digitalization. The specific research questions are: 

Q1: What are the characteristics and conventions of news sources chosen by different media for the 

same news event across different platforms? 

Q2: What are the characteristics and trends of news sources chosen by different media for different 

news events across platforms? 

Q3: Which news sources appear consistently across different platforms, media, and news events, 

reflecting the stability of news source selection tendencies in the digital age? 

4.3 Sample Selection and Analysis 

The study primarily selects samples from hot topics in China’s public discourse over the past two years, 

divided into three categories of report types, each involving three hot events. 

1). Political reports: the 20th Party Congress, the Winter Olympics, the National People’s Congress. 

2). Social reports: the Tangshan assault incident, the Fengxian octuplets case, the Hu Xinyu incident. 

3). Disaster reports: the Zhengzhou floods, the Eastern Airlines crash, the Sichuan-Chongqing 

heatwave. 

Based on these considerations, the study manually collected data on the coverage of these nine hot 

events by People’s Daily and Southern Weekly, producing detailed statistical tables (Chang, Yang, & 

Wang, 2022). In sample analysis, the paper primarily relies on the scholarly distinction between 



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“information sources” and “content sources”. Information sources refer to the channels and methods 

news media use to obtain news during production, while content sources are the original providers of 

news content. Drawing on previous work, information sources are further divided into interviews, 

matrix media, social media, other media, press conferences, and notices, while content sources include 

national leaders and government officials, experts, industry personnel, media institutions, companies, 

event participants, eyewitnesses, and commentators. Additionally, the study conducted a statistical 

analysis of the presentation forms of news sources in the news report samples. 

 

5. Research Findings 

This study gathered a total of 564 news reports from WeChat official accounts and Weibo, consisting of 

175 information sources and 328 content sources. Corresponding data visualizations were created, as 

described below: 

5.1 Number of Reports and News Sources on both Micro-ends 

In the 1970s, communication scholars Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw introduced the 

“agenda-setting” theory in their book “The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Communication”. They 

posited that mass media, by setting certain topics, can change how people perceive events or opinions, 

and even influence the level of audience attention. While mass media cannot directly determine 

people’s views on a particular event, under the deliberate provision of information by media institutions, 

people’s opinions and attitudes may change following the media’s agenda-setting and the frequency of 

its coverage. As times have changed, the audience’s demand for information has shifted from a simple, 

mirror-like reflection of objective facts to a “pseudo-environment” form of information representation, 

resulting in the audience being influenced to some extent by the “opinion environment” created by the 

mass media. Under this premise, this paper investigates the coverage of nine types of hot events by the 

two news media on micro-platforms. The number of reports can reflect the different levels of attention 

paid by different media on different platforms to various events, indirectly indicating the frequency of 

news source usage on different platforms. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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Table 1. Number of Reports on 9 Hot Events by Two Media on Two Micro-clients 

News Category News Events 

Number of reports on 

WeChat public accounts 

Number of Weibo 

reports 

People’s 

Daily 

Southern 

Weekly 

People’s 

Daily 

Southern 

Weekly 

Current Affairs 

Reports 

the 20th National Congress of the 

CPC 
16 12 25 19 

Winter Olympics 46 24 76 54 

The 2023 Two Sessions of the NPC 

and the CPPCC 
8 9 16 21 

Social Reports 

Tangshan beating incident 7 8 10 8 

Feng County Eight-child Woman 

Incident 
4 5 6 5 

Hu Xingyu incident 6 5 9 7 

Disaster Reports 

Heavy rain in Zhengzhou 11 15 14 19 

China Eastern Airlines crash 13 21 15 16 

High temperatures in Sichuan and 

Chongqing 
7 9 6 12 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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Table 2. Two Media Reports on Two Micro-ends9News Sources of Hot Events  

News 

Category 
News Events 

WeChat public account reporting news 

source 

Weibo news source 

Information Source Content Source Information Source Content Source 

People’s 

Daily 

Southern 

Weekly 

People’s 

Daily 

Southern 

Weekly 

People’s 

Daily 

Southern 

Weekly 

People’s 

Daily 

Southern 

Weekly 

Current 

Affairs 

Reports 

the 20th National 

Congress of the 

CPC 

7 5 5 6 8 3 5 9 

Winter Olympics 18 8 9 8 21 9 9 8 

The 2023 Two 

Sessions of the NPC 

and the CPPCC 

2 3 8 10 3 4 10 13 

Social 

Reports 

Tangshan beating 

incident 
4 2 11 18 5 3 6 6 

Feng County 

Eight-child Woman 

Incident 

1 2 13 7 2 3 4 3 

Hu Xinyu incident 4 4 5 3 2 4 3 2 

Disaster 

Reports 

Heavy rain in 

Zhengzhou 
5 7 10 28 1 3 8 15 

China Eastern 

Airlines crash 
9 6 11 18 3 3 8 10 

High temperatures 

in Sichuan and 

Chongqing 

3 2 9 16 2 4 5 9 

 

In this study, a total of 564 news reports were collected from the WeChat official accounts and Weibo 

platforms of both media houses. As seen in Table 1, both People’s Daily and Southern Weekly featured 

a higher number of political reports, particularly focusing on major national events such as the 20th 

Party Congress and the Winter Olympics, while also adequately covering social and disaster news 

(Table 1). Furthermore, it was found that the number of reports on the Weibo platform for all three 

categories exceeded those on the WeChat official accounts. Firstly, from the platform perspective, the 

Weibo platform allows unrestricted posting of articles, where any topic related to the reports can be 

treated as a news point, enabling convenient news reporting and rapid formation of public opinion. 

Secondly, from the audience perspective, users are more inclined to search for information on Weibo, 

where they can directly access the “Trending” section to learn about the day’s hot topics and participate 

in user interactions promptly. Hence, as illustrated in this graph, regardless of whether it’s mainstream 



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media or local urban newspapers, the volume of reports on Weibo for all three categories surpasses that 

on WeChat official accounts. Table 2 shows that People’s Daily and Southern Weekly used both 

information and content sources in their news reports on WeChat official accounts and Weibo (Table 2). 

5.2 Two Micro-client Information Sources 

This study gathered 175 information sources from the WeChat official accounts and Weibo of People’s 

Daily and Southern Weekly, and detailed data visuals were created accordingly, as shown below: 

 

Table 3. The Information Sources of 9 Types of Hot Events Reported by 2 Media WeChat Public 

Accounts 

Information 

Source 

Current Affairs Reports Social Reports Disaster reports Information 

Source 

Proportion 

People’s 

Daily 

Southern 

Weekly 

Type 

Proportion 

People’s 

Daily 

Southern 

Weekly 

Type 

proportion 

People’s 

Daily 

Southern 

Weekly 

Type 

proportion 

Interview 22.22% 21.40% 27.21% 22.22% 12.50% 17.65% 35.30% 53.33% 43.75% 25.87% 

Matrix media 17.05% 15.20% 16.25% 11.11% 25% 17.65% 17.65% 6.67% 12.49% 16.52% 

Social media 20.00% 13.37% 16.30% 22.22% 12.50% 17.65% 11.76% 6.67% 9.38% 18.48% 

Other media 29.62% 36.53% 28.61% 11.12% 37.50% 23.52% 29.41% 13.33% 25.00% 26.09% 

Conference 

and Notice 
11.11% 13.50% 11.63% 33.33% 12.50% 23.53% 5.88% 20.00% 9.38% 13.04% 

 

Table 3 presents the statistics of information sources for the three types of reports on the WeChat 

official accounts of the two media outlets. In general, both media favor other media and interviews as 

the primary sources of information on WeChat, accounting for 26.09% and 25.87% respectively, 

ranking first and second. Social media and matrix media follow, with 18.48% and 16.52% respectively, 

while press releases and announcements are used the least, at only 13.04% (Table 3). 

In political reporting on WeChat, other media and interviews are the most utilized information sources, 

at 28.61% and 27.21% respectively. Information from social media (16.30%) and matrix media 

(16.25%) are nearly identical, differing by only 0.05%. Press releases and announcements are less 

commonly used as sources, accounting for just 11.63%. For People’s Daily’s WeChat account, aside 

from other media (29.62%) and interviews (22.22%), social media (20%) and matrix media (17.05%) 

are also significant secondary sources. Southern Weekly’s WeChat account tends to rely more heavily 

on other media for political reporting, at 36.53%, significantly higher than the other four types of 

sources. In these reports, the use of social media (13.37%) and press releases (13.5%) is relatively 

balanced. 

In social reporting, the usage proportions of the five types of information sources on WeChat are quite 



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similar, with other media and press releases used more than the other three types. People’s Daily’s 

WeChat account frequently uses press releases and announcements (33.33%) as information sources in 

social reports because when social events occur, they quickly generate public opinion. Facing the loud 

public discourse, as a mainstream media outlet, it promptly retransmits authoritative reports from 

relevant organizations or units, as well as news conferences, to clarify the truth and guide public 

opinion and emotions appropriately. In contrast, Southern Weekly’s WeChat account in social reports 

often chooses other media (37.50%) as the main source, swiftly retransmitting information from 

national authoritative media like CCTV to effectively guide public opinion, with a relatively even use 

of the other four types of sources. 

In emergency reporting, interviews are the preferred information source on WeChat, accounting for 

43.75%, followed by other media at 26.09%. The proportions of matrix media and press releases are 

similar, at 18.48% and 13.04%, respectively, while social media sources appear least frequently, at just 

6.52%. Both media outlets tend to select interviews as the primary source in disaster reporting on their 

WeChat accounts, with Southern Weekly using interviews to a greater extent, at 53.33%, significantly 

higher than People’s Daily’s 35.30%. As a local urban media focusing on public welfare, Southern 

Weekly utilizes interviews to directly engage with eyewitnesses, participants, and commentators during 

disasters to gather more information about the incident and convey it promptly to the audience and the 

public. Additionally, People’s Daily’s WeChat account uses press releases and announcements less 

frequently (5.88%) in disaster reporting, while Southern Weekly’s use of matrix media and social media 

(6.67% each) are the least frequent. 

 

Table 4. Information Sources for Nine Hotspot Issues Reported by Two Media Outlets on Weibo 

Weibo information source statistical chart 

Information 

Source 

Current Affairs Reports Social Reports Disaster reports Information 

source 

proportion 

People’s 

Daily 

Southern 

Weekly 

Type 

proportion 

People’s 

Daily 

Southern 

Weekly 

Type 

proportion 

People’s 

Daily 

Southern 

Weekly 

Type 

proportio

n 
Interview 25.00% 37.50% 29.17% 11.11% 20.00% 15.79% 33.33% 30.00% 31.25% 26.51% 

Matrix media 12.50% 6.25% 10.42% 22.22% 20.00% 21.05% 16.67% 10.00% 12.50% 13.25% 

Social media 25% 18.75% 22.92% 22.22% 10.00% 15.79% 0.00% 10.00% 6.25% 18.07% 

Other media 31.25% 25.00% 29.16% 11.11% 20.00% 15.79% 16.67% 30.00% 25.00% 25.30% 

Conferences and 

Notice 
6.25% 12.50% 8.33% 33.34% 30.00% 31.58% 33.33% 20.00% 25.00% 16.87% 

 

Table 4 displays the statistics of information sources for three types of reports on the Weibo platform 

for both media outlets. On Weibo, interviews (26.51%) and other media (25.30%) have the highest 



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percentages, showing a minimal difference between them, indicating that these are commonly used 

sources on Weibo. Social media and press releases and announcements are relatively balanced, 

accounting for 18.07% and 16.87% respectively, while matrix media is used the least, at only 13.25%. 

In political reporting on Weibo, similar to the WeChat official accounts, interviews and other media are 

the primary sources, with nearly identical percentages of 29.17% and 29.16%. However, the use of 

social media as a source is higher on Weibo, at 22.92%, due to the inherent characteristics and rules of 

the Weibo platform. News reports on Weibo also effectively link matrix media and utilize press releases 

and announcements as sources, accounting for 10.42% and 8.33% respectively (Table 4). 

In social reporting on Weibo, press releases and announcements are the most used sources, at 31.58%. 

This reflects Weibo’s approach to major social emergencies, where it quickly disseminates official 

press releases and announcements as the main sources to accurately guide public opinion. Additionally, 

Weibo leverages matrix media (21.05%) to enrich its news production. Other sources, including 

interviews, social media, and other media, are used equally, each accounting for 15.79%. 

In disaster reporting, matrix media (12.50%) and social media (6.25%) are the least utilized, 

positioning them on the fringes, while the usage of other sources remains more balanced, all above 

20%. Both People’s Daily and Southern Weekly tend to prefer interviews as a source, with respective 

usage rates of 33.33% and 30%. Moreover, People’s Daily shows a high reliance on press releases and 

announcements, whereas Southern Weekly depends more on other media as a source. 

5.3 Micro-platform Content Sources 

This study gathered 328 content sources from the WeChat official accounts and Weibo of People’s 

Daily and Southern Weekly, and detailed data visualizations were created accordingly, as shown below: 

 

Table 5. Content sources for 9 types of hot events reported by two media WeChat official 

accounts 

WeChat public account content source statistics chart 

content source 

Current Affairs Reports Social Reports Disaster Reports Content 

source 

proportion 

People’s 

Daily 

Southern 

Weekly 

Type 

proportion 

People’s 

Daily 

Southern 

Weekly 

Type 

proportion 

People’s 

Daily 

Southern 

Weekly 

Type 

proportion 

National leaders 

and government 

officials 

50.00% 40.67% 45.65% 24.14% 21.43% 22.81% 20.00% 16.13% 17.39% 25.64% 

Experts and 

scholars 
10.18% 33.33% 26.09% 17.24% 19.75% 21.05% 6.67% 16.13% 13.04% 10.46% 

Industry 

personnel 
9.09% 8.33% 0.70% 10.34% 7.14% 0.77% 13.33% 12.90% 13.04% 10.77% 



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Media 

organizations 
9.09% 0.00% 4.35% 3.45% 7.14% 5.26% 6.67% 6.45% 6.52% 5.64% 

Companies 4.55% 5.17% 4.35% 3.45% 5.25% 1.75% 10.00% 3.23% 5.43% 4.10% 

Event 

participants 
0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 90% 14.29% 10.53% 16.67% 25.81% 22.83% 13.85% 

Witnesses to the 

event 
0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 10.34% 10.71% 10.53% 13.33% 11.29% 11.97% 8.72% 

Event 

commentators 
9.09% 12.50% 10.86% 24.14% 14.29% 19.30% 13.33% 8.06% 9.78% 12.82% 

 

 

Regarding the overall content sources used on the WeChat official accounts of both media outlets in the 

three categories of news reports, the media tend to select national leaders and government officials 

(25.64%), and experts and scholars (18.46%) as the primary content sources. The aim is to ensure the 

authoritativeness of the news reports and the credibility of the news media, while less frequently using 

media institutions (5.64%) and corporations (4.10%) as direct content sources. 

In political and social reports, both media’s WeChat platforms favor authoritative news sources over 

non-authoritative ones. The People’s Daily WeChat account ranks national leaders and government 

officials as the most frequently used sources across all three news categories, with respective 

proportions of 50%, 24.14%, and 20%. Moreover, it does not utilize eyewitnesses or participants in 

political reporting, whereas in social and disaster reports, it more frequently includes commentators 

(24.14%) and participants (16.67%). This reflects that the media’s use of news sources is influenced by 

the type of news report. Southern Weekly’s WeChat account also ranks national leaders and 

government officials as the primary sources in political and social reports, at 41.67% and 21.43% 

respectively. However, in disaster reporting, its usage of participants (25.81%) far exceeds other 

sources, reflecting Southern Weekly’s core values of justice, conscience, compassion, and rationality, 

and indicating that in the digital age, media source selection is still influenced by the media’s own 

characteristics (Table 5). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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Table 6. Content Sources for 9 Hot Event Categories Reported by 2 Media on Weibo 

Weibo content source statistics chart 

Content source 

Current Affairs Reports Social Reports Disaster Reports Content 

source 

proportion 

People’s 

Daily 

Southern 

Weekly 

Type 

proportion 

People’s 

Daily 

Southern 

Weekly 

Type 

proportion 

People’s 

Daily 

Southern 

Weekly 

Type 

proportion 

National leaders and 

government officials 
25.00% 20.00% 20.37% 23.08% 25.23% 20.83% 28.57% 20.59% 23.64% 21.81% 

Experts and scholars 20.83% 23.33% 22.21% 15.38% 9.09% 12.50% 9.52% 8.82% 9.09% 15.79% 

Industry personnel 12.50% 6.67% 12.96% 15.38% 9.09% 12.50% 9.52% 5.80% 7.27% 9.02% 

Media organizations 4.18% 10.00% 7.41% 7.71% 12.50% 4.17% 0.00% 2.94% 1.82% 4.52% 

Companies 8.33% 3.33% 5.56% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 4.76% 8.82% 7.27% 5.26% 

Event participants 20.83% 10.00% 16.67% 15.38% 18.78% 16.67% 14.29% 23.53% 20.00% 17.29% 

Witnesses to the event 0.00% 10.00% 5.56% 15.38% 7.13% 20.83% 23.82% 14.71% 10.18% 13.53% 

Event commentators 8.33% 16.67% 9.26% 7.69% 10.10% 12.50% 9.52% 14.71% 12.73% 12.78% 

 

For both media outlets on the Weibo platform, as with the WeChat official account platform, national 

leaders and government officials are the primary content sources, constituting 21.81% of usage. Other 

categories such as event participants, experts and scholars, eyewitnesses, and commentators also 

feature prominently, with percentages above ten: 17.29%, 15.79%, 13.53%, and 12.78% respectively. 

In contrast, industry personnel, companies, and media institutions are used less frequently, occupying 

the most marginal positions with 9.02%, 5.26%, and 4.52% respectively. 

In political reporting, national leaders and government (20.37%) and experts and scholars (22.21%) 

remain the most frequently used sources, reflecting a continued reliance on authoritative news sources. 

For social reporting, both news media do not use companies as a source at all, with a relatively 

balanced use of other news sources. In disaster reporting, aside from national leaders and government 

officials (23.64%), eyewitnesses (23.82%) and participants (23.53%) are extensively used by both 

People’s Daily and Southern Weekly on Weibo, indicating that the use of authoritative and 

non-authoritative sources is constrained by media attributes and platform rules (Table 6). 

 

6. Conclusion and Discussion 

This paper aims to outline the overall landscape of news source selection and usage in the news 

industry in the digital age through content analysis of “micro-platform” reporting by People’s Daily and 

Southern Weekly. 

Firstly, from a platform perspective, the selection of information sources on both WeChat and Weibo is 

balanced and aligns with the news production patterns in the digital age. On WeChat, aside from 

interviews and other media being heavily utilized, other sources are also appropriately used, 



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particularly social media, showcasing the platform’s integration of original and curated content. In 

terms of content sources, both WeChat and Weibo utilize authoritative sources such as national leaders 

and government officials, and experts and scholars, to enhance the authoritativeness of news reporting. 

Additionally, both platforms pay considerable attention to non-traditional sources like event 

participants, eyewitnesses, and commentators, especially evident in social and disaster reporting, 

reflecting a higher degree of trust in traditional authoritative news sources on these platforms. 

Secondly, from a media institution perspective, People’s Daily and Southern Weekly display clear 

differences in source selection. As a mainstream media outlet, People’s Daily has inherent advantages 

in accessing official sources represented by national leaders and government officials. In contrast, 

Southern Weekly, as a local urban media, faces certain constraints in accessing authoritative sources. 

Especially in political reporting, when major policies are announced or significant meetings held, 

mainstream media can access government information firsthand. In contrast, local urban media like 

Southern Weekly rely on rebroadcasting from other media or official announcements from government 

departments, occasionally using social media accounts as supplementary sources in disaster reporting, 

significantly lagging behind mainstream media in terms of timeliness. 

Lastly, from a reporting type perspective, political reporting primarily relies on official news sources, 

while social and disaster reporting tend to favor non-official sources. According to content sources on 

WeChat, both People’s Daily and Southern Weekly predominantly use authoritative sources like 

national leaders and government officials in political reporting. However, in disaster reporting, besides 

heavily utilizing governmental sources, both also extensively use participants as primary news sources. 

While data analysis supports these conclusions, it is challenging to generalize about news source 

selection in the digital age due to ongoing technological evolution and the manual nature of data 

collection from WeChat and Weibo, which may include errors such as duplicates or omissions. 

Nonetheless, this study’s findings suggest: first, that news production in the digital era still 

predominantly relies on government as the leading news source to ensure report authoritativeness; 

second, that non-elite sources such as the general public are increasingly featured in social and disaster 

reporting, reflecting a shift towards democratization in news source selection; and third, that media 

characteristics and platform rules directly influence news source selection in digital news production. 

 

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