Case 2: Xinhua News Agency: Focusing on Developing a New Mode of Integrated Development Characteristic of a News Agency

The focus of Xinhua News Agency in its quest to become a “new-type world-class international news agency” is on develop- ing a mode of integrated development that is characteristic of a news agency, and on forming a new communication pattern that highlights the power of characters of mainstream media and is answerable to the law and features of new media. Since 2016, the Xinhua News Agency has vigorously promoted and actively explored the sharing and integration of information, technological application, platform terminals, and talents in Internet thinking, thus making new strides forward in integrated development and effectively enlarging the coverage and enhancing the influence of news report.

First, focusing on primary business of the news agency, actively pressing forward with adjustment of the lines of feeds, and raise the coverage of news and information products

The feed lines are the basic carrier of a news agency by which the news agency better performs its functions. In order to perform its functions as a news agency in the new era, Xinhua News Agency has, on the basis of in-depth investigation and research, worked out a program of reform of feed lines, striving to effect “three changes” in news products and feed services, namely, the change from satisfying the needs of traditional media to meeting the needs of all media; the change from singular and one-way provision of articles to a mode of interactive publishing; and the change from mere provision of articles to provision of comprehensive services, so as to realize effective extension of the core functions of the state news agency in the field of new media. Be- sides, reforms were launched in the first half of 2016, first carrying out a pilot program in the special new media line to integrate and optimize the agency’s lines of feed, and focus on building an Internet-based full-media syndication library and a modern feed system to serve various media and meet diverse needs. The upgraded new media line, launched on July 1, 2016, edits and produces in Internet format omnimedia finished manuscripts that directly reach the user, front-end and back-end, winning overall applause from the users. The amount of manuscripts processed by the upgraded new media line has risen by 40 percent year on year.

Second, strengthening innovation in content to create new media products that lead the trend so as to continuously enhance public opinion guidance

Content is essential. In pursuing integrated development, it is imperative to take content as the topmost priority and to win development advantage with advantage in content. Xinhua News Agency takes initiative in adapting to the trends of intelligence, mobilization, personalization and digitalization of emerging media, constantly improves product design, optimizes product form, and improves product quality. It meticulously organizes brand programs of convergence reporting, represented by “Spot News” and “Xinhua Omnimedia Headlines,” and establishes and improves a normal planning mechanism for new media coverage, and launches a number of audience-appreciated products, striving to turn such reports into the “most-favored” of all print media and the “hottest clicked” of all reports online.

The animated “Four Comprehensives” rap video launched in February 2016 has had 73 million hits, and mainstream Western mainstream media, such as the Associated Press and AFP, have requested reprints of it and interviews. At the end of June, the micro-film Red Temperament launched to celebrate the 95th anniversary of the founding of the CPC was reprinted on over 3,000 sites and client terminal apps, rounding up more than 200 mil- lion page views and rapidly becoming a phenomenal omnimedia product that was rebroadcast by 34 TV stations throughout the country. The micro-documentary series National Album was produced on the basis of Xinhua News Agency’s abundant picture resources to tell the individual histories behind old photos, and was simultaneously broadcast on the Internet, TV, mobile terminals, outdoor electronic screens and other platforms. By the end of December, it had been viewed by more than 230 million people. In September, the large-scale Internet program Red Pursuit, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Long March, was simultaneously aired on Xinhuanet, Xinhua News Agency client terminal and some online social media platforms, with a total audience of more than 100 million. The Xinhua News Agency original coverage series, “Special Correspondent’s Outer Space Diary” scored 160 million or more online hits, a record high in the history of world aerospace pioneering. The various departments and branch offices of the Agency have gradually grown into the main planners in new media product planning and production, and UAV and 3D dynamic reports, data charts, and micro-videos are now produced and released as regular products.

Moreover, Xinhua News Agency is proactive in its comprehensive protection of product innovation. In April 2016, it established a product research institute specifically to promote integrated development with innovation in product. In May 2016, a seminar on overall innovation was held in the Agency to promote new media source-end planning and establishment of news acquisition and production mechanisms. Decision was made to establish an innovation fund to finance key innovation projects; the methods of news gathering and editing appraisal were revised to highlight the provisions on impact and promote more high-quality news products.

Third, consolidating and upgrading the “central kitchen” omnimedia reporting platform, and exploring new models of news production and publication

As it is impossible for the traditional news gathering and editing procedures to adapt to the change toward the model of omnimedia transmission, it is necessary to reform and upgrade them according to the concept of integrated development. Xinhua News Agency has been actively exploring and experimenting in this regard. On July 7, 2015, the Agency set up an omnimedia reporting platform headed by the Editorial Office and manned by staff from nine of the agency’s departments. The platform performs the six functions of resource integration, integrative processing, public opinion monitoring, business management, impact assessment, and remote command. Other work related to texts, pictures, videos, technology, and the Internet, among others, can be done on the same platform, so as to create multiple types of news products around key topics. As the starting point for promoting resource integration and integrated reporting, in 2016 the omnimedia reporting platform put out more than 389 “Xinhua All-media Headline” groups, which an average 100 traditional media units used and where each new media report generated one million hits. In July 2016, Xinhua News Agency expanded and improved the quality and efficiency of its omnimedia platform, promoting the formation of institutional mechanisms that meet the needs of integrated development by upgrading the news gathering and editing of content from a static, one-dimensional process to one that is dynamic and multi-dimensional, so meeting the needs of multi-terminal communication and multi-form experience.

Fourth, building an “omnimedia platform” for effective convergence and distribution of high-quality media products that serves as “confluence of online information”

On August 30, 2016, Xinhua News Agency launched the first ever national open omnimedia platform in the field of new media, and signed agreements with more than 100 state and local mainstream media units on strengthening cooperation on new media news gathering, processing, and dissemination, with the aim of enriching Xinhua News Agency’s omnimedia products while exploring new models of news production and publication as well as gathering and distributing of high-quality products of other media agencies, so achieving win-win cooperation. The omnimedia platform will provide powerful new media terminals to member units to achieve high-end dissemination on a national platform; it will provide advanced new media gathering and processing technology, and a free and open content management system based on mobile Internet news production scenarios, and open “Spot News” function modules to achieve online news production; and it will provide a new media operation support system whereby copyright tracking communication and visualization services are applied to manuscripts from across the Internet. The third-party resource aggregation function on the omnimedia platform has now begun operating, laying a good foundation for further convergence of UGC and PGC resources.

Fifth, innovating and developing Xinhua website, Xinhua News Agency client and social media platforms to build strong terminals and expand new media channels of communication

First, the agency has launched a new version of the Xinhua News Agency client-terminal app, which pioneered “Spot News” that showcases the live news presentation and promotes the change from offline to online news gathering, editing and releasing process. Version 3.0 of the Xinhua News Agency client terminal app, officially launched on February 29, 2016, has achieved an annual reporting volume of 738, and a total of over 426 million hits, so achieving systematic innovation of the news production system and leading major changes in the news format. Domestic and foreign media follow and copy this app, and “Spot News” constitutes the first standard domestic convergence media product. The current download volume exceeds 220 million and the initial pop-up rate of major current news exceeds 80 percent. More than 3,100 local channels have connected on the Xinhua News Agency client terminal app, covering 31 provinces, autono- mous regions and municipalities directly under the central govern- ment nationwide, basically demonstrating that “a net covers the whole country and a key connects the whole country.” The app is becoming an important mobile Internet information service portal, a news client terminal app flagship, and an important national mobile government service platform, with impact at the forefront of all news media.

Second, pressing forward with overall upgrading of the Xinhua site in line with the idea of “bringing news closer to you” in order to turn out new dynamic news and data news products, form the news site’s first unmanned aerial fleet, and open a VR/ AR channel. Daily hits on the upgraded Xinhua site have reached an average 42 million, ranking first on domestic news sites and rising steadily in global comprehensive rankings. Over 400 convergence media interactive products were launched in the first half of 2016, and Internet clicks for the “real shot + virtual” creative animation “Know the Government Work Report in Two Minutes” exceed 20 million.