Summit highlights YRD media integration

The 2020 Yangtze River Delta Zijin Cyberspace Communication Innovation Summit was held in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, on Oct 31, in a bid to drive cyberspace communication innovation to support the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region.

Approximately 500 media representatives and experts across the YRD region attended the event, with four parallel forums also taking place, jointly exploring topics such as the latest industry trends, county-level media innovation, regional media connections, internet literature, and the future prospects of media integration to promote regional development in the YRD.

Apart from insights and experience sharing, a signing ceremony for the establishment of the YRD collaboration mechanism in cyberspace communication was held at the summit, opening a new chapter in regional media integration.

Digital media is the main participant and driver in regional integration, noted Yang Jun, deputy director of Shanghai Municipal Internet and Information Office.

With the YRD region speeding up integration, the media should emphasize digitalization and better function as a link in diverse sectors ranging from news, communications, and e-commerce, to government and livelihood services, suggested Zhao Zizhong, president of the Communication University of China New Media Institute.

With rapid social and technological change, the communications industry has been facing continuous challenges and is currently experiencing great change. Interactive, mobile, audio-visual, and smart technologies have become the prominent characteristics of the new media era, noted Zhang Taofu, executive director of Fudan University's School of Journalism. He argued that more China and YRD stories should be heard worldwide through the voice of regional mainstream media.

Zhang's words resonated with Ren Qi from the Communication University of Zhejiang. "The YRD region has been taking the national lead, with a new media layout completed and on its way to further integration," she added. Ren also shared her insights into potential challenges and upcoming reforms faced by media organizations, with new technologies such as AI and big data being used in the industry.