Guests share their opinions at the first session of the forum titled "Global Design: Inspired by China" , Jan. 17, 2018. (Photo provided to China News Service)
(ECNS) -- A two-day forum focused on media convergence and Chinese cultural development kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday.
A group of international media representatives, scholars, designers and artists were invited to share their opinions at the forum titled "Global Design: Inspired by China."
When physical distance is no longer an obstacle for media to distribute content to audiences, the question of how to provide services and satisfactory content becomes an issue, experts at the forum agreed. Catering to the needs of target audiences is vital.
Traditional media like newspapers have been greatly affected by new media and technology, said Shen Weixing, deputy editor-in-chief of Guangming Daily.
Old media need to embrace advanced techniques, Shen said, adding that his organization is trying to do so.
Providing more professionalized content is necessary, the deputy editor-in-chief stressed.
Opportunities for cultural development in an era of media convergence were also discussed at the forum, as some experts pinpointed the importance of improving story narratives in news report.
The hit TV program "National Treasure" was praised and analyzed as a good example.
Zhai Huisheng, previous secretary of the Party Members' Group of the All-China Journalists Association, commented that "story-telling is at the core of this era, as it activates interactions between audiences and media."
Another session called "Culture Plus" focused on how Chinese culture can be attributed with new values, especially in the commercial area. Experts agreed that cultural products are not a living necessity but that they can help identify consumers, which comes back to the issue of catering to their needs via technology.
Two more sessions focused on the inspiration that Chinese culture provides to global design and cultural industries.
The guests talked about how to promote global industries through the impetus of Chinese culture and a new website, focused on creative Chinese culture, was launched at the forum.
