Meaning: Literally translated as “self media,” this term refers to the concept of “we media” raised by Chris Willis and Shayne Bowman in their seminal report “We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information.” Also known as “citizen journalism,” “participatory journalism” or “Intenet journalism,” the idea is citizens “playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information.” News is now being published in real-time, available to everybody, via the Internet. The “we media” platforms in China include Weibo, WeChat, Baidu Tieba and others.

    Example:

    A: 听说小丽辞职了。

    Tīngshuō xiǎolì cízhí le。

    I hear that Xiao Li has quit her job.

    B: 她现在专心运营自己的微信号，希望以后可以吸引广告商。

    Tā xiànzài zhuānxīn yùnyíng zìjǐ de wēixìn hào, xīwàng yǐhòu kěyǐ xīyǐn guǎnggàoshāng。

    Yeah. She’s now focusing on her WeChat account, hoping that advertisers will come after her some day.

    A: 现在自媒体也不容易做啊。

    Xiànzài zìméitǐ yě bù róngyì zuò a。

    Well, it’s not easy to run “we media” nowadays.