It was his first time giving a talk at HKBU School of Communication. But being among limited number of media research scholars with both journalistic practices and solid technical background, Dr. Kingwa Fu from HKU JMSC was well-received as the guest speaker at the February colloquium of D&N Society at HKBU.

Leader of new media research project Weiboscope as well as lecturer for Data Analytics course at HKU, Dr. Fu presented for around an hour at D&N to share about both his research and his insights from teaching data analytics for journalists. Faculties and students including undergrads, Master and PhD students, as well as an outspoken reporter alumnus from HKBU School of Communication had their visions broadened regarding the impending trend of leveraging social media and big data methods in journalistic explorations.

If you didn’t get a chance to attend the event yourself, don’t worry – D&N did the note-taking on Dr. Fu’s major points and is posting here a wrap-up of his most informing ideas. Check it out!

Why did Weibo stand out among online media platforms in China?

From a media research perspective, Dr. Fu believed that Weibo, the twitter-like service in China, went beyond its social media functionality to have further served as countervailing power in the network. Weibo has especially showed its power in agenda setting for grassroot movements, one of the earliest examples being the Qianyunhui case. Public opinion leaders on Weibo, also known as the “Big Vs”, were even able to contribute considerably in the anti-corruption wave in China, leading to the downfall of a few senior officials such as Liu Tienan. Continue reading →