Cooperation and Competition: Algorithmic News Recommendations in China’s Digital News Landscape Via Pixabay
Executive Summary
This research report examines perceptions of and approaches to personalization among news organizations and technology companies in China and aims to identify the current state of personalized recommendation technology within the Chinese digital news landscape. Between September 2019 and August 2020, we conducted interviews with 26 individuals from 19 organizations, pausing to adjust for the COVID-19 outbreak, and re-interviewing people we spoke with before the pandemic occurred.
We found that our interviewees considered personalization a defining element of the Chinese online news ecosystem. Personalization was a core factor for revenue generation, or, for state-sponsored media organizations, it was key for boosting relevance and attention.