New Perspectives on Geography of Media (Qizhen Humanities and Social Sciences Library) 9819921104, 9789819921102

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Qizhen Humanities and Social Sciences Library

SHAO Peiren

New Perspectives on Geography of Media

Qizhen Humanities and Social Sciences Library

Taking advantage of the interdisciplinary strength of Zhejiang University, “Qizhen Humanities and Social Sciences Library” seeks to build bridges between social science academics in China and abroad. Whether it pertains to the arts or sciences, the past or the present, the east or the west, pure or applied, the subject matter seeks to promote publications that represent academic excellence, cultural quintessence and the research cutting edge of China’s higher education.

SHAO Peiren

New Perspectives on Geography of Media

SHAO Peiren Zhejiang University Hangzhou, China Translated by WANG Guofeng Shanghai Normal University Shanghai, China With Contribution by Stephen Johnson Liberty Hill, Texas, USA

ISSN 2731-5304 ISSN 2731-5312 (electronic) Qizhen Humanities and Social Sciences Library ISBN 978-981-99-2110-2 ISBN 978-981-99-2111-9 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2111-9 Jointly published with Zhejiang University Press The print edition is not for sale in China’s mainland. Customers from China’s mainland please order the print book from: Zhejiang University Press. Translation from the Chinese-language edition: “媒介地理学新论” by SHAO Peiren, © Zhejiang University Press 2021. This work was supported by 中华社会科学基金 (Chinese Fund for the Humanities and Social Sciences) 资助 (Grant Number: 20WXWB007) © Zhejiang University Press 2023 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publishers, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publishers nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publishers remain neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore

Introduction

Based on the ancient Chinese concept of the unity of Heaven and Man (天人合一, ‘tian ren he yi’), guided by principles governing the connections and interdependencies between Heaven, Earth, Man, and the media, and in accord with the coexistence of these four elements in balance and in harmony, this monograph outlines the scope of the study, fundamental concepts and theories, and future directions of research in the interdisciplinary field of the geography of media. The author delves deeply into the themes of time, space, place, landscape, and scale to introduce readers to a wide array of intriguing concepts that add new dimensions to this relatively new academic field. In addition, this monograph presents a history of media geography as it has evolved in the West and in China over the past several decades and introduces principles and values from traditional Chinese culture that shed light on the nature, direction, and significance of media studies and communication research now being conducted around the globe.

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Translator’s Note

The first Chinese edition of Geography of Media: Mass Media as Cultural Landscape was co-authored by SHAO Peiren and YANG Liping and was published in 2010 by the Communication University of China Press in Beijing. Some years later, and in response to rapidly growing interest in the geography of media, Professor SHAO revised this book after consulting with his former postgraduate student, YANG Liping, about proposed changes. In 2021, the second edition of this book was published by the Zhejiang University Press in Hangzhou under the title New Perspectives on Geography of Media. To create an English translation of the 2021 book, chapters written by YANG Liping were removed due to the obsolescence of certain materials and statistics. Professor SHAO then added new material on recent developments in the field, particularly in Chinese academic circles, as well as material he has developed over the past ten years. This translation is therefore based on the 2021 Chinese edition of New Perspectives on Geography of Media. The process of translating an approximately 300,000-character Mandarin manuscript into English was both difficult and extremely rewarding for me. Before you begin reading, I would like to clarify a few aspects of this translation project that may help you better understand the text as it now appears. The book includes numerous quotations from ancient Chinese classics such as the I Ching 《易经》 ( , Book of Changes) and the Analects of Confucius, ancient poetry, folk legends, folk songs, and sayings, as well as descriptions of locations in China and references to prominent Chinese scholars, calligraphers, and other famous persons. I chose English translations of Chinese classics by James Legge from the Chinese Text Project’s online, open-access digital library (https://ctext.org/), which contains the largest database of pre-modern Chinese texts and translations freely accessible to readers and scholars around the world. James Legge (1815–1897), a Scottish linguist, missionary, sinologist, and translator, was the first professor of Chinese at Oxford University. When English translations of excerpts from classic Chinese texts, such as ancient poetry and folklore, were unavailable, I translated them myself and added notes as necessary. When describing China’s people and locations, I used straightforward language and concise explanations. vii

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Translator’s Note

In the body text and notes, Chinese surnames are consistently capitalized and placed before given names (as in SHAO Peiren or Professor SHAO), in accordance with the style for writing ancient Chinese names and to avoid confusion regarding differences in the way modern and ancient Chinese names are written. In the References section, I adhered to the publisher’s instructions regarding in-text citations and entries. I should also mention that, during the translation process, I modified the passages and structure of the English text as necessary and with the assistance of Stephen Johnson, my talented collaborator and the native English-speaking editor for this project, who labored tirelessly to accurately convey the author’s intended meaning in translation into the linguistic and cultural context of English. Mr. Johnson had a lengthy career as a technical writer for international high-tech companies, and he also taught English at a college in Ningbo, China, for five years. He has edited over a dozen of my research articles that were published in international journals such as Critical Discourse Studies, Social Semiotics, and Journal of Language and Politics. In addition, he is interested in Chinese culture, enjoys reading ancient Chinese classics, and has recently begun practicing Qigong and studying traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Mr. Johnson was able to provide valuable insights into my translations due to his experience living in China, our long-standing collaboration, and his knowledge of ancient Chinese philosophy. Whenever he and I had difficulty comprehending a passage, we reached a consensus on possible revisions prior to the final edit. Throughout the process of revision and editing, Mr. Johnson meticulously added comments and explanations for all significant clarifications, changes, and additions made from the perspective of a Western reader and editor. Although this translation is far from perfect, I assume full responsibility for any errors. Despite the fact that many references in the original Mandarin text are based on Chinese-language translations of Western sources, I was able to gain a more precise and culturally accurate understanding of Professor SHAO’s writing because I had access to the original texts written in these Western languages. In some instances, I found it challenging to reconcile differences in meaning between original texts and target texts. Fortunately, I was able to seek Professor SHAO’s counsel, upon which we based our final editorial decisions. Time passes quickly! This multi-year project, which resulted in an English translation of Geography of Media: Mass Media as Cultural Landscape, an improved version titled New Perspectives on Geography of Media, and an English translation of the same, as well as extensive translation practice for my students, has nourished me. Professor SHAO has given me and my students an extraordinary opportunity to learn a great deal about geography, modern communication and the media, ancient Chinese culture and philosophy, and sociology. I would like to express my deepest gratitude for his confidence in my translation skills and for providing us with this opportunity. I am indebted to Mrs. HUANG Jingfen, Editor of Zhejiang University Press, for her endless patience in answering my questions about the publication process and for her invaluable assistance in preparing the materials required to apply for funding,

Translator’s Note

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in our project proposal, and in our final report to be submitted to China’s National Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences. My gratitude extends to my graduate students at Shanghai Normal University who have or will soon earn Master’s degrees in Translation and Interpretation. To practice their English translation skills, YU Lu, XIE Wen, ZHANG Yingting, GAO Yiqing, NI Liping, CAI Yujie, CHEN Piao, YU Meijuan, QIN Mei, HUANG Minmin, FENG Jianlong, GU Yanhong, and JIANG Qihang translated the original 2010 Chinese edition, and LI Lingzhi, LIU Yuan, and LIU Yuting translated Chaps. 2, 4, 5, and 8 of the revised 2021 Chinese edition. Prior to beginning my work on the 2021 edition, the efforts of my diligent postgraduate students helped me clarify a number of terms and references. Before submitting the final version of my translation to the publisher, I would also like to thank WEN Liqian and XU Zhuo for reviewing the references format. In conclusion, I would like to thank the Chinese Fund for the Humanities and Social Sciences for its generous financial support of project 20WXWB007, as well as the staff at Zhejiang University Press, whose friendly collaboration motivated me to translate Professor SHAO’s monograph within two years’ time. WANG Guofeng December 2022

Contents

1 Scope and Significance of Geography of Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1 Geography of Media as an Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Discipline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.1 Geography: A Discipline of Intersectionality and Interconnectedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.2 Interaction and Synergy Between Media and Geography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2 Scope and System of Geography of Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2.1 Scope of Geography of Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2.2 System of Geography of Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3 Significance of Geography of Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.1 Advancing a Theoretical System of Geography and Media Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.2 Developing a Theoretical Framework for Geography of Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.3 Analyzing Media Phenomena and Solving Problems Related to Globalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4 Methodology of Geography of Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Past, Present, and Future of Geography of Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1 Chinese Cultural Geography and the Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 Media Construction of Cultural Geography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3 History of Geography of Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.1 Evolution of Geography in Ancient and Modern China . . . . 2.3.2 Modernization of Traditional Geography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.3 Emergence of Cultural Geography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4 Current Research in Geography of Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1 1 2 7 11 12 12 19 19 20 21 22 26 29 30 36 39 39 45 46 48 57

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Contents

3 Goals of Chinese Research in Geography of Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1 Core Concepts and Academic Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 Mass Media as the Unity and Extension of Heaven, Earth, and Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 Directions for Research in Geography of Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

61 61 65 68 72

4 Time: Flow and Variation in the Geography of Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 4.1 Time and the Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 4.1.1 Different Conceptions of Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 4.1.2 Time in Media and Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 4.2 Media Transformation of the Concept of Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 4.2.1 Evolution of the Concept of Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 4.2.2 Mediation of Time Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 4.3 Time as a Crucial Factor in Media Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 4.3.1 Time in the Production of Television, Radio, and Film Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 4.3.2 Time Management in the Production of Media Content . . . . 88 4.4 Media Time: A New Perspective on Media and Communication Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 4.4.1 The Social Impact of Media Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 4.4.2 Media Time and the New Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 4.4.3 Media Time in the Study of Geography of Media . . . . . . . . . 94 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 5 Space: Material and Landscape in Media Communication . . . . . . . . . 5.1 Space as the Context of Social Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.1 Space as a Container for Material and Meaning . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.2 Proxemics and Perceptions of Personal Space . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.3 The Openness and Flow of Discourse Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2 Urban Landscapes and Four Types of Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2.1 First Space: A Perceptible, Tangible World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2.2 Second Space: A Subjective and Changeable World . . . . . . . 5.2.3 Third Space: An Open and Inclusive Mental Construct . . . . 5.2.4 Fourth Space: The Space of Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3 Interpretations of Media Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3.1 The Metaphor of a Global Village: McLuhan’s View of Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3.2 No Sense of Place: Meyrowitz’s View of Space . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4 Media in Space and Space in Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4.1 Media in Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4.2 Space in Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5 Media Distance and Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5.1 Media Distance as a Paradigm for Communication . . . . . . . . 5.5.2 Communication and the Role of Media Distance . . . . . . . . . . 5.5.3 Levels of Content-Dependent Media Distance . . . . . . . . . . . .

103 104 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 115 118 123 123 126 129

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5.5.4 Categories of Media Distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 5.5.5 Appropriateness in Media Distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 6 Place: A Carrier of Social Construction and Cultural Memory . . . . . 6.1 Place as a Core Concept of Geography of Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2 Significance and Dimensions of Place in the Context of Globalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3 Dissolving of Regional Boundaries and the Emergence of Mediated Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3.1 Origins of the Sense of Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3.2 Mediated Place amid the Digitalization of Mass Media . . . . 6.4 Placeness of Media: Progression or Regression? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4.1 Place and the Role of Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4.2 Mediation of Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4.3 Place, Locality, and Local Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Landscape and the Media: Mediated Representations of the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1 Various Definitions of Landscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2 Effects of Mediated Landscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2.1 Significance of Cultural Landscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2.2 Differentiation and Symbols of Various Landscapes . . . . . . . 7.2.3 Media Representation and Audience Consumption of Landscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2.4 Landscape and Globalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3 Landscapes of Villages, Towns, Cities, Subways, and Suburbs . . . . 7.3.1 Villages and Cities: Contrasting Landscapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3.2 Suburbs: In-between Landscapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3.3 Subways: Belowground Landscapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.4 Media Spectacle and the Society of the Spectacle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.4.1 Debord’s Society of the Spectacle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.4.2 How Media Shapes the Society of the Spectacle . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Scale: Locality and Globality of Media Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.1 Multiple Meanings of Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.1.1 Evolution of Measurement Systems in Ancient China . . . . . 8.1.2 Multiple Understandings of Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2 Locality and Globality: Heterogeneity and Homogeneity . . . . . . . . . 8.3 Mass Media and Locality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3.1 The Crisis of Locality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3.2 Signs of Locality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3.3 Media Reshaping of Locality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.4 Mass Media and Globality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

145 145 149 152 152 154 156 156 158 162 167 169 169 171 172 172 173 175 177 177 179 182 183 184 186 188 191 191 192 193 198 200 201 202 204 206

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8.4.1 The Local Space of Globality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.4.2 Heterotopia and E-topia: Geographic Boundaries of Global Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.5 A Medium-Scale Mechanism for Interactivity, Balance, and Harmony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

207 209 213 217

Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

About the Author

SHAO Peiren, author of this monograph, is Professor of Journalism and Communication and Doctoral Advisor at the College of Media and International Culture, Zhejiang University, China. Former positions held by him include Director of the Journalism and Communication Research Institute at Zhejiang University, Deputy Director of the Department of Journalism and Communication, Associate Dean of the School of Humanities, and Deputy Director of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. He is currently President of the World Huallywood Association (in the USA), Chairman of the China Media Research Association (in the USA), Vice Chairman of the World Cultural Alliance (in the USA), Vice President of the Chinese Association of Communication, Founding President and Lifetime President of the Zhejiang Association of Communication, Director General of the Zhejiang Convention and Exhibition Society, and Proprietor of the journal China Media Report. Professor SHAO has published more than 360 research articles in addition to 32 monographs, textbooks, and collections. Principles and Applications of Communication Science has laid a solid foundation for his research in this field, and Contemporary Communication Series for which he has worked as Chief Editor has expanded his research scope. In addition, Communication Studies conveys the essence of his theoretical exploration on communication science, while Huaxia Communication Theory and Asian Communication Theory: Asian Perspective in International Communication Studies reflect his profound thoughts on how to conduct the research on media and communication and how to carry out communication activities from the angle of a modern Chinese intellectual. More importantly, he has devoted himself to exploring new frontiers in interdisciplinary fields. Media Management, Geography of Media: Mass Media as Cultural Landscape, and Media Ecology: Media as a Green Ecology are but three of his representative works. At the provincial and ministerial levels, Professor SHAO has won First Prize twice and Second Prize three times. In addition, he received the sixth FAN Jingyi Journalism Education Award (for Excellent Teachers), the Baosteel Excellent Teacher Award of the Ministry of Education, and the title of Young and Middle-Aged Expert for his contributions to Zhejiang Province.

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Chapter 1

Scope and Significance of Geography of Media

In the 1980s, the new academic discipline of geography of media emerged as an interdisciplinary field at the intersection of geography and the study of media and communication. Its theoretical framework, which is situated at this intersection, integrates select theories, concepts, and methodologies from various branches and subfields of geography, as well as from other disciplines such as cultural studies, political science, sociology, and economics. An additional area of interest is the occurrence of conflicts and crises that involve the media. The emergence of the geography of media is neither speculative nor the result of academics’ fantasies or fabrications. The following two passages from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes) and Guanzi capture the philosophical essence of research in this field now being conducted in China: ‘Heaven and Earth are in communication with each other, and all things in consequence have free course; the high and the low (superiors and inferiors) are in communication with one another, and they possess the same aim;’1 and ‘Earth is the source of all things and the source of life.’2

In this monograph, we integrate the Taoist concept of the unity of Heaven, Earth, and Man with contemporary studies in the geography of media to investigate the relationships among humans, geography, environment, culture, society, media, and communication in the context of time and space.

1.1 Geography of Media as an Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Discipline Geography is the scientific study of spatial variation from one location to another on the surface of the earth, as well as the temporal evolution of observable spatial patterns. As the study of location, space, and the environment, geography is closely related to the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. Geographers also study the distinctions and interrelationships between different localities, © Zhejiang University Press 2023 S. Peiren, New Perspectives on Geography of Media, Qizhen Humanities and Social Sciences Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2111-9_1

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1 Scope and Significance of Geography of Media

as distinguished by their unique combination of resources, cultural activities, and sociopolitical systems. In comparison, the geography of media (also known as media geography) studies the interactions between individuals, the environment, society, and the media, the effects of mass media consumption on individuals and societies, the responsibility of the global media to create and disseminate content that promotes harmonious relations between societies, regions, and countries, and the negative effects of media bias in global communication. The fundamental hypotheses of media geography are derived from the physical world where geography, humans, and the media interact over time. In the context of the increasingly globalized framework of human–environment, human–human, and human–media interactivity, and given the complexity and constant flux of these diverse interactions, media geographers are developing new ways to examine and predict the local and global effects of related phenomena. Maps, meteorological charts, and GPS data, as well as orbital infrastructures such as the Chinese-built BeiDou Navigation Satellite System are indispensable tools that enable humans to precisely locate themselves on the earth’s surface and navigate this space, as well as synchronize communications, survey and map terrestrial geographies, and provide support for disaster mitigation and relief operations. Without such advanced technologies, contemporary society could not function properly. Similarly, the media-geographic concepts presented in this monograph can serve as starting points for cognizing, analyzing, and understanding the relationships between individuals and physical environment, society, and the media.

1.1.1 Geography: A Discipline of Intersectionality and Interconnectedness Geography is the study of the earth’s surface and its topographic features, as well as human–environment interaction, which encompass both natural and cultural phenomena. The Chinese characters for ‘geography’ are 地理 (‘di li’). The single Chinese character 地 (‘di’) can be translated as soil, land, earth, terra, or topography; the character 理 (‘li’) can be translated as law, principle, science, or pattern. Therefore, the literal translation of 地理 (‘di li’) is ‘science of the earth.’ Of course, the people in ancient China believed that the earth was flat and square. The etymology of 地理 (‘di li’) can be traced back to the I Ching: The Sage, in accordance with ‘Yi’ (易, ‘change’), looking up, contemplates the brilliant phenomena of Heaven and, looking down, examines the specific arrangements of the earth (地理, ‘di li’).3

During the Tang dynasty (618 AD–907 AD), the famous philosopher KONG Yingda wrote in Memorial to the Throne about the emergence of 理 (‘li’): ‘There are mountains, rivers, plains, and lowlands on the earth, which are arranged in good

1.1 Geography of Media as an Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Discipline

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order and with good reason, and in accordance with the laws of the earth (理, ‘li’).4 The same two Chinese characters 地理 (‘di li’) were used in the ‘Jiao Si Zhi’ (郊 祀志, ‘Treatise on Sacrifices’) of the Han Shu (History of the Han): ‘Three sources of light—the stars, the sun, and the moon—illuminate and activate Heaven, while mountains and rivers are how the earth (地, ‘di’) persists.’5 In the volume ‘Ji River’ of Notes on Watercourses (Shui Jing Zhu), LI Daoyuan described a location where a major battle had occurred many years ago and noted, ‘The participants in this battle have long since passed away, but geographic patterns (地理, ‘di li’) from this conflict remain.’6 Later, 地理 (‘di li’) appeared in the poem ‘Appreciating a Lone Mountain’ by Huibiao, a famous poet who lived during the Southern and Northern dynasties (420 AD–589 AD): ‘There is a solitary mountain on the Central Plains, but when this terrestrial feature (地理, ‘di li’) was formed remains a mystery.’7 Earth is the home of humanity. The morphological and environmental conditions on the earth’s surface, which obviously are of great importance to all life on Earth, give rise to a wide variety of geographic concepts, theories, and related lore. In ancient China, geographers observed and studied natural phenomena and analyzed the relationships between them. The Geographical Map of the Tribute of Yu (Yu Gong Shan Chuan Di Li Tu) by CHENG Dachang8 and Interpretations of Geographical Names in History as a Mirror (Tong Jian Di Li Tong Shi),9 by WANG Yinglin, are two of the earliest examples of major geographic works, both of which were written during the Southern Song dynasty (1127 AD–1279 AD). The first scholar to describe a field of study called ‘geography’ was the Greek polymath Eratosthenes of Cyrene in his book Geographica, written over 2000 years ago in the third century BC. The etymology of ‘geography’ derives from the ancient Greek word γεωγραϕ´ια (ge¯ographía), comprised of the syllables γÁ (‘gê’ ´ or ‘Earth’) + γραϕω (‘gráph¯o’ or ‘write’), and which together form the term γεωγραϕ´ια (‘ge¯ographía’ or ‘description of the earth’). The etymology continues with ‘ge¯ographia’ in Latin, ‘géographie’ in Middle French, and ‘geography’ in English. In Geographica, reports of which were preserved by Greek and Roman historians, Eratosthenes described the earth as a spherical body where change only took place on the surface. He also calculated the earth’s circumference and drew a map of the world, dividing the land into various countries and regions. Modern geographers observe and analyze natural phenomena and associated spatial changes, as well as human, ecological, and biological phenomena on the earth’s surface, investigate the relationships between these phenomena, and catalog the physical characteristics of terrestrial areas. The English geographer Alison Blunt (2003, p. 68) interpreted the meaning of geography as ‘writing the world,’ in the sense that geographers are scholars who study the world, reflect upon it, and write about it from various perspectives. The emergence of geography over the centuries is an indication of people’s desire to learn about nature and its processes, not only because they were (and still are) curious about what lies beyond the horizon, but also because the natural environments in which humans live have a significant effect on human culture. Consequently, different forms of geographic inquiry have existed in virtually all civilizations (Claval

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1995). In this regard, geographic methods of studying and comprehending the world have long influenced the thought and findings of scholars in other academic fields. Due to its long history, expansive scope, and its influence on other scientific disciplines, geography has been referred to as the ‘mother of all sciences.’ As a discipline with a high rate of generative learning and broad scope, geographic concepts and findings are frequently incorporated into the research of other disciplines to help people better understand the dynamics of human-to-human and human-to-environment relationships, to interpret findings from a cultural perspective, and even to influence how individuals conceive of the world. As a multidisciplinary endeavor, it also seeks to identify the sociocultural and philosophical causes underlying the origin and evolution of nature and environment. Alfred Hettner (1859–1941), a German geographer and follower of Immanuel Kant, considered geography a branch of cosmology and, as such, a science that investigates the cosmos (i.e., a harmonious and orderly system governed by natural law). In Hettner’s opinion, the purpose of geography is not to interpret or establish rules or laws, but rather to explore phenomena that exist in time and space in the realm of human experience. He also noted that modern concepts of time and space had a significant impact on the theories of the German philosopher Immanuel Kant (as cited by Claval 1995). Geography underwent a paradigm shift when researchers became increasingly interested in the relationship between society and economy in terms of spatial distribution. In 1968, the American Peter Gould (1932–2000), then Emeritus Professor of Geography at Penn State University, published an article titled ‘The New Geography’ in Harper’s Magazine that laid the groundwork for the newly-emerging fields of cultural geography and geography of media. In his widely acclaimed book Explanation in Geography (1969), the British geographer, Marxist, and neopositivist David Harvey described the emergence since the late 1950s of a ‘new geography.’ Harvey emphasized the significance of data collection and the need for geographic theories to have practical, real-world applications. Later, the British geographer and humanist Peter Haggett (1933–) published Locational Analysis in Human Geography (1965) and the English geographers Richard J. Chorley (1927–2002) and Barbara A. Kennedy (1943–2014) co-authored Physical Geography (1971), which promoted the development of a new geography. In this new geography, living spaces (e.g., cities, urban landscapes, industrial clusters, and urban greenbelts), social scale, social time, and social meaning were the foci of research. Concurrently, the dual influences of globalization and the mass media were contributing to the complexities and difficulties of inter-societal relationships between geographic regions. Moreover, according to the British human geographer Ronald J. Johnston (1941–2020), the most influential factor in the well-being of humans in the modern era is no longer differences in physical space but differences in social space (Johnston 1979). Various societal problems in the late 1970s and early 1980s influenced the subject matter of geographic studies and prompted the development of innovative research initiatives. Several of these initiatives used postmodern concepts and methodologies

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to challenge the including of the growing need for a feminism-oriented subfield of human geography. Space, location, place, and landscape, which are as tangible and real as natural geography, can be represented culturally through narrative descriptions, films, advertisements, photographs, paintings, sculptures, and even poetry. A ‘cultural turn’ occurred in the field of geography around the time geologic texts began to be analyzed from a cultural perspective. The German geographers Carl Ritter (1779– 1859) and Friedrich Ratzel (1844–1904) founded cultural geography as the study of the differentiation, distribution, and evolution of human cultural phenomena on the earth’s surface through their respective works Geography in relation to nature and to the history of mankind; or general, comparative geography (1836) and The Earth and Life: A Comparative Geography (1902). In an effort to comprehend the complexity and fragility of human experience, its mission, vision, and practice emphasized quality over quantity and psychology over economics. The emergence of a culture-focused subfield of geography occurred at an opportune time. In 1936, the Chinese geographer GE Suicheng translated and edited Cultural Geography in the World, which examined various landforms such as plains, plateaus, basins, deserts, rivers, lakes, straits, and oceans through the lens of cultural geography. He also investigated climate, human population, cities, countries, nationalities, transportation, and industry from the perspective of cultural geography, and discussed the complex problems resulting from these cultural and geographic phenomena (Ge 1936). The contents and scope of the book’s 18 chapters are diverse and extensive. Given that the subject of human culture encompasses a vast number of discrete elements (e.g., material culture, language, aesthetics, education, religion, art, literature, values, and social organization), it can be interpreted in a variety of ways from a geographic standpoint. As a result, new disciplines have emerged, including the geography of media, the geography of symbols and signs, the geography of literary and artistic creation, the geography of cinema, the geography of Chinese calligraphy, the geography of music, the geography of education, and the geography of news broadcasting. Clearly, the range of interactivity between culture and geography is much broader than any single discipline in the natural or social sciences. The term ‘geography of media’ did not appear in print until the 1985 publication of Jacquie Burgess and John Coldwell’s Geography, the Media and Popular Culture (cited in Johnson et al. 2000, pp. 493–494). ‘Geography of media’ later appeared four times in SHAO Peiren’s 2002 article ‘Computers and the Internet: The Subverters of Geography of Media.’ Professor SHAO believed that the use of computers and digital networks as standard tools in academic and laboratory research would not only alter the trajectory of research in morphology and communicology, but also revitalize and re-design the geography of media as a bona fide field of scientific inquiry. In 1993, the first edition of the 74-volume Encyclopedia of China was published by the Communication University of China Press in Beijing (Hu 1993). At the time, neither this encyclopedia nor contemporary Chinese dictionaries contained the term ‘geography of media’ or ‘media geography,’ and related academic studies were unknown in China.

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Since its inception as a field of study, media geography has developed an interactive relationship with media forms such as publishing, broadcasting, and the Internet. As a fundamental concept in the creation of media content, media representations depict subjects of interest, individual experiences, and the human geography of communities, countries, and regions, and in the process, these representations preserve historical memory and cultural inheritance by recording, storing, and disseminating texts and images related to the evolution of human culture and civilization. In ancient times, words carved or etched on oracle bones, leaves, bamboo slips, wood chips, sheepskins, goatskins, metal, and stone were used to pass down knowledge of China’s millennia-old culture. Today, computers with advanced data storage devices, such as compact discs (CDs), digital video discs (DVDs), and hard disk drives, connect to networks that transmit messages almost instantaneously to any location on the planet. The incredible differences between past and present methods of communication illustrate how the study of geography and different forms of media have evolved concurrently over time. Media representations are a type of cultural carrier that can project or transfer cultural, ideological, or spiritual content onto material entities, despite the fact that neither the carrier (the media content) nor the material entities are comparable in essence. ‘Media materialization’ involves the recording, storage, transmission, extension, and modification of sociocultural texts and signs in such a way that will allow the texts and signs to be reconstructed in the real world. Based on the volume and quality of their recent publications on media geography and media ecology, the academic team at Zhejiang University has taken the lead in China in new research on these and related areas of interest. Their work is introducing innovative concepts into Chinese academic circles, which will expand the scope of these subjects and attract the interest of scholars in other fields and nations. Media geographers readily integrate theories, concepts, and methodologies of media and communication studies into their own academic frameworks. They also focus on the management, production, and transmission of cultural information in the form of media content through the channels of newspapers, magazines, television and radio broadcasts, films, cartoons, computer applications, and the Internet. Current directions in media geographic research address these topics within a conceptual framework of time, space, scale, and landscape, as well as in terms of locality and globality. Based on the principles of humanism and the Taoist concept of the unity of Heaven, Earth, and Man, the geography of media, as practiced in China, supports the right of all humans to benefit from their natural environment while also encouraging and supporting the protection and conservation of the earth’s natural resources. As media geography continues to expand the scope of its research and incorporate knowledge from other disciplines, new fields of inquiry consistent with its vision and fundamental concepts will no doubt emerge.

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1.1.2 Interaction and Synergy Between Media and Geography Because media forms, content, and audiences vary according to region, regional geographies have a substantial impact on the production and dissemination of media content; the synergies between geography and the media were not fully recognized until the arrival of electronic media. The following five perspectives describe aspects of this synergistic process: Regional ecologies influence the selection of media form The ancient Chinese saying, ‘Heaven, Earth, and I were created together; all things and I are one,’10 means that everything in the Universe is interdependent and interconnected (Shao et al. 2017, p. 85). Due to these interdependencies and interconnections, media representations of people’s lives, societies, and cultures are influenced and sometimes constrained by geographic and environmental factors. For example, prehistoric cultures inhabiting forested areas gathered materials from local sources and scratched messages on leaves and tree bark, or engraved characters on wood chips or bamboo slips. Those who lived near rivers and lakes developed the skill of inscribing their thoughts and feelings on reed leaves. To facilitate long-distance communication, those who lived in arid regions inscribed messages on clay tablets. In China, the oracle bone scripts of the Shang dynasty, the bronze inscriptions of the Zhou dynasty, and the seals, cloth, and pottery of the Spring and Autumn period (770 BC–476 BC) and the Warring States period (475 BC–221 BC) were all indicative of local geographic environments that existed at the time. The ancient Egyptians invented papyrus paper, and the inhabitants of the Middle East developed parchment. Both of these materials were obtained from their respective geographic environments to facilitate long-distance communication. The oldest known book was written on papyrus scrolls in ancient Egypt around 3000 BC. Papyrus is an aquatic, reed-like plant of the sedge family with large, triangular leaves; the fibrous stems of papyrus plants can reach more than three meters in height and the width of an adult’s wrist. In antiquity, papyrus plants grew primarily in the Nile Valley in the northern part of Khartoum, Egypt, where they thrived in swamps and near ponds. In the eighth century BC, the inhabitants of Pergamum, a region in northwestern Asia Minor (present-day Turkey) created parchment, a primitive writing material made of sheep, goat, or lamb skin. The origin of the English word ‘parchment’ derives from the Latin place name ‘Pergamum’ (Greek: ‘Pergamon’). During the reign of Eumenes II (197 BC–159 BC) in the Greek city and kingdom of Pergamon, the Egyptians cut off their papyrus paper supply, motivating the city’s inhabitants to learn how to create books from animal skins. The Greek artisans quickly learned that the texture and durability of parchment made from calf and lamb skins were far superior to papyrus for bookmaking.

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Media forms can reflect different geographic samplings As we have seen from the preceding examples, communications created and distributed using various forms of media both externalize human nature and reflect the environmental characteristics of senders and receivers. In this regard, many ancient Chinese classics described the physical characteristics of local geographic morphologies. Such works include ‘Tribute of Yu’ in the Book of Historical Documents,11 ‘Di Yuan’ in Guanzi,12 The Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shan Hai Jing),13 The Regional Map of Tribute of Yu (Yu Gong Di Yu Tu),14 Commentaries on the Water Classic (Shui Jing Zhu),15 Si-Yu-Ki: Buddhist Records on the Western World (Da Tang Xi Yu Ji),16 Annals of Yuanhe Counties (Yuan He Jun Xian Tu Zhi),17 Enlarged Terrestrial Atlas (Guang Yu Tu),18 The Travels Diaries of XU Xiake (Xu Xia Ke You Ji),19 Pandect of Pros and Cons about Social, Political, and Economic Conditions Throughout the Ming Empire (Tian Xia Jun Guo Li Bing Shu),20 Zhao Yu Zhi,21 and Essentials of Geography for Reading History (Du Shi Fang Yu Ji Yao).22 In 1927, television was first successfully demonstrated in the United States. Soon after this new technology was introduced to East Asian nations in the 1950s, local geographers began using it to record images of diverse communities and geographic morphologies. In 1983, China and Japan collaborated on a documentary titled The Story of the Yangtze River, which was released to the public in 1983 and depicted the river’s geographic characteristics as well as the lives of its inhabitants on the upper and lower banks. China Central Television (CCTV) popularized it in the midto late-1980s, when it was widely considered the pinnacle of Chinese documentary filmmaking. At the time, the majority of Chinese citizens became familiar with the documentary’s theme song: ‘You come from the snow mountain, spring tide at full moon is your style; you run to the East China Sea, and crashing waves are your spirit.’ Images of the beautiful scenery along the banks of the Yangtze, as well as the documentary’s relatable, sensory, and emotional narratives and legends about the river and its history, captivated Chinese viewers. The Story of the Yangtze River covered the entire length of the Yangtze, from its magical source to its spectacular estuary, as well as nearby rivers and mountains, renowned historical sites, and local customs and conditions. It was an in-depth and accurate description of the geographic morphology of the Yangtze River, which at the time consisted of 49 rivers, lakes, and canyons, 28 famous mountains, 52 well-known cities and towns, 25 projects, 27 historical allusions and folk tales, 110 scenic spots, and 104 ancient and modern celebrities. The prose-style narratives of The Story of the Yangtze River, which focused colorful descriptions of scenery, allowed those who did not have the opportunity to travel to witness the living conditions of people in this region. Twenty years later, a sequel titled Rediscovering the Yangtze River was filmed with high-definition 1080i HDTV cameras, recording images with a level of quality that could not be attained in the original documentary due to technological limitations. This sequel, which was released in July 2006, is the most comprehensive video recording of the Yangtze River in the history of Chinese television.

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During the 20-year interval between The Story of the Yangtze River and Rediscovering the Yangtze River, many previously unknown locations along the river became popular tourist attractions. As a result, the focus of the narratives in Rediscovering the Yangtze River was to contrast the many changes in the Yangtze River region with the broader changes in China as a whole: ‘But most importantly, we would like audiences to understand that the foundation for these twenty years of great change lies in the unchanging core of Chinese culture.’ Under this guiding principle, and through the lens of the media, CCTV revealed to its audience the stunning beauty of the Yangtze River’s natural landscapes. Photographers and filmmakers can capture and archive images that reflect a nation’s culture, society, and physical geography. By tapping into this nearly limitless media resource of photos and films, geographers can obtain the materials needed to create geospatial semantic maps that media managers and media audiences can use to comprehend the meaning of diverse geographic entities, to identify their counterparts in the physical and virtual world, and to facilitate the movement of individuals between these two worlds. Media communicators frequently emphasize the significance of geographic morphology and its influence on audiences. To make media content more appealing to specific audiences, media producers create content that depicts particular morphological features that are of particular interest to target audiences. People who live in different geographic environments have different styles of communication In The Hermeneutics of the Spring and Autumn Annals, the Han dynasty philosopher DONG Zhongshu wrote that Heaven, Earth, and Man are the foundation of all things: ‘Heaven created it, Earth nourished it, and Man shaped it.’ These three elements came into existence simultaneously, and none can exist without the others. Because humans develop and survive in a variety of natural environments, local geographies and morphologies shape regional differences in terms of climate, available natural resources, agriculture, society, culture, politics, and communication. Similarly, the specific characteristics of the geographic environment in which an ethnic group, community, or culture lives profoundly affect the ability of members to adapt and prosper. For example, people who live in tropical regions have physiological adaptations such as dark skin to prevent sunburn, curly hair to protect the head from intense solar radiation, and broad noses, thick lips, and large mouths to facilitate heat dissipation. Additionally, they possess an extensive vocabulary for describing inflammation and heat. The inhabitants of colder climates are generally tall and robust. They have high, narrow noses and light-colored skin to prevent frostbite. In addition, their language has evolved to the point where they can describe various qualities of cold, ice, and snow in great detail. Throughout history, specific geographic environments have given birth to numerous civilizations. The Yellow River and Yangtze River valleys and alluvial plains were the cradles of Chinese civilization, the Nile was the cradle of ancient Egyptian civilization, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were the cradles of ancient

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Babylonian civilization, and the Ganges River was the cradle of ancient Indian civilization. In addition, these four civilizations all originated on vast plains located near great rivers at around 30° north latitude, where the soil is fertile, the climate pleasant, and water resources abundant. As implied by the saying ‘The clothes make the man’ (i.e., ‘outer appearances are important’), the communicative activities (outer appearances) of a particular region (the man) reflect the geographic characteristics (style) of said region. Communications between human senders and receivers can therefore be viewed as external representations of the physical geography and climate of the senders. In the geography of music, pastoral songs, fishing songs, Yangko songs (now popular as the background music for Yangko dance performances), and other kinds of folk songs not only represent the cultural backgrounds and personalities of the singers themselves, but also reflect the unique characteristics of their geographic environments. For example, Xintianyou (‘rambling in the sky’) is a style of folk music which originated in Northern Shaanxi in northwestern China and which remains wildly popular throughout the region. As a musical expression of the residents of Northern Shaanxi, Xintianyou not only reflects the region’s physical environment, but also embodies the spirit and emotional life of local residents. Northern Shaanxi is located on the Loess Plateau, which consists of mountains connecting mountains and irrigation ditches connecting irrigation ditches. The inhabitants usually work on the mountain slopes or travel with their livestock on steep mountain roads or through deep valleys. To alleviate the gloom and distress caused by their monotonous lives and heavy workloads, they spontaneously compose songs that express their desire for love and a better life, as well as their yearning for family, friends, and lovers. The melodies of Xintianyou can often be heard in the distance on this expansive yellow plateau. For thousands of years, the vastness, grandeur, desolation, and solemnity of the Loess Plateau in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River have influenced the sounds and lyrics of Xintianyou, shaping the distinctive plateau culture of the Northern Shaanxi people and reflecting local customs. Visual representations of space, landscape, and place have become an important part of media content When conveyed in the form of media content, material, social, geographic phenomena serve to construct or reconstruct people’s opinions, attitudes, values, beliefs, and ideologies. Mass media representations also contribute to the transformation of undeveloped spaces into cultural landscapes and of localities into places that individuals imbue with their memories and meanings over the course of time. In this era of digital mass communication, people’s sense of space is shifting from real-world environments to virtual spaces, from time orientation to space orientation, and from direct personal experience to media-mediated experience. Although it is uncertain whether visual communication is superior to auditory and tactile communication, visual elements are especially significant and meaningful in media representations and in people’s overall the pursuit of knowledge and meaning. In this regard, the media no longer merely represent society but also influence and shape the things that societies most value, rely on, and need to develop and thrive. We might even

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surmise that social progress would be impeded if media representations were not so influential. Different regional audiences perceive media content differently In a simple experiment conducted by a research team at the University of Michigan, a specific media image was shown individually to 25 European students and 27 Chinese students to measure focal point, attention span, and eye movement (Nisbet 2003). Each student was asked to look at a photograph of a leopard in a forest setting. Findings revealed that the European students tended to focus on the leopard more often and for longer periods of time, and that the Chinese students tended to focus on either the scene as a whole or on its background details and shifted their focus more rapidly than the European students. The same research team selected a group of American and Japanese students to participate in a similar experiment. The participants were asked to view a photograph of trout swimming in a mountain stream and to describe what they saw. Whereas the American students tended to focus on the trout swimming in the stream, the Japanese students tended to focus first on the currents of blue water or on the features of the streambed, and finally on the trout. The results of this study revealed that the Japanese students focused on background details instead of on the trout approximately sixty percent more often than did their American counterparts, and that Japanese participants were twice as likely as Americans to focus on the relationships between static background details (i.e., the water and the streambed) before focusing on the moving object (the trout). Richard Nisbet, the leader of the University of Michigan research team, concluded that the visual orientations of the two subject groups revealed significant differences: The more culturally individualistic Westerners tended to focus on the most distinctive or unique qualities of the images, whereas the more collectivistic Easterners tended to focus on background details and relationships (as cited in Wang 2005). Such ethnographic studies of visual perception illustrate that people from different regions possess different perceptual tendencies. Moreover, the results of these studies confirm to media geographers that audience perception of visual media content varies by region.

1.2 Scope and System of Geography of Media As previously stated, geography of media is positioned at the intersection of geographic science and media and communication studies, and its theoretical framework is based on the connections and interactions between geographic environment, people, society, and the media.

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1.2.1 Scope of Geography of Media In human geography and in studies on media and communication, humans are at the center. The goal of these academic disciplines is to study humans from the multiple perspectives of the natural and social sciences. For example, physical anthropologists study humans from the standpoint of physical form, adaptability, and evolution, cultural anthropologists from the standpoint of how humans organize and shape the physical and social world around them to create culture, psychologists from the standpoint of human cognition and psychology, sociologists from the standpoint of human social life and behavior, societal change, and societal structures, economists from the standpoint of how humans use available resources to produce various objects and items, political scientists from the standpoint of political systems, historians from the standpoint of human accomplishments and the changes and events that have occurred in the past, and legalists from the standpoint of the need for law and order (Wei 1989, pp. 16–18). Based on an expansive theoretical framework and methodology that incorporates aspects of all the above standpoints, geography of media studies humans through the lens of the connections, interactions, and evolution over time of geography, human society and culture, and media. Moreover, it studies how people who live in this day and age create and use various media types, forms, and content— either consciously or subconsciously—in specific geographic and social contexts to represent, examine, condense, modify, and ultimately create their own imagined geographies that transcend real-world geographic realities. In their study of media geography, Chinese academics combine wisdom from traditional Chinese culture with national and international academic thought in a manner that emphasizes balance and harmonious relationships between geography, the media, countries, regions, cities, communities, families, and individuals. Chinese media geographers also take into account China’s long history and current conditions with the aim of supporting the country’s continued progress and prosperity and supporting its long-term goal of ‘going global.’

1.2.2 System of Geography of Media Geography of media’s areas of study can be explained not only by formal definitions but also as represented in its analytic structure (see Fig. 1.1). Media geographers have reached a general consensus on a conceptual framework that is interdisciplinary and comprehensive, multi-layered and hierarchical, theoretical and practical. In the following three subsections, we discuss this framework in depth.

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Media Society Geography Space

Time

Place

Landscape

Scale

Geography of Media

Theories

History

Application

Fig. 1.1 Analytic structure of geography of media

An interdisciplinary and comprehensive analytic framework To create a balanced and harmonious approach to research, geography of media incorporates established theories and methods from disciplines other than geography and media and communication studies. These other disciplines include, but are not limited to, anthropology, sociology, psychology, culture studies, political science, and economics. By combining knowledge gained from key fields, and by collaborating with researchers in these other disciplines, media geographers can analyze specific topics from multiple perspectives and at macro- and micro-levels. Some geographers believe that the only way to truly comprehend the world is to examine man’s connections and relationships with his phenomenal and behavioral environments. For instance, William Kirk, a renowned Irish humanistic geographer (died 1987), introduced his concept of behavioral environment in 1951 and expanded on it throughout the 1950s and 1960s. He conceived of human environment as the reality in which people live and act, as well as the manner in which people perceive, mentally process, and act on patterns they perceive in time and space. The phenomenal environment that surrounds us is beyond our direct perception, and the behavioral environment in which we live and work is what gives meaning to the phenomenal environment that people imbue with their memories, values, and culture. The geography of media draws on the concepts of cultural geography, thus transcending the boundary between physical environment and human culture, studies the cultural elements that become part of geographic and urban landscapes, spaces, and

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places, and describes the role that the media play in introducing these cultural– geographic elements into human environments by producing and disseminating content in the form of news, written and spoken narratives, audio and video recordings, and digital images. Media content related to such diverse topics as politics, social hierarchies, power dynamics, economic trends, and gender-related issues can be conveyed into an imagined space where they can be organized in the form of a semantic map which illustrates meaning-based connections between related concepts. Interestingly, beautiful or striking images that can be viewed in this imagined cultural–geographic space are often perceived to be more attractive and interesting than real-world scenes. Because the media can interpret and represent specific cultures in various and often biased ways, they serve to construct imagined geographies that become part of people’s everyday cognitive world. The relative intensity of media content distribution is indicative of the current cultural and economic conditions of localities or regions, and the meaning and import of geographic images that are included in this content can be analyzed through the lens of media ecology. For instance, an analysis of data on the relative density of media cluster formation in the regions of China revealed that the geographic morphology of the country’s media industry— high in the East and low in the West—contradicts what one would expect given the geographic characteristics of these regions (Shao 2006). A cultural–geographic analysis of China’s regional film and television industry clusters revealed that their cultural morphology tends to be civil in the North and rebellious in the South. In the central area of the country, just south of the Yangtze River, near Suzhou and located in the Tongli town—one of the ancient and picturesque Jiangnan water towns—is the Tongli Film and Television Base, which is one of China’s top ten film and television industry clusters (Shao and Zhou 2017). Using an approach comparable to that of economic geography, researchers identified cultural and artistic differences in the productions of film industry bases located on either side of the Tengchong (Heilongjiang)-Aihui (Yunnan) population line, also known as the Hu Huanyong Line (Shao and Zhou 2016). These two analyses of media clusters reveal how distinctive media landscapes have evolved since the founding of the People’s Republic of China. These major media industry clusters span the country, alter the rhythms of people’s everyday lives, reshape China’s media landscape, and have a profound effect on the nation’s population distribution, culture, and economy. A multi-layered and hierarchical analytic framework Media geography’s multi-layered and hierarchical analytic framework consists of theories, their practical applications, as well as the history of these applications. Based on logic, discernment, and ancient Chinese philosophical concepts such as the unity of Heaven, Earth, and Man, we intend to use this framework to establish a coherent and unified system of concepts and categories for chosen objects of study. The core concepts of this framework are time, space, place, landscape, and scale, as studied in terms of their interrelationships with humans, media, and society. From a historical perspective, this framework can be used to study the invention and evolution of media throughout human history, the geographic factors that influenced this evolution, and

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the natural laws governing the history of interactions between man, media, geography, and natural law. Media geographers will also use this analytic framework to investigate issues related to culture, politics, economy, media, and communication, with the ultimate goal of fostering the emergence and development of specialized subfields such as the geography of movies, geography of the press, evolutionary geography, broadcast geography, television geography, Internet geography, geography of publishing, geography of music, geography of history, and geography of literary and artistic creation. The objective of a geography of history would, for example, be to investigate the laws that govern changes in geographic environments during specific historical periods. The majority of scholars concur that geography of history would also include elements of physical, cultural, and regional geography, in addition to the study of historical maps. A theoretical and practical analytic framework The eight topics listed below (a–h) represent the most pressing theoretical and practical issues related to geography of media that Chinese academics need to address: a. Research on the geographic morphology of the media industry The great progress in the globalization of the world’s economy, communications, and global media industry is undisputed. Media geographers should therefore advance theories and practical applications that will enable Chinese media practitioners to understand the geographic morphology of global media and what scientific countermeasures they ought to employ, given China’s current media-geographic environment. This also indicates that research on the subject of global media should focus primarily on its spatial distribution. The Yangtze River Delta region, for instance, has developed into one of the world’s six major urban belts, comparable in many ways to the Atlantic coastal city belt in the northeastern United States, the Great Lakes urban belt of America’s northern states, the Japanese Pacific coastal urban belt, and the northwest European urban belt. The developed economy of the Yangtze River Delta provides abundant resources and strong support for the establishment and expansion of urban media clusters. In 2020, there were 17 film and television bases in the Yangtze River Delta. To integrate resources, strengthen horizontal exchanges between these bases, improve cooperation and self-discipline, and promote the integration of services, the Yangtze River Delta Film and Shooting Base Alliance was established. However, this media industry cluster continues to face serious challenges. Local newspapers, for example, have now entered a period of low profitability and are preparing for a ‘cold winter.’ Floundering television and radio stations have requested assistance, with some attempting to keep themselves afloat by intentionally violating industry regulations. The regional economics of media industry clusters are just one of the many socioeconomic issues upon which media geographers need to focus.

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b. Research on the ecological status of mass media Media geographers study the evolutionary history of the media, the processes of media production, as well as the physical and cultural factors that influence media distribution. The ecosystem of media geography consists of the fields of information ecology, ecology of media distribution and information dissemination, and the ecology of information reception (Shao et al. 2008). The explosion of information in this age of global digital communication, and the resulting information pollution, violence, and pornography in media content, inequities in access to information, and the emergence of cultural deserts characterized by a lack of interest in intellectual or artistic activities are among the most pressing concerns of media management. One of the phenomena related to information ecology is information pollution, which requires more attention from both media professionals and laymen currently. Information pollution refers to instances in which misleading, deceptive, harmful, or toxic information exceeds established communication standards or moral boundaries, causing negative or even destructive effects on communication ecology, information resources, and individual physical and mental health. The constant repetition of information and images by media sources is yet another form of information pollution that is detrimental to society in general, and in particular to the healthy development of adolescents (Shao 2007). Academics and the media will need to collaborate to arrive at workable solutions to these pressing problems. c. Research on the communication environment of the mass media The geographic environment of the mass media is the ‘place’ and ‘container’ for human activities related to communication. This environment, which is comprised of physical, hard and soft, social, and geographic sub-environments, determines the forms, types, and content of media communication and is responsible for maintaining consistent levels of product quality. As a broad term, ‘geographic environment’ encompasses all of the physical conditions on which human growth and survival depend, and includes geographic location, climate, topography, vegetation, and natural resources. Therefore, a prime concern of geography of media is the influence on human communicative activities of the socio-geographic environments in which media companies are located. d. Research on the ‘topographic map’ of global communication Due to the West’s economic prowess and numerous communication advantages, Western-themed texts, images, and narratives are constantly being disseminated around the globe, resulting in the widening of information gaps and the introduction of unsuspecting individuals into Western and Eastern communication spaces rife with divisions, inequalities, and conflicts. In some regions, extremists aggressively promote their own political and cultural models by means of well-tailored media representations. The topographic map of the global mass media has been fragmented by cultural invasion, cultural colonization, media discrimination, media violence, and the strategic placement of information barriers.

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Local cultural spaces are being occupied and squeezed at an unprecedented rate, and the influence of global culture is pervasive. Global dissemination of content that influences food preferences, fashion trends, modern hairstyles, and new forms of entertainment competes with the transmission of ideas, concepts, values, and beliefs, diluting the distinctive and traditional characteristics of national cultures. In cultural trade, underdeveloped nations may be subject to ‘information flowback’ or ‘information invasion’ from developed nations if their culture industries operate at a deficit for extended periods of time. This can have devastating effects on developing nations such as monopolization of information resources, manipulation of the attitudes and behaviors of individuals, and interference with local decisionmaking processes. Such conditions can result in a decline in morality, the corrosion of people’s souls, the erosion of social stability, and the erosion or destruction of national culture. Therefore, media geographers ought to intensify their studies of media landscape and critically analyze global communication maps to avoid these and other negative effects. e. Research on the nativeness and locality of media Research on the nativeness and locality of media focuses on where and why media emerge in specific places, as well as where and why a specific media text or media product appears in a particular location. In other words, it is concerned with the location and transmission range of media content, as well as its origins, distribution, and diffusion. To illustrate the laws and trends governing the emergence and development of media geographic phenomena, geography of media emphasizes scale-related concepts such as indigenousness, locality, regionality, nationalism, and globalization. Although some argue that what is unique to a given nation is also of interest to the rest of the world, an excessive emphasis on the nativeness and locality of media can result in nationalism, making one an opponent of advanced culture and defender of an underdeveloped culture. In the past, newscasts on Chinese television that were delivered in local dialects were immensely popular. These news programs aimed to influence the local cultural landscape and appeal to locals instead of immigrants who do not speak the local dialect. However, because such broadcasts discuss the local culture in dialect only, they often have a negative effect on the integrity of people’s local and national identity. Therefore, unless indigenous and local media broadcasts are linguistically comprehensible and relevant to general audiences, they may cause tension, anxiety, and fear of the outside world among certain segments of local culture. f. Research on media diffusion and media integration The first chapter of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms《三国演义》 ( , San Guo Yan Yi), one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature, states that ‘Domains under Heaven tend to unite after long periods of division; domains under Heaven tend to divide after long periods of union.’ This suggests that the separation and reunification of humans and other lifeforms and entities is a fundamental principle of evolution. In this regard, the evolution of media is unpredictable or even volatile. The geographic environments of media change over time, and from a historical

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perspective, they change much more rapidly than do natural phenomena, continually undergoing cycles of growth and decay as well as emergence and extinction. Therefore, any accurate picture of the geographic distribution of media sources should be based on an understanding of how media phenomena evolve over time, and on projections of how the media will evolve in the future. In studies of media integration and consolidation, the interaction between environmental factors and the convergence, separation, distribution, and diffusion of media entities is a subject of great interest for media geographers. g. Research on the temporality and spatiality of media Whereas time is linear, three-dimensional space is cube-shaped. Academic focus is now shifting from time to space and from time-based theories to space-based theories. If there were no time, space would appear chaotic and disorganized, like a handful of pearls strewn across the ground, and time would have no significance. This is one reason why time and space are fundamental concepts in the geography of media. On the one hand, rapid technological advancement together with the mediation of advanced timekeeping tools are causing alterations in individual perceptions and attitudes toward time; concurrently, traditional rhythms of life and work are being modified and sometimes subverted. Undoubtedly, with the proliferation of Internetbased media and the acceleration of current trends in media globalization, collectivization, and clustering, significant changes related to local, regional, national, and global geographic advantages, media forms, and communication features and functions will undoubtedly occur. On the other hand, the current media landscape is a product of media-related phenomena that have emerged and developed over the course of time. The media landscape of a specific country reflects its distinctive cultural traditions, and the fascinating media landscapes that have emerged in different geographic locations and regions are evidence of the positive effects of the cultural exchanges, borrowings, replications, and innovations characteristic of the global mass media. h. Research on the interaction between man, media, and geographic environment Print media (e.g., newspapers, magazines, and books), electronic media (e.g., radio, television, and film), and the rapidly evolving forms of Internet media, are not only products of specific geographic environments, but also the tools, channels, and societal factors that allow media communicators and audiences to interact continuously. Media geographers should carefully examine the various mechanisms and processes that have, over time, facilitated communication between the mass media, individuals, and society. According to the famous communication theorist Marshall McLuhan (1964), the media enhances and extends the human senses. The significance of this observation has broadened the scope of media and expanded the geographic space of media, leading to many changes in geographic maps of media space. The continued expansion of media space will inevitably breach traditional regional boundaries, and new cultural spaces will be created through audience consumption of real-world and

1.3 Significance of Geography of Media

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virtual media products. As a result of the integration of the fields of media studies and geography, interest in the multidisciplinary character of the geography of media has grown rapidly. For this and other reasons, media geographers will continue to study how the media constructs cultural spaces and landscapes.

1.3 Significance of Geography of Media The emergence and rapid expansion of the geography of media coincided with the rise of the information society in the mid-twentieth century (ca. 1933–1967), the emergence of global mass media in the early twenty-first century, and in particular with the formation in the early 1980s of a worldwide system of computer networks called the Internet. There are four main reasons why the geography of media is now widely recognized by academia as a subfield of geography: (1) It has developed its own set of core and key concepts and areas of study, as well as its own theoretical and analytic framework that allows media geographers to formulate clear and detailed explanations of relevant phenomena and issues; (2) Due to its well-defined and expansive scope, researchers in the social sciences may become interested in this new field and collaborate on joint projects; (3) The great potential of media-geographic research to break new ground in various areas of focus may attract intellectual, material, and financial resources; (4) New research in the geography of media will attract public interest due to its comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and practical orientation.

1.3.1 Advancing a Theoretical System of Geography and Media Studies The geography of media is continuously improving its theoretical framework to better understand the influence of geographic factors on the media by incorporating a wide range of new perspectives and proven concepts from related fields of study. Since the 1980s, the development of media geography has been strongly influenced by research in the field of cultural geography (also called human geography). Cultural/human geography investigates the geographic distribution, diffusion, and change of cultural phenomena and studies the laws governing the formation and evolution of societal structures in various geographic regions. The two main categories of geographic studies are natural geography and cultural geography. The scope of cultural geography ranges from broad to narrow. Its broad scope encompasses sociocultural, political, and economic theory, whereas its narrow scope is sociocultural theory. And because the media are a type of sociocultural phenomenon, the primary focus of media geographers will be cultural geography.

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1.3.2 Developing a Theoretical Framework for Geography of Media Geography of media currently resembles a vast expanse of uncultivated land. Despite the fact that numerous scholars in China and abroad have conducted research in this field for many years, a comprehensive, unified, and field-tested theoretical framework has not yet been perfected. Despite some lack of clarity in the directions of future research, media geographers’ key areas of interest and focus are now developing in the four directions described the following subsections. Geographic patterns of the media economy following the industrialization of media The establishment of large media groups such as Viacom, Bertelsmann, and News Corporation (News Corp) has since the 1950s resulted in new media-geographic patterns because they employ a variety of media forms and operate in multiple countries and regions. In the context of globalization, these and other international media groups occupy dominant positions in and exert considerable influence on the ecosystem of the global media. Media’s role in the process of globalization In the context of globalization, the transregional expansion of culture-loaded media companies contributes to resource imbalances and media hegemony, which may lead to rising tension and conflict between the culturally privileged and the culturally disadvantaged. Such conflicts arise as an effect of the influence of Western values on Asian countries since 1945, as well as complications caused by human migration patterns and intrusion of Western media into the communication space of various Asian countries. The influence of politics, culture, and economics on people’s perceptions of geographic phenomena People’s perceptions of geographic phenomena are influenced by the texts they read and the images they see in media content. The media depicts details of people’s everyday lives in a complex and multilayered manner using images and audiovisual formats. Geographic elements in the content of television programs and films, which include media representations of sociocultural and socioeconomic realities, have a substantial influence on how individuals perceive the world. The impact of the Internet and digital media Media representations continually reconstruct people’s understanding of physical geographic space. Global media space is expanding rapidly, and the continuing development of new digital media and the Internet has greatly affected traditional geographic patterns. Media geographers are now developing an approach that will facilitate their investigation into how the media reconstructs geographic patterns in virtual space.

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Researchers are intrigued by the possibility of long-distance or virtual media communication in spaces that adhere to established standards. To realize this possibility, advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) will need to be interfaced with artificial human perceptual systems designed to infer the properties of a physical environment based on senses. The eventual development and application of such advanced technology would inevitably result in increasingly complex interpersonal and human–environment relationships as well as altered geographic morphologies. In contrast to superficial descriptions and depictions, media representations of human geography reconstruct space in great detail from all perspectives and at all levels. Media geographers will soon be able to create geographic maps of media representations that combine reality and fiction, but which nevertheless carry deep cultural connotations and meanings. The long-term goal of Chinese media geographers is to follow a scientific method based on principles and procedures that are consistent with national conditions and priorities, and to base its research on a theoretical framework that will serve to maintain and improve the vitality of China’s media industry in accordance with the virtuous circle of media ecology. The term ‘media ecology’ was first introduced in 1968 by the media theorist Neil Postman (1931–2003). The ‘virtual circle of media ecology’ entails the continuing positive development of the study of media, technology, and communication, and the ways in which these three areas affect human psychology and society.

1.3.3 Analyzing Media Phenomena and Solving Problems Related to Globalization To find solutions to problems related to information dissemination and cultural exchange, media geographers study media-related phenomena in the context of globalization. In addition to being an empirical science, and in order to meet future challenges, the geography of media is strategic in planning and practical in application. The global mass media is no longer a one-way information channel that targets specific local or regional audiences. It now influences the identities and interests of a homogeneous mass of individuals, localities, regions, and countries which, in turn, influence the content and marketing strategies of mass media companies. Given this situation, we have to pose the following questions: Will it be possible for China to adopt a new way of thinking that ‘stands on China, faces Asia, and embraces the world’ instead of reverting to a nationalistic worldview? Do we have the courage and foresight to ensure that the continuing evolution of media geography will be constructive, multifaceted, inclusive, and expansive? If media geographers follow global, national, regional, and local guidelines and trends in the context of an integrated ecology, will the integrity of its research model remain intact if subjected

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to intense scientific analysis or governmental scrutiny? And, given the comprehensive and multilayered analytic framework of media geography, will Chinese media geographers be able to adapt to changing global conditions and advance toward a bright future without damaging China’s cherished cultural heritage in the process? A major objective of the geography of media is to provide a comprehensive and objective understanding of the geographic patterns and ecological conditions that shape the global media environment. Accordingly, Chinese media geographers need to develop workable concepts and implement practical methods so that China’s media industry can use to enhance the vitality and maximize the potential of this industry, expand its international influence, and monitor changes in the global media environment. The overarching objective of academics in the field of media geography is to create harmony among diverse communities, societies, and cultures and between Heaven, Earth, Man, and the media. As viewed from different perspectives, including that of media geographers, media representations of the world are constructed based on the interplay between physical appearance and human cognition. Representations of morphological concepts such as terrain, landform, landscape, center, edge, and distance are used to describe space as a material phenomenon that influences people’s perceptions of culture and society. Perhaps the most common geographic experience is the process of locating a country or city on a world map. In this regard, the geography of media should emphasize the importance of real-world phenomena that result from human interaction in the context of cities, regions, and countries. The media often use geographic terms such as village, community, region, and boundary in their representations of specific places and spaces to describe sociogeographic phenomena in a way that the general public can easily understand. Culture, society, geography, and the media are dynamically connected on multiple levels and, when the nature of one connection changes, more complex connections may emerge. The world we live in is not static, but is constantly flowing and adapting to new conditions much like how a wide and deep river winds its way through a mountain valley. The texts and images disseminated by the mass media influence people’s values and beliefs and affect not only what they see, hear, and think, but also what they do. By studying media representations, media geographers can better understand the complex relationships and interactions between human society and the concepts of time and space, center and periphery, location and landscape, and locality and globality. The knowledge we gain will help us develop and propose rational, practical, and effective strategies for actions that are sorely needed to address existing imbalances and inequalities, and to help restore balance, equality, and harmony.

1.4 Methodology of Geography of Media The methodology of geography of media is multifaceted, interdisciplinary, and multidimensional. Based on the principles of empiricism, positivism, structuralism, and

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humanism, the geography of media combines critical, qualitative, and quantitative analytic techniques with proven methods from philosophy, systematology, cybernetics, and information theory (Shao 2015). Moreover, because of its academic proximity to cultural geography, the geography of media routinely employs the techniques of spatial analysis, regional analysis, and ecological analysis (He and Pan 2002, p. 22). Spatial analysis is the qualitative analysis of media space using computers and ‘big data.’ It is used to test the validity of data obtained from phenomena that occur and/or exist in media geographic space, to classify this data, and to draw useful conclusions from it. Media geographers use the techniques of spatial analysis to derive statistics from the spatial distribution of media-geographic entities. Since the invention of detailed maps, humans have employed various types of spatial analysis, such as measuring the distance and surface area between geographic locations. When conducting studies related to strategic decision-making, researchers often construct detailed maps of media-geographic phenomena. With recent advances in science and technology, academics in the closely-related fields of geography and cartography are using computers and ‘big data’ to generate, organize, and analyze information obtained in their research projects. Online digital maps also provide researchers with useful information to support decision-making. In 1963, the visionary geographer Roger F. Tomlinson (1933–2014) invented the first geographic information system (GIS). A GIS is a computerized system that creates, manages, analyzes, and maps all types of data and which supports a wide range of analytic methodologies. Research on media ecology compares and evaluates the interactions between the elements of specific media ecosystems and assesses the ability of these ecosystems to develop and self-organize. It also proposes strategies for enhancing the ecological environments of mass media and for ensuring the harmonious expansion of media space. Regional analysis examines and evaluates the global distribution and long-term planning of large-scale media projects by focusing on the cultures, economies, and technological infrastructures of specific regions. Regional analysis also helps to balance the different parts of research projects and allocate resources in such a way that will ensure the project’s success. Spatial analysis helps researchers track the progress of different analytic approaches to problem-solving and to assess their eventual success (or failure). This approach can also identify alterations in media distribution patterns—a topic of great interest to media geographers. Since the late 1980s, we have been witnessing the emergence of postmodern geography as a new approach to the study of human geography. Given the expansion and internationalization of capitalist economies and economic principles, academics are busily developing new strategies for cooperation between local and global media that will reshape the geography of global media space (Morley and Robins 1995). Every new spatial structure that emerges on the earth’s surface is inextricably linked to the transformational activities of various regions, the creation of new models for organizing social space, and to the inequalities that often result from changes in

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these models. In today’s digital culture, where technology can be used to create new virtual spaces anywhere in the world, we are witnessing the emergence a virtual global geography devoid of local characteristics (Crang 1998). Chinese media geographers are actively searching for solutions to problems in transnational communication that result from tensions between locality and globality, nationality and globality, and particularity and universality. New strategies need to be developed for resolving disharmonies in global communication, and harmonious relationships established to shape a media ecology based on cooperation, mutual contribution, and shared benefit. The analytic framework being refined by Chinese media geographers will not only provide insights into how to interpret current global situations and predict future trends, but will also promote the adoption of new standards and guidelines for media policy, media management, information dissemination, and media construction of international discourse. As traditional regional characteristics begin to fade under the influence of globalization, scholars from around the world need to collaborate to define a ‘third way’ or ‘intermediate paradigm’ that will support a unified global direction in future research in the field of geography of media. As for Chinese academics, they strive to create new patterns in global communication that will make it possible to realize the goal of a bright and harmonious future for all of humanity. To achieve this goal, they ought to overcome the limitations of binary thinking and encourage the decentralization of highly-centralized structures. They are fully committed to establishing an academic platform for sharing information and facilitating dialogue, and eagerly anticipate increasing levels of collaboration with scholars from around the world in their quest to develop a more inclusive ‘all humanity’ model for global communication (Shao and Chen 2019).

Notes 1.

2.

3.

4.

This saying is from the ‘Tai’ 《泰》 ( ) of the I Ching, one of the most important ancient Chinese classics. The excerpt from the English version was translated by James Legge, and was retrieved from the website page of the Chinese Text Project: https://ctext.org/book-of-change s/tai (accessed October 10, 2019). This project is the largest database of pre-modern Chinese texts in existence and an online open-access digital library that makes these texts available to readers and researchers worldwide. This saying is from the essay ‘Water and Earth,’ written by GUAN Zhong, a famous strategist of the Spring and Autumn period. His works were collected in a book named after him: Guanzi. For more information, please see: Guanzi. Political, Economic, and Philosophical Essays from Early China. Trans. by W. Rickett Allyn. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1985. This quotation is from the ‘Xi Ci’ 《系辞》 ( ) of the I Ching. ‘Xi Ci’ is a commentary that gives an overview of the position and the meaning of the I Ching in the world order and human life. The English translation by James Legge was retrieved from the website of the Chinese Text Project at: https://ctext.org/book-of-changes?searchu=%E5%A4%A9%E6% 96%87 (accessed October 10, 2019). KONG Yingda (574 AD–648 AD) was a 32nd-generation descendent of Confucius, a Confucian scholar, and an author of Confucian classics.

1.4 Methodology of Geography of Media 5.

6.

7. 8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

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Han Shu (Book of Han) was written and edited by the historian BAN Gu (32 AD–92 AD) during the Eastern Han dynasty (25 AD–220 AD). A biographical history of administrators and other important individuals of the preceding Western Han dynasty (206 BC–25 AD), it became the prototype for the official histories of successive ruling houses. Commentaries on the Water Classic 《水经注》 ( , Shui Jing Zhu) was written by the famous geographer and writer LI Daoyuan (469 AD–527 AD) of the Northern Wei dynasty. As the first comprehensive geographic study, it detailed the vast natural and cultural resources of ancient China. The 40-volume work elaborates on the locations and attributes of over 1000 waterways, including detailed descriptions of the sources and mouths of rivers, drainage basins, riverbed widths, and locations of waterfalls and rapids. Based on data collected through first-hand field work, LI also pointed out statistical errors in the original Water Classic 《水经》 ( , Shui Jing). Huibiao was a poet during the Southern and Northern dynasties (420 AD–589 AD), an account of whose life has thus far been untraceable. The Geographical Map of the Tribute of Yu (Yu Gong Shan Chuan Di Li Tu) by CHENG Dachang (1123 AD–1195 AD), who lived during the Southern Song dynasty, was completed in 1177 AD. The original compilation included 60 articles and 31 geographic maps (three of which have since gone missing) with corrections based on the work of CHENG’s predecessors. This book is of vital importance to the study of China’s geography prior to the Southern Song dynasty. Interpretations of Geographical Names in History as a Mirror (Tong Jian Di Li Tong Shi) by WANG Yinglin (1223 AD–1296 AD), written during the Southern Song dynasty, records the evolution of geographic names in the original History as a Mirror (Zi Zhi Tong Jian). The book also includes detailed descriptions of the states, capitals, cities, mountains, and rivers during various dynastic periods. The 14-volume work is a valuable reference for studies on China’s historical and military geography. This quotation is from an essay on the Chinese ancient classics called ‘The Adjustment of Controversies,’ that references the classical Taoist text, Chuang-tzu 《庄子》 ( ), a book named after the pivotal figure Chuang-tzu (also known as Zhuangzi or Mater Zhuang) in Classical Philosophical Daoism during the late Warring States period. Chuang-tzu is comprised of three sections: ‘Inner Chapters,’ ‘Outer Chapters,’ and ‘Miscellaneous Chapters.’ ‘The Adjustment of Controversies’ essay belongs to ‘Inner Chapters.’ These chapters consist of a large collection of anecdotes, allegories, parables, and fables, which are often humorous or irreverent. The book’s main themes are spontaneity in action and freedom from the human world and its conventions. The fables and anecdotes in the text illustrate the falseness of human distinctions between good and bad, large and small, life and death, and humans and nature. This excerpt from the English version was translated by James Legge and was retrieved from the website page of the Chinese Text Project at: https://ctext.org/zhuangzi/adjustment-of-controversies (accessed October 10, 2019). The 1193-character text of ‘Tribute of Yu’ in the Shujing or Book of Historical Documents is a brief introduction to the physical geography of ancient China, which at that time was comprised of nine provinces whose boundaries were demarcated based on the location of various mountains and rivers. For more information, please visit the website page of the Chinese Text Project at: https://ctext.org/shang-shu/tribute-of-yu (accessed May 1, 2020). The 2222-character ‘Di Yuan’ in Guanzi is an article that describes the types of soil found in ancient China based on the geography of soils and plant life. The lands are divided into the following categories: plains, slopes, hills, mountains, and the land near rivers, lakes, and marshes. Guanzi was believed to have been co-written and co-edited by several authors during the Warring States period and the Han dynasty. The Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shan Hai Jing) is an important 18-volume work that was co-written and co-edited by a number of ancient Chinese authors. It describes geographic lore passed down in the form of ancient myths and legends and is a valuable reference for studies of Chinese history, geography, mineralogy, culture, customs, and communication between China and foreign countries during the pre-Qin era.

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14. The Regional Map of Tribute of Yu was written by PEI Xiu between 268 AD and 271 AD. It is the oldest historical atlas of China, and included the ‘Six Standards of Mapmaking’ as well as geographic maps of administrative regions drawn by various mapmakers from the Spring and Autumn period to the first years of the Western Jin dynasty (circa 265 AD) as described in the text of ‘Tribute of Yu’. 15. Please refer to Note 6. 16. Si-Yu-Ki (Buddhist Records of the Western World) was narrated by Hsuan-Tsang, a Master Monk of the Tang dynasty, and recorded and edited by one of his disciples, Pien-Chi, in 646 AD. It contains accounts of the westward movement of Hsuan-Tsang’s Buddhist pilgrims from Chang’an (present-day Xi’an in Shaanxi Province) to over 100 different countries and regions as well as descriptions of the geographies, histories, customs, and religions of people living to the west of China, and especially in India. The English translation by Samuel Beal was published in London by Trübner in 1884. 17. The 42-volume Annals of Yuanhe Counties was written by LI Jifu during the Yuanhe years (806 AD–820 AD) of the Tang dynasty. It is the earliest magnum opus of Chinese geographic records. It was completed in the eighth year of Yuanhe (813 AD) and records the administrative structure, geographic morphology, and military preparations of the time. 18. The Enlarged Terrestrial Atlas (Guang Yu Tu), the oldest extant atlas of China, was compiled by the famous Ming cartographer LUO Hongxian (1504 AD–1564 AD). He used 24 symbols with captions to label various types of landforms, and his work influenced the art of mapmaking in China for over 200 years. 19. The Travels Diaries of Xu Xiake (Xu Xia Ke You Ji) is a literary masterpiece as well as a geographic work of great value. It describes the travels of XU Xiake from 1613 AD to 1639 AD, during which he made detailed records of geographic, hydrologic, and geological phenomena, as well as plant life. This seminal work systematically investigates China’s geomorphology and geology, and describes its important rivers, mountains, and beautiful scenery. 20. The 120-volume Pandect for Pros and Cons about Social, Political, and Economic Conditions Throughout the Ming Empire is a historical and geographic work written by GU Yanwu (1613 AD–1682 AD) during the Qing dynasty. The book describes the social, political, and economic conditions that existed during the Ming dynasty (1368 AD–1644 AD). It includes information about military defenses, systems of taxation, and water conservancy measures implemented in various prefectures and counties around the country. 21. Zhao Yu Zhi is a collection of historical materials and geographic chronicles. Written by GU Yanwu during the Qing dynasty, it is characterized by extensive citations and eclecticisms. The historical materials included in this work provide valuable clues for reconstructing the content of missing chronicles of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. 22. The 130-volume Essentials of Geography for Reading History (Du Shi Fang Yu Ji Yao) was written by GU Zuyu (1631 AD–1692 AD) during the early Qing dynasty. It is a monograph on ancient Chinese military and historical geography that describes, among other things, the advantages and disadvantages of mountains and rivers in the formulation of offensive and defensive military strategies.

References Blunt, Alison. 2003. Geography and humanities tradition. In Key concepts in geography, ed. Holloway Sarah, Stephen Rice, and Gill Valentine, 66–82. London: Sage. Chorley, Richard J., and Barbara A. Kennedy. 1971. Physical geography: A systems approach. London: Prentice-Hall. Claval, Paul. 1995. Histoire de la geographie. Paris: PUF. Crang, Mike. 1998. Cultural geography. London: Routledge.

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Ge, Suicheng (trans. and ed.). 1936. Cultural geography in the world. Beijing: China Publishing House. Haggett, Peter. 1965. Locational analysis in human geography. London: Edward Arnold. Harvey, David. 1969. Explanation in geography. London: Edward Arnold. He, Weiren, and Yujun Pan. 2002. New perspectives on cultural geography. Beijing: Chinese Social Sciences Press. Hu, Qiaomu. 1993. Encyclopaedia of China, 1st ed. Beijing: Encyclopaedia of China. Johnston, Ronald J. 1979. Geography and geographers: Anglo-American human geography since 1945. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Johnson, Ronald J., Derek Gregory, Geraldine Pratt, and Michael Watt (eds.). 2000. The dictionary of human geography, 4th ed. Oxford: Blackwell. McLuhan, Marshall. 1964. Understanding media: The extensions of man. New York: McGraw Hill. Morley, David, and Kevin Robins. 1995. The space of identity: Global media, electronic landscapes and cultural boundaries. London: Routledge. Nisbet, Richard E. 2003. The geography of thought: How Asians and Westerners think differently... and why. New York: The Free Press. Ratzel, Friedrich. 1902. Die Erde und das Leben: Eine vergleichende Erdkunde (The earth and life: A comparative geography). Leipzig, Germany: Bibliographisches Institut. Ritter, Carl. 1836. Die Erdkunde im Verhältniss zur Natur und zur Geschichte des Menschen; Oder allegmeine, verglelichende Geographie (Geography in relation to nature and to the history of mankind; or general, comparative geography). Berlin: G. Reimer. Shao, Peiren. 2006. Geographic clusters and energy accumulation of the Chinese media. Journal of Hangzhou Normal University (5): 19–23, 29. Shao, Peiren. 2007. Emergence, evolution, and rational choice of media panic and media terror. Modern Communication (4): 27–29. Shao, Peiren. 2015. Communication studies, 3rd ed. Beijing: Higher Education Press. Shao, Peiren, and Jiangliu Chen. 2019. All mankind communication: Communication research guided by the vision of ‘a community with a shared future for mankind.’ Modern Communication (7): 13–20. Shao, Peiren, and Ying Zhou. 2016. Remapping movies: Breaking through the Hu Huanyong Line of the Hollywood film industry. Journal of Jinan University (Philosophy and Social Sciences) (10): 41–53. Shao, Peiren, and Ying Zhou. 2017. The core nature of Jiangnan: A study of the history of Hollywood films from the perspective of media geography. Journal of Southwest University for Nationalities (Humanities and Social Science) (8): 154–160. Shao, Peiren, et al. 2008. Media ecology: Media as a green ecology. Beijing: Communication University of China Press. Shao, Peiren, et al. 2017. Asian communication theory: Asian perspective in international communication studies. Hangzhou: Zhejiang University Press. Wei, Yong. 1989. The nature and trend of social sciences. Harbin: Heilongjiang Education Press.

Chapter 2

Past, Present, and Future of Geography of Media

The geography of media is closely related to cultural geography. In media geographic research now being conducted on the subjects of the new digital media and globalization, the concepts of time, space, distance, scale, location, and landscape are fundamental. Another area of interest is the study of semiotic signs (signified and signifier) that communicate meaning through diverse forms of media such as print media, outdoor media, and broadcast media, which have a transformative effect on social and cultural landscapes. To measure and study geographic phenomena, the geography of media uses sophisticated sampling techniques based on the spatial, temporal, quantitative, and analytic dimensions of scale. This chapter describes the origins and evolution of media geography and predicts future directions of research. The rapid expansion of the global media and digital communication is redefining traditional geographic concepts and creating new media spaces and sociocultural environments that are no longer governed solely by power relations, social geography, culture, or race/ethnicity. The influence of the global media transcends physical boundaries, and therefore the boundaries between nations, regions, and ethnic groups are no longer fixed and indisputable. Globalization, which tends to diminish the roles of individual nation-states in international society, is frequently equated with de-territorialization, the process by which social, political, or cultural practices are restructured or even severed from their native places and populations. A more optimistic scenario would involve the ‘glocalization’ of national cultures through the harmonious combination of specific and universal traits and tendencies, with the aim of avoiding the dilution of local, regional, and national cultures and instead emphasizing the significance of these sociocultural phenomena. During the 1990s, the postmodern turn in geography of media was characterized by a rediscovery of the spatial dimension in cultural theory and a renewed emphasis on the importance of transparency in sociographic inquiry. The globalization of mass media may have negative effects, such as the increased dissemination of biased content that marginalizes ethnic minorities or minimizes the damaging effects of poverty in developing countries where many people are landless and/or homeless. In addition, because networked media platforms require © Zhejiang University Press 2023 S. Peiren, New Perspectives on Geography of Media, Qizhen Humanities and Social Sciences Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2111-9_2

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that individuals submit personal information to access specific online content, the privacy of personal data may be jeopardized, leaving individuals vulnerable to the growing threat of cyber-insecurity. Although globalization may serve to increase global levels of tolerance, acceptance, and mutual respect for other cultures, religions, and ideologies, it will also expose network-connected individuals to non-traditional lifestyles, alternative ways of thinking, new political philosophies, and a vast array of belief systems. Because globalization threatens traditional sources of individual meaning and sense of belonging by promising a homogeneous and harmonious world culture, the integration of local and regional societies, cultures, and economies to form a global village may result in identity confusion, anxiety, insecurity, and even mental illness. Global openness and transparency, communication, cooperation, integration, and humanistic principles can of course lead to better lives for all, but countries should also implement social policies that allow individuals from all social groups, classes, races, and ethnicities to take advantage of new opportunities as they arise. How can we safeguard ourselves against the possible adverse effects of globalization? Is it feasible that people from various nations and cultures will truly wish to become ‘villagers’ in a new global society? The geography of media seeks to answer these and other significant questions while supporting the interests and concerns of those who soon may face globalization-related challenges.

2.1 Chinese Cultural Geography and the Media The Chinese sage Confucius believed that humans exist in a close relationship with Heaven and Earth: ‘Heaven (the guiding force) and Earth (the natural context) are the origin of all things, and all things derive from Heaven and Earth.’ Human culture is comprised of inherited traditions, customs, beliefs, literature, and art. Geography is the study of the earth and its inhabitants. Cultural geography examines the relationships between humans and the geographic and cultural environments in which they reside, as well as how people create meaning through the formation of cultural landscapes, places, and the production of artifacts such as architecture, festivals and celebrations, clothing, and media. The following brief history of Chinese calligraphy, painting, and literature illustrates how these art forms reflect local environmental characteristics. FENG Ban, a renowned poet who lived during the late Ming dynasty and early Qing dynasty, noted in Dunyin’s Comments on Calligraphy (Dun Yin Shu Yao)1 that the styles of calligraphy and ink painting in North China and South China were markedly different. In ‘The Study of Calligraphy,’ a chapter in Collected Writings on the Study of Calligraphy at Lüyuan (Lü Yuan Cong Hua),2 QIAN Yong, who lived during the Qing dynasty, commented that while the Northern and Southern Schools of painting were well-known, few were aware of the stylistic differences of calligraphy as practiced in North China and South China.

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During the Qing dynasty, the scholar RUAN (2014) studied the Northern and Southern Schools of calligraphy in depth. In the article ‘On the Southern and Northern Styles of Calligraphy,’ RUAN (2014, p. 630) referred to the Northern School’s calligraphic style as ‘standard script’ and the Southern School’s style as ‘running script.’3 The Northern style of calligraphy was at that time associated with the Zhao, Yan, Wei, Qi, Zhou, and Sui dynasties, while the Southern style was associated with the Eastern Jin, Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen dynasties. Based on his diachronic and synchronic analysis of the traditions and styles of Northern and Southern calligraphers, RUAN found that ZHONG Yao and WEI Guan were the founders of both schools. WANG Xizhi, WANG Xianzhi, WANG Sengqian, and others exemplified the Southern School, whose traditions and techniques were later transmitted to Zhiyong and YU Shinan. The works of SUO Jing, CUI Yue, LU Chen, GAO Zun, SHEN Fu, YAO Yuanbiao, ZHAO Wenshen, and DING Daohu exemplified the Northern School, whose traditions and techniques were later transmitted to OUYANG Xun and CHU Suiliang. The Southern School’s calligraphic style—elegant and uninhibited—reflected the cultural and geographic characteristics of the Yangtze River’s lower reaches. This school’s most notable works included petitions to the throne, official documents, and personal letters. Southern calligraphers would typically minimize the number of strokes used to render Chinese characters, making some of them virtually unrecognizable. The Northern School reflected the cultural and geographic characteristics of the Central Plains—reserved and straightforward. Northern calligraphers specialized in engraving inscriptions on stones and plaques. In this regard, RUAN (2014) observed that the stylistic differences between the two schools of calligraphy were at least partially due to the fact that the aristocratic families in the North and South who commissioned such artworks rarely interacted. The contemporary Chinese scholar LIANG Qichao (1873–1929) analyzed the stylistic differences between the two Qing dynasty schools of calligraphic art and concluded that the Northern and Southern regions had distinct styles.4 LIANG (2014, pp. 264–265) noted in his book On General Trends in Geography in China that calligraphy, which the Chinese regard as a fine art, had gained in prominence and popularity over the previous thousand years. LIANG also pointed out that the Northern School specialized in inscriptions on stone and developed the ‘square stroke’ style, whereas the Southern School was known for calligraphy on paper and developed the ‘round stroke’ style. In addition, his book Longmen Twenty Calligraphic Gems (Long Men Er Shi Pin) described the Northern School’s style as magnificent, robust, and orderly, and the Southern School’s style as delicate, graceful, and unrestrained, as evidenced in the famous calligraphic works ‘Orchid Pavilion’ (‘Lan Ting’), ‘Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River’ (‘Luo Shen’), and ‘Chun Hua Pavilion Model Calligraphy’ (‘Chun Hua Ge Tie’). LIANG Qichao (2014, p. 265) also mused, ‘Is it not surprising that the social customs and personality traits of Northerners and Southerners so accurately reflect their respective calligraphic styles?’. The history of Chinese literature illustrates how diverse cultural and geographic environments foster the development of unique literary styles. The historian of the early Tang dynasty, LI Yanshou, compared Northern and Southern styles of poetry. In

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LI’s (1974) ‘Preface to the Biographies of Literators’ (‘Wen Yuan Zhuan Xu’) of the History of the Northern Dynasties (‘Bei Shi’ or ‘North History’),5 he explained that the rhythm of poetry written in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River is passionate and the wording elegant, whereas poetry written north of the Yellow River is rhythmically precise and the wording unpretentious yet emotionally expressive. In LI’s opinion, poems that emphasize personal thoughts or temperament value logic or argument above linguistic expressiveness, whereas the language of eloquent and ethereal poems transcends all common sense and reason. He believed that poetry used to convey profound ideas is best suited for addressing contemporary issues, while poetry written in a descriptive style to depict beautiful images or express profound emotions should be sung. LIANG Qichao examined a variety of literary genres. LIANG noted in his book On General Trends of Geography in China (2014, p. 264) that writers in the YanZhao regions (in the North) used rhymed verse to express noble and heroic sentiments and adopted a mournful and melancholy tone when expressing discontent, whereas writers in the Wu-Yue regions (in the South) created a freestyle form of prose that is elegant, emotional, and concise. Before leaving their families and friends to travel to distant lands in search of a decent living or to pursue their dreams, the relatively coarse Northerners would bolster their courage by riding their horses on or alongside the Great Wall. The refined Southerners, on the other hand, were inspired by the bright green grass that grows along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in early spring, as well as the waves of crystal clear water that gently ripple across the surface of Dongting Lake (located on the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in Central China). Northerners wrote with a sense of grandeur and intense passion, while Southerners excelled at a highly stylized form of prose written in lines of four or six characters known as ‘parallel writing’ (‘pian wen’ or ‘four-six prose’) in which they vividly expressed profound emotions. LIU Shipei (1884–1919), a Confucian scholar, analyzed the differences between Northern and Southern Chinese literary works through the lens of their respective geographic and cultural environments. According to LIU (2006, p. 203), the Yellow River (‘Huang He’) valley’s fertile soil and deep waters instill Northerners with deep respect for the natural environment and gratitude for the earth’s bounty. Characteristically, the majority of literary works created by Northerners are narrative depictions of real or imagined events, odes to magnificent natural landscapes, or expressions of their belief in the wisdom of the heart. Lyrical writers in the South, where there are many beautiful rivers and lakes, were inspired to describe the enchanting scenery and ponder the significance of Man’s search for the metaphysical origin and meaning of life. LIU also commented that the boisterous, free-spirited, truthful, and devoted nature of Northerners is reflected not only in literature, but also in related forms of traditional Chinese opera and music, calligraphy, poetry, architecture, and media. The environmental, geographic, and cultural differences between China’s two largest cities, Shanghai and Beijing, offer fascinating contrasts, and it is largely because of these contrasts that the editorial styles of the local news media of these megacities are so dissimilar in approach and content. WANG Youfeng (2005) examined differences in editorial styles of the Chinese press in the North (e.g., Beijing) and

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the South (e.g., Shanghai) and concluded that these contrasts result from differences in their respective histories. President XI Jinping once noted that the Confucian emphasis on unity and harmony is similar to the spirit of Shanghai, which is characterized by equality, mutual trust and benefit, collaboration, respect for cultural diversity, and pursuit of the common good (Xinhua News Agency 2018). Shanghai is situated on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River. The Huangpu River, sometimes referred to as ‘the mother river of Shanghai’ flows through the city (population in 2022: 28.4 million). Despite Shanghai’s physical location on China’s east-central coast, it is considered part of Southern China. The Yangtze River flows south of the Qinling Mountains from west to east. The Qinling Mountains range and the Huaihe River together comprise the Qinling-Huaihe Line that forms the geographic dividing line between North and South China. The Chinese capital of Beijing (population in 2022: 21.3 million), is situated at the northernmost point of the North China Plain and is surrounded by mountains to the north, northwest, and west. Both Shanghai and Beijing face formidable challenges with respect to the quality of their water and soil; poor water quality is a major concern, and soil contamination is one of China’s most serious environmental problems. Shanghai (上海, ‘on the sea’) is a leading global center for finance, business and economics, research, education, science and technology, manufacturing, tourism, culture, dining, fashion, sports, and transportation, and the mouth of the Yangtze River is home to the world’s busiest container port. As a center of international trade and finance, Shanghai has been called the ‘flagship’ of China’s booming economy, and its architecture, fashion, music, and cuisine reflect these diverse influences. Beijing (北京, ‘northern capital’) has been the political, cultural, and educational center of China for over 700 years, and it is where many of the country’s most historically and architecturally significant buildings are located. Beijing is a cosmopolitan city in which ancient culture and modern civilization coexist in harmony; its infrastructure is modern, its talent pool large, well-educated, and diverse, and its leadership devoted to a humanistic worldview. Jiefang Daily 《解放日报》 ( , also known as Liberation Daily), first published on May 28, 1949, and currently with a circulation of approximately 700,000 copies, is the most widely distributed Shanghai-based daily newspaper. It was the first local English-language newspaper to be published on the Chinese mainland and is the primary news source for English-speaking readers in Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta megalopolis. Jiefang Daily is published by the Shanghai Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). It offers cosmopolitan readers reports on breaking news events, in-depth opinions, and perceptive analyses of life in Shanghai, in China, and around the world. The Xinhua News Agency, also known as the New China News Agency, was founded in Beijing in 1931 as the CPC’s official news agency. Xinhua provides domestic and international services to Chinese and non-Chinese media. Like the majority of China’s news media, it is subject to government monitoring and control, and its content reflects official policies and promote state-run programs. People’s

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Daily 《人民日报》 ( , Ren Min Ri Bao), the most influential and authoritative newspaper in China, and the official mouthpiece of the Chinese government and the Central Committee of the CPC, has been published in Beijing since 1946. People’s Daily publishes serious political articles, numerous speeches and reports from government or party leaders, and editorials on politics and culture, communist theory and philosophy, and Marxist economics. In contrast to Beijing, whose culture is characterized by a dense traditional and political atmosphere, Shanghai’s culture is commercial, innovative, and fashionable. Therefore, it is no surprise that the distinctive cultural characteristics of these two cities have a substantial effect on the kinds of information produced and disseminated by local press agencies. In October of 1911, a group of southern Chinese revolutionaries successfully revolted against the rule of the Qing dynasty, resulting in the establishment of the Republic of China and the end of China’s imperial system, in which emperors ruled the country for more than 2000 years. On July 21, 1921, the CPC held its inaugural meeting in Shanghai and Jiaxing (a city of Zhejiang Province near Shanghai), which led to the formation of revolutionary groups in southern provinces such as Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Hunan. Since the 1920s and 1930s, Shanghai’s avant-garde ‘East meets West’ (‘Haipai’) culture has been a melting pot of Western influences and human migration from across China and other countries, transforming it into a driving force in China’s social and economic development. The innovative business practices of Shanghai’s major industries, which include finance, technology, and media, encourage entrepreneurship and fair competition while supporting the growth of the local press. Press agencies in the sixteen southern Chinese provinces, which include Shanghai, Guangdong, and Jiangsu, are highly professional and emphasize the importance of market analyses and audience surveys. Since 1403 AD (during the Ming dynasty), when the name Beijing (‘northern capital’) was applied to the city to distinguish it from Nanjing (‘southern capital’), it has been China’s political center. Beijing’s press has a history of being more conservative than the Shanghai press, largely due to the influence of the city’s ruling class and its history of being ruled by feudal dynasties and imperial families. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Beijing has thrived as one of the centers of the press under the leadership of the CPC. The newspaper with the largest circulation in China (approximately three million copies) is the daily Reference News, which is published in Beijing by the Xinhua News Agency. In addition to being published in Standard Mandarin (‘Putonghua’), the official language of China, the Reference News is also published in the languages of the Uyghur, Kazakh, Korean, and Mongolian ethnic minorities. People’s Daily, published in Beijing by the People’s Daily Newspaper Group (China’s largest newspaper group) is an important medium of communication for the CPC and has a global circulation of three million to four million copies, as well as notable online presence (People’s Daily Online at http://en.people.cn). The Global Times, which is also published in Beijing by the People’s Daily Newspaper Group, is ranked third in terms of total circulation. Fourth and fifth in total readership are the Southern Weekly and Southern Metropolitan Daily, both of which are published in Guangzhou,

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Guangdong Province, and which support democracy, civil society, and freedom of expression. In the development of China’s print media industry, conflicts between the conservative Beijing press and the liberal Southern press eventually led to a split between an official press and a marketized press. Nonetheless, there is substantial overlap in their journalistic perspectives and in their selection of topics and sources, and they share the goal of reporting the news objectively. In recent years, China has transitioned from a highly unified society to one that is both unified and diverse. As a reflection of society, China’s newspaper industry embraces the Taoist principle of unity in diversity which some have cited as a prime example (和而不同, ‘he er bu tong’ or ‘coexisting harmoniously and maintaining difference’). In reality, oversimplified North–South and conservative-liberal dichotomies fail to convey the complexity of China’s present-day media ecology. The preceding examples describe the historical, geographic, and sociocultural context necessary to identify and interpret the subtle differences between China’s Northern and Southern press, for example, between Beijing and Guangzhou (located in Guangdong Province in South China) or Hangzhou (located in Zhejiang Province on China’s southeast coast) and Xi’an (located in Shaanxi Province in Northwest China). In the following eight cultural regions of China, the types, styles, content, and presentation of local media vary considerably, especially in newspaper editorials: Xiang-Chu culture (Hunan and Hubei), Ba-Shu culture (Sichuan), Yun-Gui culture (Yunnan and Guizhou), Yan-Zhao culture (Hebei), Qin-Jin culture (Shanxi-Shaanxi), Guandong culture (Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang), Central Plains culture, and Wu-Yue culture (South Jiangsu) (Wu 1996). Similarly, the names of regional newspapers such as Yan-Zhao Metropolis Daily (Hebei), Chu-tian Metropolis Daily (Hubei), Tian-fu Morning Post (Sichuan), Qianjiang Evening News (Zhejiang), and the Yangtze Evening Post (Jiangsu) represent the influence of different regional cultures on the nation’s print media. Similar to China’s regional press, provincial satellite television stations tailor their programming to fit the information needs of specific geographic and cultural audiences. Despite the nation’s attempts to develop its culture industries and rebalance control of domestic media, there has never been a clear distinction between acceptable and unacceptable content. As a result, provincial television stations frequently engage in self-censorship to avoid violating official guidelines. Despite these restrictions, provincial TV stations take great pride in highlighting their unique cultural characteristics, which are immensely popular with local audiences. Hunan TV, China’s second-most-watched television channel, focuses on game shows, innovative program scheduling, independent channels, and high audience ratings; Guangdong TV broadcasts content on local culture, sports, news, and cartoons in both Mandarin and Cantonese; and Sichuan TV is renowned for its annual media festival, support for cultural exchange, industrial transformation, and technological leadership, and, most notably, for its emphasis on Sichuan storytelling, a time-honored folk art that has been recognized as part of China’s national intangible cultural heritage. CHEN Hua, General Manager of Sichuan Radio and Television,

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explained that his stations frequently broadcast local folktales because they are so popular with listeners and viewers of all ages. Someone once said that humans are laughing animals. During the Song dynasty (960 AD–1279 AD), local officials in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, would organize joke-telling competitions on the city’s western outskirts. A large crowd of villagers formed small teams and then competed by sharing their favorite jokes with the assembled crowd. The team that made the audience laugh the loudest and longest received a red flag and at the end of the competition, the team with the greatest number of red flags was crowned the joke-telling champions. Sichuan is also renowned for its abundance of traditional teahouses, where locals gather to drink fragrant Chinese tea, play chess, and share folk tales and imaginative accounts of local legends. Sichuan’s hot and spicy cuisine is delicious, the province’s natural scenery is breathtaking, its history is extensive, and its people’s everyday lives provide ample material for the creation of new and intriguing stories. In addition, Sichuan Radio and Television’s special columns frequently report on recent developments in local culture in the context of globalization and a modern, dynamic China (Jiang 2005).

2.2 Media Construction of Cultural Geography Geography of media investigates how the mass media use sampling techniques to create content that meets the information needs of audiences who reside in specific cultural and geographic environments. Much of people’s understanding of local and non-local geographies is shaped not by direct experience but through media depictions and representations. Thus, the geography of media bridges the gap between the natural and social sciences to analyze and better understand how the media influence people’s conceptions of society and the world. Edward W. Said (1935–2003), a Palestinian-American professor, literary scholar, and the ‘father of postcolonialism,’ argued in his 1978 monograph Orientalism that Westerners’ impressions of the Orient were largely based on false images constructed by Western scholars, philosophers, economists, and political theorists, and then were further shaped by secondhand media representations, resulting in erroneous perceptions of Eastern culture and geography. According to him, the Orient, which was primarily a European invention, had long been imagined as a place of romance, exotic beings, haunting memories, enchanting landscapes, and extraordinary experiences (Said 1979, p. 1). In his postmodern theory of media representation, Professor Said observed that to justify colonial rules, Western academics and media purposefully distorted the identity of Orientals as ‘others.’ Similar misconceptions about China have been expressed by a number of American academics in their descriptions of the country and its people. According to LI Jinquan (2004, p. 34), the way that some American scholars view China is analogous to the way that one views a distant mountain. This dilemma is expressed in Chinese sayings such as ‘A spectator has the best view of the game’ and ‘Stones from other

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hills can be used to polish the jade of this one.’ Despite their inability to comprehend the extent of the psychological and cultural burdens that Chinese scholars have borne over the years, Western scholars have published a large number of in-depth analyses and commentaries rife with prejudice and intellectual blind spots. In the United States and Great Britain, for example, academics and the media frequently characterized China in a biased, stereotypical, oversimplified, and selfrighteous manner. In the context of international cold wars and shifting domestic policies in Western countries, contemporary China is frequently described as subject to numerous reversals and uncertainties. Simply stated, Western attitudes toward China tend to oscillate between positivity and denial. Of course, misunderstandings and conflicts are common not only between the West and the East, but also between any two cultures, social groups, or family members. As long as people continue to learn about different cultural geographies indirectly through the mass media, particularly through print media as an institutionalized agent of power and social control, such misconceptions will be inevitable. The various branches and subfields of academic disciplines in the humanities and social sciences have created their own approaches to comprehending the significance of geography and the concept of landscape. For instance, some professional authors attempt to incorporate geographic imagination into their articles and books. Literature frequently includes fictional stories, whereas geography focuses on the real world. However, the combination of real and fictional narratives may also provide readers with a more effective way to grasp the real meaning of literary plots and themes. Indeed, there are significant differences between real-world geography and the manner in which it is depicted in literature, in descriptions written by narratologists or geographers, and in media representations. The impact of news reports, visual images, and media narratives on our understanding of geography and specific nations is substantial. Numerous widely-accepted geographic concepts are, in this sense, ‘virtual entities’ created by the media. Ben Anderson (2000) wrote in his book Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism that any nation-state with its own boundaries and sovereignty is an ‘imagined community,’ which he defined as a socially-constructed community imagined by individuals who perceive themselves to be members of a group. According to Anderson (2000, p. 7), a nation-state is an imagined entity because the majority of citizens of even the smallest nation-state will never be known, met, or even heard of. Nonetheless, the sense of commonality exists in the mind of each individual. The mass media serves as both a medium and a foundation for this type of imagination, supplying audiences with ‘scripts’ that they can read together to confirm shared interests and beliefs. During this process, millions of strangers gradually come to believe they belong to the same community or nation-state, thereby creating an imaginary cultural geography (Tomlinson 1991). In his 1984 book The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration, British social theorist Anthony Giddens concludes that media geographic samplings occur in a ‘created environment.’ According to Giddens (1984), one of the defining characteristics of contemporary capitalism is the commodification of labor time, which is meant to support industrial development and which has now

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Fig. 2.1 Data-information-knowledge transfer process: a simplified model

permeated every aspect of society. Moreover, the capitalistic commodification of space has produced artificial environments that affect the integrity of social systems and distort human perceptions of spatial proximity and distance. As the global mass media creates a new world of instantaneity and shallowness, people’s perceptions of time and space change. The British scholars Morley and Robins (1995) defined global space as a flow space, an electronic space, and a decentered space with permeable frontiers and boundaries. Within the global space of networked communication, different cultures can easily interact with one another, that is, with ‘others’ who are perceived to be both ‘out there’ (in the world) and ‘in here’ (in cyberspace). How then do the media typically represent geographic spaces that exist in the real world? The Canadian geographer Wellar (2005) developed a simple model to illustrate how the media transform ‘Existing Reality’ into ‘Preferred Reality’ (Fig. 2.1). The way in which the media transform real-world geographies into ones that are more preferable (and also fictitious) raises several questions: In the context of globalization, which geographic realities do the media prefer to fabricate? Who will be responsible for carrying out this process? What types of social, political, and power relationships will influence the direction and results of this process? In this regard, Chinese communication scholars are actively seeking answers to the following seven questions: 1. How do the Chinese media represent the Chinese nation to international audiences? 2. How do the Chinese media represent the West to its own domestic and regional audiences? 3. How will the Chinese media conduct geographic samplings in the future? 4. Do international audiences think that CGTN’s depictions of China’s ethnic minority communities are representative of the nation as a whole? CGTN (China Global Television Network), formerly known as CCTV-9 and CCTV News, is an international news organization that was established on December 31, 2016. China Central Television owns the English-language pay television channel CGTN Documentary, which is the country’s first state-level English-language

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channel to broadcast internationally. (CGTN’s English-language website can be accessed at https://www.cgtn.com/.) 5. How are geographic samplings used to influence the content of Chinese television programs and films—such as those directed by ZHANG Yimou in Northern Shaanxi and by JIA Zhangke in Fenyang, Shandong Province—to promote a positive international image of China? 6. Do the Chinese media accurately represent China’s diverse geographic regions, including the countryside, western regions, the southern reaches of the Yellow River, and the northeast? 7. Do the Chinese media disseminate accurate descriptions and images of the geographic and cultural characteristics of the nation’s ethnic minority regions?

2.3 History of Geography of Media In 1985, the term ‘geography of media’ was originated to describe a new academic field of study located at the intersection of cultural geography and media and communication studies (ref., Johnston et al. 2000, pp. 493–494). Since its inception as a subfield of geography, the geography of media has benefited from the theories and methods of cultural geographers to facilitate its observation and analysis of the influence of mass media on individuals, societies, countries, and the world. Media geographers quickly recognized the relevance of the two main branches of geography—human geography and cultural geography—to their fields of study. Media geography also has close ties to other geography subfields such as economic geography, political geography, urban geography, and landscape geography, as well as to the social sciences such as history, economics, political science, sociology, and psychology. This abundance of academic connections makes it sometimes difficult to distinguish between these closely-related fields of inquiry.

2.3.1 Evolution of Geography in Ancient and Modern China In China, the study of geographic science underwent a remarkable process of modernization from 1840 to 1950. Between the First Opium War (1840–1842) and the May Fourth Movement (1919), China gained access to modern geographic concepts and methods developed in the United States and the United Kingdom. The May Fourth Movement’s anti-imperialist student demonstrations sparked an intellectual revolution and accelerated sociopolitical reform, which culminated in the Chinese revolution and the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. The Geographical Society of China, founded by ZHANG Xiangwen in Tianjin in 1909, was one of the earliest academic societies in China. In 1934, ZHU Kezhen, a well-known scientist, founded the Geographical Society of China in Nanjing. In 1950, one year after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the two organizations

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were merged to form the current Geographical Society of China (GSC). In retrospect, the establishment of the GSC marked the official beginning of Chinese geographic science and was a turning point in the recognition of human geography as an active scientific discipline. From then on, geographic research in China was conducted using modern concepts and state-of-the-art techniques. As of 1949, more than 100,000 volumes of historical descriptions of China’s natural landscapes and the human activities that took place in those landscapes had been accumulated. This vast resource attracted the attention of Chinese geographers specializing in the field of human geography. During the 1950s, the Soviet model had a significant impact on geographic research being conducted in China, and new concepts and techniques from Soviet geography accelerated the modernization of geographic studies by Chinese academics. When China’s policy of reform and opening-up was initiated in 1978, the new field of cultural geography gained in popularity. In the 1980s, the so-called ‘media turn’ rekindled Chinese research on communication studies and shifted the focus toward the re-conceptualization of mass media, media theory, and the connection between media forms and spatial concepts. Some think that the field of geography of media was introduced for the first time in the book Geography, the Media and Popular Culture edited by Burgess and Gold (1985), which included a number of perspectives from Western geographers on the subject of media. Geography in ancient China: ‘Tribute of Yu’ Numerous books, records, and personal accounts of geographic features have been collected, preserved, and archived over the course of China’s approximately 4000year written history, which began during the reign of the Yu the Great, who founded China’s first dynasty, the Xia (ca. 2070 BC–1600 BC). ‘Tribute of Yu’ 《禹贡》 ( , ‘Yu Gong’), a chapter from the ‘Book of Xia’ in Shujing or Book of Documents, is the earliest work of its kind.6 Comprised of only 1,198 characters, it is considered the most scientific treatise on geography written during the pre-Qin period. This chapter recounts the journeys of Yu the Great’s through China’s nine provinces (Ji, Yan, Qing, Xu, Yang, Jing, Yu, Liang, and Yong). The ‘Nine Provinces’ section describes Yu’s surveys of the territories, rivers, mountains, plains, lowlands, wetlands, and soil of these provinces, and includes information on taxes and tributes. The sections ‘Dao Shan’ and ‘Dao Shui’ detail the locations and characteristics of mountains and rivers. The section ‘Wu Fu’ (a hierarchical system of five administrative districts) describes a plan for such as system comprised of five concentric domains: the royal domain (dian fu), the domain of the nobles (hou fu), the peace-securing domain (sui fu), the domain of restraint (yao fu), and the wild domain (huang fu). As the first known comprehensive geographic work in China, the chapter of ‘Tribute of Yu’ documented various aspects of the country’s physical and human geography. In the introduction to his Commentary on the Yu Gong Map (Yu Gong Tu Zhu’), the Ming dynasty scholar AI Nanying (1583 AD–1646 AD) stated that the ‘Tribute of Yu’ was the first geographic work of its kind in Chinese history. In

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addition, in HU Wei’s preface to Yu Gong’s Survey of the Empire (Yu Gong Zhui Zhi), the Qing dynasty scholar LI Zhenyu referred to it as ‘the most significant work since Yu the Great subdued the floods.’ (Yu the Great is credited with introducing flood control methods to China around 2070 BC.) Geography in ancient China: Commentaries on the Water Classic Commentaries on the Water Classic 《水经注》 ( , Shui Jing Zhu), written by LI Daoyuan (466 AD–527 AD), a geographer, writer, and politician during the Northern Wei dynasty (386 AD–534 AD), is a famous geographic work about the rivers, waterways, and man-made canals of ancient China. Each section of the 40-volume tome systematically describes the source, course, and major tributaries of specific rivers, and includes notes on related histories and cultures that developed near these rivers. This ancient compendium, which has great historical, geographic, and literary value, and which influenced the development of geography in China, includes detailed field records of 1252 rivers, waterways, and canals, as well as information on waterfalls, rapids, springs, wells, lakes, benchlands, and marshlands. It contains descriptions of nearly 2000 hills and upland areas, over 70 karst caves, over 140 plant life varieties, and over 100 animal species and documents droughts, wind damage, as well as accounts of locust plagues, 30 or so floods, and approximately 20 earthquakes. Commentaries on the Water Classic classifies approximately 2800 towns or cities, 180 ancient capitals, 1000 or so smaller settlements, and several foreign cities in present-day India, such as Kashi, Pataliputra, Rajgir, and Camp, into ten categories: zhen, xiang, ting, li, ju, cun, xu, shu, wu, and bao. It also describes various means of land and water transportation, the locations of approximately 100 bridges and almost 100 ferries, and provides useful information on farmland irrigation and projects related to water diversion, conservation, and reclamation. Also included are LI’s notes on mining, metallurgy, textile and machinery manufacturing, coinage, and agriculture, and over 300 annotated historical accounts of major and minor military engagements. In addition to major works such as Commentaries on the Water Classic, valuable geographic information can be found in historical records and local chronicles such as ‘Biographies of Merchants’ (‘Huo Zhi Lie Zhuan’) in Records of the Grand Historian, ‘Di Li Zhi’ (‘Geographic Section’) in The Book of Han, and in the Annals of Yuanhe Counties (Yuan He Jun Xian Tu Zhi). Also important are personal travelogues, of which The Travel Diaries of XU Xiake is the most famous. Geography in ancient China: The Travel Diaries of XU Xiake The Travel Diaries of XU Xiake 《徐霞客游记》 ( , Xu Xia Ke You Ji) is a masterpiece in the history of Chinese geography compiled by Xu Hongzu (1587–1641) from his studies of the XU Xiake’s essays and travel diaries written and compiled during the latter years of the Ming dynasty (1368 AD–1644 AD). Over a 34-year period, XU wrote over 600,000 characters detailing 17 journeys to famous mountains such as Tiantai Mountain, Yandang Mountain, Mount Huang, and Mount Lu. His travel diaries included the Zhejiang Travel Diaries, Jiangxi Travel Diaries, Hunan Travel Diaries, Guangxi Travel Diaries, Guizhou Travel Diaries, and Yunnan Travel Diaries.

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The Travel Diaries of XU Xiake is a remarkable geographic achievement for four reasons: First, XU investigated and recorded the regional distribution of karst landscapes where soluble bedrock had dissolved to form sinkholes, caves, and springs. He personally explored over 270 caves in the Guangxi, Guizhou, and Yunnan Provinces, noting their location, height, width, and depth. At the time, his descriptions of karst landscapes were the most advanced in the world. Second, he corrected some errors made by other travel writers about the sources of Chinese rivers. Third, he meticulously observed and depicted the impact of landforms, temperature, and wind speed on the distribution and health of specific plants. Fourth, he examined evidence of volcanic eruptions near Daying Mountain in Yunnan Province and described in scientific terms the texture of the red pumice ejected by the volcano. Wherever he traveled, XU meticulously documented cultural–geographic features as well as the features of local economies, transportation, towns and clan settlements, ethnic minorities, customs, and cultural relics. Geography in ancient China: The influence of literary works In China, academic works about geography typically focus on the scientific construction of related geographic concepts, whereas the main focus of classic Chinese literary works is cultural geography. For example, YANG Xiong (53 BC–18 AD), a famous Han dynasty scholar, wrote about the ancient Chinese language, dialects, and customs in various regions of the country. In his major work, The Interpretation of Ancient Language and Dialects by the Imperial Light Carriage Emissary (You Xuan Shi Zhe Jue Dai Yu Shi Bie Guo Fang Yan), YANG focuses on dialects spoken in the past and during the reign of the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD). In the poems ‘Watching the Tidal Bore’ (‘Wang Hai Chao’) and ‘A Beautiful and Geographically Important City in the Southeast’ (‘Dong Nan Xing Sheng’), the Northern Song dynasty poet LIU Yong (984 AD–1053 AD) described the natural beauty of Jiangnan (or Jiang Nan, a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of the Yangtze River Delta): ‘Late autumn is fragrant with osmanthus flowers, and lotuses are in bloom for miles around.’ Modern Chinese essayists and poets such as ZHU Ziqing (1898–1948) and YU Dafu (1896–1945) are also well known for their expressive literary works that include descriptions of geographic landscapes. According to the British cultural geographer Crang (1998), literary works should not be considered mere colorful depictions of people, places, and regions because, in many cases, they also serve to shape people’s conceptions of these landscapes. In fact, most people learn about distant locations through media depictions, which substitute for firsthand experience; in this sense, both media representations and literary works greatly influence individuals’ geographic imagination of regions, countries, and the world. The preface to the Tang dynasty poem ‘Saying Good-bye to Master Yizhou Returning to Qiannan’ (‘Song Yi Zhou Shi Que Huan Qian Nan’), written by the philosopher LIU Yuxi (770 AD–842 AD) as a farewell to a traveling Buddhist monk named Yizhou, is an excellent example of ancient literature that clearly distinguishes between ‘real geography’ and ‘imagined geography.’ During the Warring States

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period, between the fourth and second centuries BC, possession of the Qian region (present-day Guizhou Province) was contested by the states of Qin and Chu. Later, this region came to be perceived as a remote, desolate area inhabited by barbarians. LIU Yuxi writes, ‘I chanced upon Master Yizhou while he was strolling along the bank of the Qian River.’ On this occasion, LIU described the local mountains and rivers by drawing them on the ground, and he also described local customs in vivid detail. LIU commented that, upon his arrival in Qian, he did not perceive the location to be either remote or desolate. He had learned from the region’s former Chief Military Officer (节使, ‘jie shi’) that the current Chief Military Officer had a talent for recruiting intelligent and capable individuals and that, in his experience, the behavior of the officer’s aides and advisors was both refined and courteous (ref., Zheng 2001, pp. 71–72). Due to its distance from the nation’s geographic center, the characteristics of the Qian region were long misrepresented in written communications to people in other regions. LIU’s written account identifies a disparity between the realities of Qian’s geography and the ‘fictions’ of other geographic accounts. Clearly, ancient Chinese scholars were unaware of the relationship between physical geography and the potential influence of the media of handwritten letters on people’s perceptions of geographic and cultural characteristics. Geography in modern China: The influence of LIANG Qichao The works of the well-known politician, social and political activist, journalist, and intellectual LIANG Qichao (1873–1929) sparked the interest of Chinese academics in the study of cultural geography. Initially, LIANG subscribed to the deterministic theories of Montesquieu, which advocated that physical factors exert a strong, unmediated effect on the patterns of human culture and societal development. In the two articles ‘On General Trends of Geography in China’ and ‘The Geographic Distribution of Modern Study Styles,’ he expounded on the ways in which natural environment and human culture influence the society, politics, customs, literature, and art of different geographic localities. In the early twentieth century, a number of Western geographers subscribed to the theory of environmental determinism, including the German geographer and ethnographer Friedrich Ratzel (1844–1904) who later in his career acknowledged the interrelationships between the environment, society, and culture. Ratzel (1902) presented his latest theories in The Earth and Life: A Comparative Geography, and later came to be known as the ‘father of human geography.’ In ‘On General Trends of Geography in China,’ LIANG (2014, pp. 253–278) commented that for thousands of years, the country’s North and South were at odds over literary matters. For example, LIANG believed that the interpretation of stylistic differences in Confucian classics by the Northern and Southern literary schools were influenced by their respective geographic environments, particularly during the preQin period. He observed that because Confucius and Mo-tze (or Mozi) lived in the North, Lao-tzu (or Laozi) and Chuang-tze (or Zhuangzi) in the South, SHANG Yang and HAN Fei in the West, and GUAN Zhong (or Guanzi) and ZOU Yan in the East, their doctrines all had distinct styles that respectively highlighted ideas such as the

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need for regular practice, visions of an ideal society, the benefits of strict laws, and the philosophy of nothingness. LIANG also compared the Northern and Southern artistic styles and characteristics of calligraphy, painting, music, poetry and prose, as well as the religions and customs, of North and South to particular geographic factors. For instance, the Northern School of calligraphy engraved characters on stone, whereas the Southern School drew characters on paper. The stone-borne calligraphy of the North employed square strokes in a vigorous and orderly style. In the South, calligraphy was paperborne, employed rounded strokes, and was unrestrained, graceful, and delicate. The operas performed in the North were typically solemn and stirring, whereas Southern operas were spirited and graceful. In their poetry and prose, literary figures from the Yan-Zhao regions of the North vividly expressed indignation, melancholy, and resentment, whereas literary figures from the Wu-Yue regions of the South wrote prose and poetry in an uninhibited and elegant style. In the article ‘On the Relationship Between Geography and Civilization,’ LIANG analyzed the role of geographic environment in the emergence and growth of European, Asian, and American civilizations. In the articles ‘On General Trends of Geography in Asia’ and ‘On General Trends of Geography in Europe,’ he elaborated on these ideas. LIANG, also a brilliant Confucian scholar, was acutely aware of China’s political, academic, literary, and artistic trends and sought to reform the nation without destroying its cultural essence in the process. Always an optimist, he advocated for broad changes to address threats to China’s sovereignty posed by Western powers. LIANG also commented that for China to be truly successful in the world, it should first amass great wealth and power. In his treatise ‘Discourse on the New Citizen’ (‘Xin Min Shuo’), LIANG discussed the topics of citizenship and nation-building in an effort to influence the thinking of ‘new citizens’ in China, stimulating academic research in culture, political thought, literature, and geography. Local daily newspapers emerged in the early twentieth century as a popular new form of media, but China’s media industry remained underdeveloped. For this and other reasons, LIANG had few opportunities to discuss his ideas about the relationship between geography and mass media with Western academics. LIANG Qichao, who became a household name across China, was a true forerunner of his time and a pivotal figure in modern Chinese history. Geography, media, and communication studies in modern China Since the introduction of modern communication science to China in the 1980s, academic interest in the fields of media and communication has grown steadily. In the following years, Chinese researchers examined the relationship between media and geography and also focused on topics such as media imperialism, postcolonialism, media and cities, media and rural areas, and regional media. However, these studies neither adequately addressed the true significance of media geography’s interest in the laws that govern interactions between humans, media, society, and geography nor adequately analyzed how media content can influence the opinions, beliefs, and worldviews of audiences at the local, national, regional, and global levels (Shao 2005, pp. 63–66).

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2.3.2 Modernization of Traditional Geography During the Industrial Revolution (1760–1840), significant advancements were made in transportation and communication, and a number of developed nations discovered and benefited from new commercial opportunities. These years also saw dramatic increases in the economic disparities between developed industrial nations and developing nations. By the end of the nineteenth century, the academic study of geography had expanded to encompass new fields related to global political, economic, and cultural changes. In addition, the ideologies used to justify Western imperialism and colonialism that occurred from the 1850s to the beginning of World War I, such as nationalism, social Darwinism, and the notion of a ‘civilizing mission,’ became topics of interest. Concepts and methods from sociology, economics, and ecology were introduced into geographic studies, and scholars such as Max Weber and Charles Darwin contributed ideas and perspectives that significantly broadened the scope of geographic inquiry. By the turn of the twentieth century, three new directions in geographic research had emerged: First, the blending of the academic fields of physical geography and cultural studies, with an emphasis on the relations and interactions between humans and natural environment. Second, the accelerated study of the connections between humans and culture. The German geographer Otto Schlüter (1872–1959), a member of the first generation after Carl Ritter, stated in his essay ‘The Goals of a Geography of Man’ that geographers should study everything that is perceivable on the surface of the earth. According to Schlüter (1906), the term ‘landscape science’ refers to the geographic study of natural landscape (‘Urlandschaft’), and the study of ‘cultural landscape’ (‘Kulturlandschaft’) results from the symbiotic relationship between these two academic areas—physical geography and cultural studies. Otto Schlüter is credited with originating the concept ‘cultural landscape.’ Third, a new focus on regional studies. The eminent American economist, Walter Isard (1919–2010), founded regional science in 1954 for the purpose of studying the evolution of the earth’s regions and identifying social problems with regional dimensions through the integration of analytical and empirical research (Isard 1975). At the time, extraordinary advancements in transportation, industry, and urbanization were causing substantial morphological changes. Consequently, Chinese geographers broadened the scope of their research to include regional geographic studies. Since the end of the Industrial Revolution in the mid-1980s, dramatic shifts in economy, society, politics, and culture have resulted in significant revisions to the objectives of geographic research. As it happens, the aforementioned directions were unable to keep up with the escalating complexity of geography, and it became clear to scholars that modernization was a top priority.

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2.3.3 Emergence of Cultural Geography In the 1920s, cultural geography emerged as an academic discipline in the West, and more specifically in the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. Cultural geography was then defined as a subfield of human geography that examines human cultural values and practices in relation to environmental factors, the formation of cultures, cultural identities, cultural diversity, and cultural places, and how humans create and transmit cultural meaning from one generation to the next. As early as 1822, Ritter (1836) was interested in the connection between human culture and the environment. Decades later, in 1902, Friedrich Ratzel began investigating the geography of human culture, cultural landscapes and regions, the cultural characteristics of human communities, and the processes of cultural transmission. Late in the nineteenth century, the French human geographer Paul Vidal de La Blach (1845–1918) formulated an alternative to the tradition of environmental determinism, which held that environment determines the patterns of human culture and societal development. Vidal de La Blach (1950 [1926]) observed in Principals of Human Geography that the world is not a rigid boundary for human activityies, but rather the result of continuous interaction between humans (civilization) and the environment (milieu). He referred to these interactions as ‘lifestyles.’ The American anthropologist Alfred Louis Kroeber (1876–1960) believed that culture consists of elements and patterns that transcend specific cultures. According to Kroeber (1952), culture influences human behavior, and cultural formation is a result of changes in these elements and patterns. Carl O. Sauer (1889–1975), who early in his career rejected the tenets of environmental determinism, originated the term ‘cultural landscape’ to describe the relationship between human culture and natural environment, defining it as follows: ‘Culture is the agent, the natural area is the medium, and the cultural landscape is the result.’ (Sauer 1962, p. 320). He defined cultural geography as the historical study of the origin, distribution, and development of geographic landscapes shaped over time by natural processes and human intervention. Sauer believed that the comparative study of cultural history should be grounded in ecological and geographic concepts and principles. He oversaw the Geography Department at the University of California, Berkeley for 31 years (often referred to as the ‘Sauer era’), during which time he taught his cultural-historical theories and concepts. He also devoted much time to researching the cultural and geographic characteristics of various regions. The publication of Sauer’s ‘The Morphology of Landscape’ marked the beginning of cultural geography as an academic field of study. Morphology, a subfield of geography, investigates the physical composition and processes that shape the topographic features of different regions. In addition to the features of mountains, hills, rivers, and coastlines, studies of human settlements and artifacts are central in landscape morphology. Cultural geography is the systematic study of how humans modify natural landscapes and how these modifications in turn create cultural landscapes. The morphological approach to landscape geography bridges the gap between

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objective conceptions of geographic space and location and the subjective conception of ‘place’ that imbues sociocultural spaces with a materiality that is only now beginning to be studied in earnest. According to Sauer, the ‘lifestyle’ of every individual is a product of the interaction between an individual, natural environment, and culture. When a cultural group or community resides in a particular location and uses its natural resources to meet its needs, a cultural landscape is created in the process (Wang et al. 2000, p. 43). Sauer’s concept of cultural landscape includes tangible elements such as settlements, clothing, and implements, and intangible elements such as customs, beliefs, language, religion, and music. Contemporary media’s dissemination of information in specific localities and regions is an essential component of cultural landscape. Sauer (1962) used a metaphorical representation to illustrate this fact: If the highway used to transport cargo qualifies as a geographic phenomenon, then the truck used to transport cargo along this highway also qualifies as a geographic phenomenon. In other words, while media content is a geographic phenomenon due to its production and distribution over a specific geographic area, the medium (i.e., the truck) that transports this content (i.e., the cargo) is also a geographic phenomenon. In 1964, the University of Birmingham in England founded the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (later renamed the Birmingham School of Cultural Studies), as the first institutional home of cultural geography. For four decades, the Birmingham School was instrumental in the development of cultural–geographic studies. There, scholars conducted extensive research on political ideologies, power relations in state politics, working-class culture in urban areas, the sociology and culture of race, the role of media audiences in the dissemination of information, and the culture of feminism. In the 1980s, the British cultural geographers Denis Cosgrove (1948–2008) and Peter Jackson introduced a new form of cultural geography. Their influential article ‘New Directions in Cultural Geography’ (Cosgrove and Jackson 1987) examined academic parallels between social geographers and scholars interested in the concept of cultural landscape. They defined culture as the medium through which people introduce mundane material phenomena from their everyday lives into a given space, thereby creating a cultural landscape imbued with symbols and personal meaning. A product of the study of cultural patterns and social relationships is ‘maps of meaning’, which allows scholars to interpret the significance of landscapes of space and place. Jackson and Cosgrove’s new cultural geography focused mainly on the relationship between geography and the media. At the time, the geography of media did not exist as a distinct subfield of geographic research, due to the fact that scholars had not yet recognized that cultural landscape and media culture are the most significant developments in geographic research in the modern era.

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2.4 Current Research in Geography of Media By tracing and reviewing the origins and evolution of the geography of media in Western and Chinese academia, one would no doubt find its early stages and orientations somewhat halting and ill-defined. In Mediated Geographies and Geographies of Media, editors Mains et al. (2015, p. 3) commented ‘it [geography of media] lacks a clearly defined or singular focus’. Some interested scholars approached this new field by gathering information about the history of cultural landscapes and folk customs for inclusion in books and papers on topics related to geography; some described the features of mountains, hills, plains, rivers, and seas in their travel essays; some elaborated on the relevance of various theories of time, space, and place to studies on media and communication; and yet others focused on the marvels of media spectacle and the allure of media forms such as video games and online chat rooms. Although these often colorful investigations reflected some of the basic concepts and methods of media geography, they did not provide an accurate or complete picture of the serious interdisciplinary research being conducted at the time. The geography of media emerged after the ‘spatial turns’ of media studies, communication studies, and cultural geography from the 1950s through the 1990s, developing rapidly in its research on the media and the underlying concepts of time, space, place, as well as issues related to locality and globality. The five subsections that follow provide a deeper understanding of the history and main directions of research in the geography of media as it developed in the West and in China from 1901 to 2000. Directions of New Research in Geography of Media The emergence of academic research in the geography of media paralleled the modernization of China’s information technology and communication infrastructure, which were quickly adopted by Chinese academic institutions, research laboratories, and businesses. These new technologies brought about many changes in media forms and modes of content dissemination, transformed national and international media landscapes, accelerated the evolution of global network culture, and sparked interest in Marshall McLuhan’s concept of global village. In 2002, SHAO Peiren cautioned fellow academics that it is now time for people to learn how to master the Internet before it masters us, and to co-construct a widely-accepted global vision for humanity while we still have some control over the future (Shao 2002a, p. 5). Since the invention of mass media, physical geography, culture, and society have been inextricably linked. The aim of media geography is to examine the relationships between these four elements, how people employ different media forms in specific environments, and how they use networked media to transcend geographic boundaries and the limitations of physical space to shape and share media space. Chinese scholars of media geography should therefore continue to develop and refine a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, unified, and practical framework for future research and analysis (Shao 2005).

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Despite the fact that geography of media has developed alongside the most recent trends in networked communication and today’s information society, its scientific approach has facilitated its widespread recognition as a new subfield of human and cultural geography. Its humanistic philosophical orientation is to investigate complex phenomena and offer viable solutions to problems in accordance with the theoretical approach of Marxist dialectical materialism (Shao 2006a). Appreciating, valuing, and applying these and other related concepts, media geographers also take into account the effects of history, time, and space. Chinese academics embrace aspects of traditional and modern Chinese culture while also recognizing regional differences. Respecting the principles and guidelines that govern the Chinese media, Chinese scholars willingly incorporate positive aspects of international research on media and communication into the corpus of our own work. While valuing Eastern, Western, and global perspectives, they defend and support a Chinese worldview (Shao 2011, p.1). In Geographies of Communication: The Spatial Turn in Media Studies, editors Falkheimer and Janssen (2006) outlined three ways to combine media studies and geographic research, and noted the emergence of communication geography as an interdisciplinary field based on Henri Lefebvre’s trialectics of spatiality: perceived space, conceived space, and lived space. The geographer and professor of urban studies Adams (2009) described the ‘communication turn’ in the study of geography in his monograph Geographies of Media and Communication. Adams, who was a student of TUAN Yi-Fu (1930–2022), helped establish the subfield of humanistic geography and was heavily influenced by McLuhan’s concept of a global village. Based on his own analytic framework, Adams proposed four paths of research in the subfield of geography of communication: media in space, media in place, place in media, and space in media. Later, Adams (2012) added a fifth path which transcends the dichotomy of place and space, as well as content and context, by combining his concepts of cultural hybridity, arcs of communication, and actor-network theory. In 2010, Geography of Media: Media as Cultural Landscape, written by SHAO Peiren and YANG Liping was published. This is the first academic monograph in China which comprehensively and systematically explains the discipline of geography of media. In this important book, the authors analyzed and discussed the media-geographic concepts of time, space, place, landscape, and scale, and proposed new perspectives and fresh ideas for advancing its scientific approach, theoretical research, and real-world applications (Shao and Yang 2010a). Several years later, Professor SHAO and one of his students combined the theories and methodologies of geography of media with the study of Chinese films to create the book Investigating Huallywood Films from the Perspective of Media Geography (Shao and Zhou 2018). Research on media space In addition to traversing or even ‘eliminating’ space, new media technologies, communication activities, and the Internet continually shape and reshape media space. The media-oriented concept of space presented in Media Space: Place, Scale,

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and Culture in a Media Age (2004), edited by Nick Couldry and Anna McCarthy, was generally ignored by the academic community. This collection of essays explored the intricate connections between the production and consumption of media space, media and location, and nation-states and the international community. While some researchers examine the formality, expressiveness, and transnational relationships of media communication from a sociological dimension, others focus on the implications of the spatial turn of communication studies. Other researchers investigate the material production and representation of urban space from the angle of cultural space, and still others examine how the mass media function as a symbolic support system for geopolitical power and culture from a macro perspective (Adams 2012). Moreover, a number of studies have focused on the changes and transformations of media space to better comprehend how to represent this space on a topological map, an information map, or as part of an information landscape, as well as on precisely identifying what people do or produce that has the effect of modifying, extending, compressing, and transforming media space (Adams 2009). Unlike the majority of Western studies on media space, Chinese scholars, guided by the concepts of dialectical materialism, generally consider space to be a physical and material form as well as a human mental construct that results from the complex interactions of natural, geographic, social, and mediated phenomena. The widespread use of electronic media in contemporary society has accelerated the processes of spatial revival and spatial turn, transforming people’s experience of space from the physical to the virtual and from the personal to the mediated. To survive and thrive in the context of a global media space, it is increasingly necessary for people as well as businesses to have constant and immediate access to cyberspace-based media platforms (Shao and Yang 2010b). Much of the current research on media space focuses on the potential financial effects of geographic clustering and other sociotechnical developments in regional geographic space, as viewed from the perspective of media management (Shao 2006b). Media geographers in China are also researching issues related to geographic partitioning and spatial displacement influenced by commercial television broadcasting in the context of global communications. In addition, various strategies that focus on potential markets, content, products technologies, and channels are being studied that will support the efforts of Chinese media to broadcast television programs beyond national boundaries (Tang 2008). China’s film industry is also cautiously examining the possibility of expanding its domestic market internationally due to the fact that its domestic market is constantly being squeezed by foreign competitors (Wang 2014). Drawing upon the theories of communication science, Chinese academics are gaining a better understanding of how to identify the optimal psychological distance between communicators and audiences to ensure the successful transmission and reception of media content (Shao and Yang 2012a, b, c). In 2011, the Communication University of China Press published FANG Lingling’s first monograph, Media Space: Spatial Imagination of Media and Urban Landscape, which is based on her doctoral dissertation.

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Research on media time Geographers typically view space as an infinite, three-dimensional expanse in which objects and events exist and have relative positions and directions. Einstein theorized that three-dimensional space and the dimension of time are fused to form a fourdimensional continuum, and that motion within this continuum affects the flow of time. The French film historian Marcel Martin (1955) believed that time and space are dialectically connected through man’s innate ability to perceive the flow of time. Television and film media rely on viewers’ implicit assumptions that time and space will flow continuously from one moment to the next. Without deeply investigating the complex relationships between time and space, it is impossible for scholars to grasp the true meaning of either concept (Yuan 2001, p. 65). Since 1972, a sea-change in cultural and economic practices has influenced how people from various cultures experience time and space (Harvey 1989). Humans have previously experienced natural time and clock time, and they are now entering the era of media time. In today’s information society, the concept of time as ‘what a clock measures’ is in crisis, and the media have assumed the responsibility of developing a new concept of mediated time. In fact, people’s subjective perceptions of the flow of time are increasingly mediated by digital devices and platforms. As a result of the construction and reconstruction of people’s everyday lives by electronic media, familiar standards for referencing and comprehending time are no longer relevant, and media time, which is characterized by instantaneity, fragmentation, and disorder is being shaped by digital media technologies and media content. Such changes in the way people perceive time are having a profound effect on human society (Bian and Zhang 2006, p. 32). Time is thought to be a valuable and limited resource, as well as an essential element of human cognition that underpins the foundation of civilization, despite the fact that the passage of time is a subjective perception and not an empirical phenomenon. Newspapers and magazines are primarily concerned with managing and selling space, whereas radio and television are concerned with managing and selling time. Media time is the time system used by media management to create program schedules, determine length of time, and display standard time references such as channel time, program time, advertising time, and audience reception time. Therefore, research on the topic of media time requires an interdisciplinary study on how media time is measured and managed, and the effects it has on individuals and societies (Shao and Huang 2009). Television producers often manipulate time in TV programs to simulate the experience of time travel or to support narratives that employ unusual or innovative time concepts, thus challenging traditional ways of perceiving time and inviting viewers to grasp the importance of a contiguous sense of time in regular television programs and in everyday life (Jowett et al. 2006). According to MA Yanyan (2010, p. 20), media time is an asynchronous phenomenon that exists in a synchronous framework and which presents viewers with aggregated experiences in a fragmentary manner, thereby constructing virtual perceptions that are free of the normal constraints of time, and that viewers usually take to be real.

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The characteristics of media time are compatible with current processes of societal development and will inevitably lead to personalization of media content and an increase in the use of cloud computing. ZHANG Menghan (2015) discussed the concepts of mediated time and temporalized media in her doctoral dissertation. She contended that, as a new temporal form, media time possesses unfathomable power to reconstruct reality. Concurrently, a well-established link exists between media development, social organization, and time perception. ZHANG looked into the complexities of media time and its impact on society and individuals on multiple levels, as well as the division and reconstruction of real-world society and various critiques of the evolving concept of media time. In human history, there have thus far been three temporal revolutions: the revolution in natural time during the agricultural era, the revolution in clock time during the industrial era, and the revolution in media time during the information era. We now have reached a tipping point that will usher in a fourth revolution—the postdigital revolution of intelligent time. The large-scale realization of a post-digital world based on intelligent time, which will dramatically change the ways in which people, processes, and technologies interact, is already underway. This revolution will necessitate real-time connections to attended hosts that exist in mediated time. Potentially, this post-digital environment will render spatial boundaries between the unmediated real world and the mediated virtual world irrelevant (Shao 2020, p. 85). Research on media landscape and media spectacle La Société du Spectacle, a book written by the French Marxist theorist and philosopher Guy Debord (1931–1994), had a significant impact on the study of media landscape. According to Debord (1967), ‘spectacle’ refers both to objectively beautiful landscapes and natural sceneries and to subjectively perceived public displays, performances, and shows. Debord observed that contemporary capitalist society has advanced from the stage of production to a new stage in which social relations between individuals are mediated by images, collectively referred to as ‘the spectacle.’ Virtually every aspect of life that once was experienced directly has receded into the realm of media representations and images that are removed from everyday realities, resulting in the creation of a virtual pseudo-world. While ‘the spectacle’ appears to be a unifying force in society, in Debord’s view, it is actually a domain of perceptual delusion and false consciousness. ‘False consciousness’ is a term that describes people’s inability to recognize inequality, oppression, and exploitation in capitalist society. In capitalist society, the mode of production has shifted the priority of individuals from simple existence to the possession of consumer goods, while today’s society of the spectacle is now transforming possession into the appearance of possession (Zhang 2006). Kellner (2002), an American professor of cultural and media studies, enriched and broadened Debord’s concept of spectacle in his book Media Spectacle by analyzing the events that governments, businesses, and individuals put on public display with the aid of mass media. Kellner exposes the contradictions and crises in the technologyand media-driven American society that relate to media spectacle, and he encourages academics in related fields to conduct further research on the topic.

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According to FAN (2009), Debord’s perspective on late capitalist society is pessimistic and excessively rebellious, whereas Kellner’s approach to the study of spectacle is more optimistic, rational, and constructive. In FAN’s opinion, Kellner’s system would be a more useful point of reference for Chinese studies on the topic of media spectacle in the context of globalization’s challenges and opportunities. One topic of great interest in contemporary geographic research, which is very closed linked with media landscape and media spectacle, is the geography of film. It seeks to represent the diverse characteristics of countries, nation-states, and cultures through mediatized sociocultural landscapes,. Due to the differences between the landscapes depicted in films and those that exist in the real world, media geographers have questioned the possible effects on human psychology of the imaginary worlds depicted in films. They also acknowledge that, although film representations seldom depict real-world realities, they can and do convey artistic meaning through the creative use of visual images (Aitken and Zonn 1994). Additionally, Morley and Robins (1995) investigated how film texts and other forms of modern art influence cultural production and development. They believed that the visual medium of film not only tells meaningful stories, but also influences cultural politics related to personal identity because the various regional backdrops depicted in films serve to promote specific cultural landscapes. On the other hand, according to SHAO Peiren and FANG Lingling (2006, p. 98), one focus of research in media geography is to investigate how and why specific geographic landscapes are represented by the media. The depiction of social ‘escapees’ and adventure seekers speeding down interstate highways on powerful motorcycles as rugged natural landscapes flow by in the background is one example of media representations of landscapes imbued with political, moral, and gender-related connotations. From a psychological perspective, fictitious mediamediated landscapes can be as appealing and significant to individuals as real-world landscapes. As for ‘media space’, TANG (2008, p. 114) defined it as the domain in which media spectacles are created, presented, interpreted, and amplified. Media spectacle is a product of the media industry, but its formation and content are influenced by political, economic, and cultural forces, as well as advertising and the logic of consumerism. The experience of media spectacle has become an organizing principle of society and the everyday lives of individuals. Spectacles, as a pervasive form of media culture, embody fundamental values and ideologies, dramatize controversies and struggles, and suggest ways to resolve conflicts. To sum up, Debord’s society of the spectacle is an objective and materially translated worldview of the existing mode of capitalist production. Because the media industry is driven by commercialism, it strays from its true mission of discernment and creativity, thereby contributing to the general decline of ‘being’ into ‘having’ (Shao 2010, p. 1). As such, Chinese media professionals and academics in the social sciences should present Chinese culture to the world by adhering to the win–win principles of consultation and joint construction, rather than egotism, nativism, and nationalism, with the aim of constructing a global community with a shared and promising future. They intend to promote cultural diversity and equality, and abandon

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zero-sum dynamics in favor of mutual benefit. To achieve these above-mentioned goals, they should cultivate expansive perspectives on the shifting global patterns and tendencies of human civilization and develop effective strategies for building a harmonious and prosperous future for all based on humanistic principles. Of course, one of their main tasks is to actively promote Chinese culture (Shao 2019a, p. 85). Research on media and place According to Adams (2009), location-based communication reveals the most fundamental aspects of human experience. Adams thought of media transmissions as ‘encounters’ between human and non-human agents, and because the media disseminate images of geographic spaces and localities, they call it ‘content.’ Such images exist in a never-ending cycle of representation and dissemination, internalization and externalization, generalization and concretization. The significance and meaning of media-generated images alternate between being apparent and obscure; locations are seldom discrete and fixed, but instead change frequently on multiple scales. From Adams’s points of view, these findings may lead to the transcendence of dichotomies that exist between conceptions of space, location, content—and eventually to the development of a scaleless epistemology. Current research on media and communication focuses on the collaborative nature of social constructivism and the question of how agents are transformed through communications with other agents. According to the British geographer and poet Cresswell (2004), sense of place is the emotion we experience when we know what it is like to ‘be there.’ Urban planners think of ‘place’ as a built environment, ecologists as a unique ecology or bioregion, and philosophers as a way of being in the world. Media geographers define ‘space’ as a three-dimensional container with no content or meaning in itself which, together with time, define the four-dimensional coordinates of human existence. When people imbue a portion of space—for instance, Shanghai, China—with personal significance and meaning, and develop an attachment to it, their perceptions of the space, and the meanings they attach to it, subjectively transform the space into a place. Cresswell (2004) defined ‘location’ as a site on the earth that can be located using GPS coordinates. A location can, for example, be a city, an island in the Pacific Ocean, or a city square. In contrast, and to avoid confusion in terminology, he defined ‘locale’ as a material setting for social relations, for example, a popular restaurant or an open-air venue for live musical and dance performances which people can over time imbue with personal significance and meaning, thereby transforming a locale into a ‘place.’ According to ZHANG Piwan (2018, p. 111), the concept of place is central in human geography although research in the geography of media deepens our understanding of place in relation to human geography, so academics in the field of media and communication studies prioritize the dimension of space in actual practice while ignoring the significance of place. Therefore, it is argued that media geographic studies of place should borrow from human geography’s findings on the concept of place to develop a viable theoretical framework for conceptualizing media place. On the other hand, SHAO Peiren (2010, p. 143) observed that place is more than just a locality where people engage in social behaviors; it is also an impression formed

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in an individual’s memory through the experiences of perception and interpretation. Sense of place is crucial to the study of media geography as well as the formation of social and cultural memories of distinct locales. The perceived significance of a specific locale supports both the subjective and objective aspects that together form a person’s sense of place. In the studies on media and place, the importance of television and film cannot be overemphasized, because they are highly influential in expressing, forming, and constituting people’s sense of place, and because today’s increasingly diverse and global perspectives conveyed by the new media are fostering a new and more complex sense of place (Shao 2010). Workers in the areas of information technology, urban planning, construction, and development create the environments in which places can emerge and, in turn, people form emotional ties to these places and share their cherished memories of these places with others. In this process, television and film disseminate associated images and cultural values and transform locales into places (Shao and Pan 2020). When it comes to China’s film industry, some scholars argued it has its own ‘Hu Line.’ (e.g., Shao and Zhou 2016) The original ‘Hu Huanyong Line,’ proposed in 1935 by Chinese demographer and human geographer HU Huanyong, is a demarcation line or geographic border that runs from Aihui in Heilongjiang Province to Tengchong in Yunnan Province, dividing China into two regions (southeast and northwest) with comparable land areas but vastly different population densities. The distribution of Chinese film and television bases is dense and prosperous in the southeast and sparsely distributed and relatively underdeveloped in the northwest, which corresponds to the same geographic pattern as the Hu Line (Shao and Zhou 2016). In addition, some people think of Asia as a marginal region of the globe that consists of a number of diverse nations. In terms of their global presence and communications, the 48 nations of Asia are often steadfast in their opposition to Western perspectives. In response to the mounting pressures of globalization, Asian countries are forming a unified regional identity based on their cultural similarities and characterized by economic ties, technology transfers, and interconnected media networks which together are fostering an Asian sense of place (Shao and Wang 2016). Against this backdrop, a Pan-Asian region is envisioned, which forms a meso environment that exists between micro (local) and macro (global) environments (Huang 2017). The ‘Asian Perspective,’ as also proposed in Asian Communication Theory: Asian Perspective in International Communication Studies (Shao et al. 2017), would serve as a bridge between local experience and global perspective. It would also facilitate dispute resolution and promote the values of mutual recognition, respect, and cooperation among Asian nations, thereby contributing to the consolidation of a Pan-Asian sense of place and community. Research on media scale Scale is a floating concept with multiple dimensions. There are numerous definitions of scale because scholars in the fields of human geography and cultural geography have developed their own definitions and, in some cases, these definitions are contextdependent. Even though China was one of the first nations to study the origins,

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characteristics, functions, standards, and applications of scale, research on media scale as a key concept in the branches and subfields of geography—including media geography—did not begin until the early twenty-first century. Since its inception in the twenty-first century, landscape ecology has placed an ever greater emphasis on the concept of scale. Processes result in patterns, and patterns play a role in processes. To comprehend the connection between pattern and process, we have to first acknowledge that both are scale-dependent, which is known as the ‘scale effect’ (Lu and Bo 2001). The concept of scale is fundamental in the study of media geography. Therefore, scholars should take the media’s ‘scale effect’ into account, which is comprised of local and global spatial scales, temporal scales of the past, present, and future, and media content that conveys various types of social messages. Identifying and regulating the scale or scope of media communications, which can range from insufficient to excessive, is extremely challenging (Guo 2017, p. 46). Media scale is a system for measuring and analyzing the physical signs, symbols, and forms of media content. To achieve consistent quality in media content, media managers and experts are required to set high standards for processes based on scale and range, and be aware of the boundaries between different scale levels. The complexities of local and global media scaling are currently one of the most hotlycontested issues in media geography. Additionally, as for developing countries like China, economic globalization, and the globalization of the media and communication in particular, present them with a great opportunity and a great challenge (Shao 2001). Scholars from around the world are examining the relationships between locality and globality in communication in the context of globalization, and there are many points of view on the subject. Ulrich Beck (2004), for instance, borrowed Thomas Mann’s concept of blended coffee—inspired by the preparation of French coffee, which is a mixture of half milk and half coffee—to develop his concept of ‘cosmopolitan outlook’ as a borderless global sense of cosmopolitanism. In Beck’s ‘blended coffee’ model, people from various regions, nations, races, and religions would willingly dismantle traditional barriers to shape their lives, social relationships, and politics under the conditions of cultural mixture. To achieve these objectives, a strategy of incremental transformation should be applied flexibly to local and global cultural communications to promote the localization of regional languages and ideologies (Shao 2014). Through collaboration and joint effort, we can create a new model and platform for global communication which emphasizes transparency and equal access. As a result of China’s participation in this megaproject, it will be necessary to improve and expand its international communications through ongoing innovations in electronic media, media content, shared communication platforms, and advancements in related technologies and systems (Shao 2019b).

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Notes 1. Dunyin’s Comments on Calligraphy (Dun Yin Shu Yao) was written by FENG Ban, a Qing dynasty poet. It is a theoretical work on calligraphy, a commentary on the merits and deficiencies of the works of previous generations of calligraphers, and a description of how calligraphers learn and practice their skills. 2. Collected Writings on the Study of Calligraphy at Lüyuan (Lü Yuan Cong Hua) is a novel written by QIAN Yong, a writer and calligrapher during the Qing dynasty. Based on the author’s personal experience, it is a detailed record of political, economic, cultural, and social life at that time. 3. ‘On the Southern and Northern Styles of Calligraphy’ (‘Nan Bei Shu Pai Lun’) is a calligraphic work compiled by RUAN Yuan during the Qing dynasty. 4. LIANG Qichao (or LIANG Chi-chao), who was born in 1873 in Xinhui, Guangdong Province and died in Beijing in 1929, was one of the main proponents of the modern Chinese bourgeois reform movement and an intellectual leader during the first two decades of twentieth-century China. All of his major works were included in the Collection of Ice Drinking Rooms, based on the 1936 edition and published in 1989 by the Zhonghua Book Company. 5. ‘Preface to the Biographies of Literators’ (‘Wen Yuan Zhuan Xu’) of The History of the Northern Dynasties (Bei Shi) was written by LI Yanshou, a famous historian of the Tang dynasty. The History of the Northern Dynasties is one of the Twenty-Four Histories, a series of classical works on Chinese history. 6. ‘Tribute of Yu’ (‘Yu Gong’), one chapter from the ‘Book of Xia’ in Shujing or Book of Documents, is China’s first regional geographic work. It was written in around the fifth century BC.

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Giddens, Anthony. 1984. The constitution of society: Outline of the theory of structuration. Berkeley: University of California Press. Guo, Xiaochun. 2017. Media scale: Media scales and Chinese strategy of international communication in the context of media globalization. Hangzhou: Zhejiang University (Dissertation). Harvey, David. 1989. The condition of postmodernity: An enquiry into the origins of cultural change. London: Wiley. Huang, Qing. 2017. The research on Asian communication: A review of Asian communication theory: Asian perspective in international communication studies by Shao Peiren et al. China Media Report (3): 125–128 Isard, Walter. 1975. Introduction to regional science. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Johnston, Ronald John, Gregory, Derek, Pratt, Geraldine, and Watts, Michael (eds.). 2000. The dictionary of human geography. Oxford: Blackwell. Jowett, Lorna, Keven Robinson, and David Simmons (eds.). 2006. Time on TV: Narrative time, time travel and time travelers in popular television culture. London: I. B. Tauris & Co., Ltd. Jiang, Yaojing. 2005. Sichuan satellite TV promotes the strategy of storytelling to appeal to audiences. Available at: http://futures.money.hexun.com/1375014.shtml. Accessed November 11, 2020 Kellner, Douglas. 2002. Media spectacle. London: Routledge. Kroeber, Alfred L. 1952. The nature of culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Li, Jinquan. 2004. Beyond Western hegemony media and Chinese modernity. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Li, Yanshou. 1974. The history of the northern dynasties: Wen Yuan Zhuan, revised edition with comments. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company. Liang, Qichao. 2014. On general trends of geography in China. Beijing: The Commercial Press. Liu, Shipei. 2006. Selected historical works of Liu Shipei, ed. Guoyi Wu, and Xiuyi Wu. Shanghai: Shanghai Classics Publishing House. Lü, Yihe, and Bojie Fu. 2001. Ecological scale and scaling. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 21(12): 2096– 2105. Ma, Yanyan. 2010. Characteristics and trend of media time in the process of socialization. Journal of Zhejiang Institute of Media and Communications (5): 20–24. Mains, Susan, Julie Cupples, and Chris Lukinbeal (eds.). 2015. Mediated geographies and geographies of media. Dordrecht: Springer. Martin, Marcel. 1955. Le Language Cinématographique. Corlet: Le Cerf. Morley, David, and Kevin Robins. 1995. The space of identity: Global media, electronic landscapes and cultural boundaries. London: Routledge. Ratzel, Friedrich. 1902. Die Erde und das Leben: Eine vergleichende Erdkunde (The earth and life: A comparative geography). Leipzig: Bibliographisches Institut. Ritter, Carl. 1836. Die Erdkunde im Verhältniss zur Natur und zur Geschichte des Menschen; Oder allegmeine, verglelichende Geographie (Geography in relation to nature and to the history of mankind; or general, comparative geography). Berlin: G. Reimer. Ruan, Yuan. 2014. On stone-borne calligraphy in the north and paper-borne calligraphy in the south (A collection of papers on calligraphic works). Shanghai: Shanghai Painting and Calligraphy Press. Said, Edward W. 1979. Orientalism: Western conceptions of the Orient. New York: Pantheon. Sauer, Carl O. 1962. The morphology of landscape. In ‘Land and life’: A selection from the writings of Carl Ortwin Sauer, ed. John Leighly, 317–369. Berkley: University of California Press. Schlüter, Otto. 1906. Die Ziele der Geographie des Menschen. Berlin, Boston: Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag. Shao, Peiren. 2001. Media globalization: Opportunity or challenge? Journal of Huzhou Teachers College (5): 1–6. Shao, Peiren. 2002. Computers and the Internet: The subverters of geography of media. Academic Journal of Zhejiang Broadcast and Television College (3): 5–7.

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Chapter 3

Goals of Chinese Research in Geography of Media

The evolution of digital media and communication, combined with the meteoric rise of metropolitan civic media, has significantly diminished the status of conventional print media. There have been significant changes in the content focus of media studies, as evidenced by the shifts from time to space, history to geography, linguistic symbols to digital images, one-way communication to bidirectional and multidimensional digital messaging, and from a communicator-centered approach to an audience-centered approach. The chronology of these historical changes parallels the emergence and rapid development of media geography. Geographers investigate both the physical characteristics of the earth’s surface and the human societies that inhabit it. The media both reflect and mediate the complex relationship between geography and society. Geography of media, guided by the principles of humanism, seeks to foster harmonious relationships among humans, media, and society. In addition, it emphasizes the important roles of social and geographic factors in the modern information society of global media and digital culture. Chinese academics are committed to studying the effects of global media from Chinese, Asian, and international perspectives. To promote economic development and social progress, they also are committed to striking a balance between locality and globality and avoiding localism, tribalism, and regional and ethnic discrimination.

3.1 Core Concepts and Academic Status For many years, geographic factors were largely disregarded in media studies, and the role of these factors in the ever-increasing frequency of human-media interaction was consistently overlooked in related publications and seminars. This unfortunate situation has to be rectified now. In this regard, geography of media can lead academics to fully accept the crucial role that geography plays in the evolution of life on Earth, social activities, cultural development, and in the connections and interdependencies of humans, geography, and the media. © Zhejiang University Press 2023 S. Peiren, New Perspectives on Geography of Media, Qizhen Humanities and Social Sciences Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2111-9_3

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Current research in the geography of media should encourage academics to reflect on why the close relationship between humans, geography, and the media has seldom been discussed. Based on the principle of unity in diversity, this field of study seeks to facilitate harmonious relationships between geography, human society, and the media, and to restore the unity of Man and Earth. It is hoped that ancient Chinese wisdom will deepen our understanding of the underlying principles that govern the concepts and theories discussed in this monograph, and to ensure the practical realization of viable solutions that will result. Despite the fact that humans live and walk on the earth, many scholars, as well as the general public, consider geography to be a passive and rather insignificant science. But in fact, geography is intimately connected to the human life cycle and serves to organize human interaction and to influence the formation of society. In Chinese mythology, the legend of how Nüwa (女娲), the goddess of creation, fashioned Man from yellow clay signifies the close relationship between Man and Earth. According to ancient Chinese philosophy, Man is not only part of the world, but also the link between Heaven and Earth, and the ruler of all living things. These relationships are depicted in the following three sayings: ‘Heaven and Earth are the parents of all creatures, and Man is the most endowed of all creatures.’1 ‘Earth is synonymous with reproduction, and all living things reproduce on it.’2 ‘Earth symbolizes change. It gives birth to and cares for all living things in the same manner as a woman. It is where change occurs.’3 In traditional Chinese culture, Heaven, Earth, and Man are therefore viewed as having a common origin and as evolving and flourishing together. When changes occur in the natural environment, humans and human society have to adapt to these changes as necessary in order to survive and prosper. The same is true of the existence and development of media culture, because media culture coexists with changing geographic environments and has to adapt to the challenges they present. There is abundant evidence that when humans and media evolve in harmony with their geographic environment, they flourish. The story of ancient Babylonia is a fitting example. The city of Babylon, which was the center of Mesopotamian civilization for nearly 2000 years, was located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, on the coast of the Persian Gulf. This ideal geographic site gave rise to a stable and prosperous society and inspired its citizens’ creativity, as evidenced by their unique writing system, which originally consisted of inscriptions on clay tablets. When a society is not able to creatively adapt to changing environmental conditions, its culture deteriorates and its further development and even survival is jeopardized. Around the beginning of the Neolithic Revolution approximately 12,000 years ago, when many human cultures transitioned from hunter-gatherer lifestyles to communal agriculture and settlement, humans began to develop an irrational belief in their own power, resulting in an imbalance between Heaven, Earth, and Man. As a result, the population and civilization of Neolithic cultures declined, and their inhabitants eventually disappeared from the face of the earth. A similar imbalance occurred in the development of the Maya civilization of Mesoamerica and its decline due to overpopulation, overuse of land, endemic warfare, and drought.

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Because humans make up less than 0.01% of all living things, it is rather presumptuous of them to consider themselves conquerors or rulers of nature. According to WU Guosheng (1999, p. 50), the sacred creative power of the earth is revealed in the innumerable forms of life that coexist and thrive in relative safety and security. Today, genetic bioengineers seek to decipher the secrets of life and to alter the DNA of plants and humans in such a way that could damage their fundamental connection to the earth and lead to disastrous consequences. The ancient Chinese philosophy of yin and yang embraces paradox, dynamics, and change, and its dialectical and holistic nature makes it highly applicable to media geographic concepts and theories. The opposition of yin and yang (i.e., the passive and active forces of nature) is harmonized, unified, and maintained in a state of equilibrium. This unity of opposites is the condition and driving force for life and the development of things. In reality, there are no opposites, as depicted by the wellknown yin-yang symbol, which is half black (yin) and half white (yang), with a dot of yin in yang and a dot of yang in yin to represent the condition of unity in diversity. With its deep respect for nature and guided by the ancient principles of ‘harmony between Man and nature’ and ‘harmony in diversity,’ as reflected in the geographic concepts and theories of this monograph, we honor and safeguard our diverse cultures and ways of life. People’s understanding of global geography and their cognizance of various nation-states is greatly influenced by the news reports, commentaries, and visual images accompanied by narrative expositions, which the media continuously disseminate to local, regional, and global audiences. In this way, the media create virtual environments in which millions of strangers interact and unknowingly create the ‘virtual entities’ and ‘imagined communities’ which are the subject of many contemporary studies in media geography. Not only has the emergence of global mass media altered people’s perceptions of distance, time, and space (Giddens 1984), it has also diminished the limitations and barriers related to physical distance in the spheres of international commerce and human affairs. Digital media can significantly reduce the effects of time and distance on communications between governments, large-scale social systems and institutions, communities, and individuals. The immense popularity of the Internet, for instance, has drastically altered people’s conceptions of social space. On the one hand, the Internet unites people from various regions, countries, socioeconomic classes, and ethnicities around the globe, enabling them to freely exchange ideas and opinions in real time on shared digital platforms. On the other hand, the growing reliance on Internet-related services may lead to a dearth of real-world experiences in people’s lives and hinder the formation and maintenance of meaningful offline relationships. New digital media have created a global media landscape, whose reach far surpasses that of traditional media, and which has blurred the boundaries of physical space and produced a mobile online world that is both shallow and unfathomably deep. Diverse cultures, groups, and economic entities can not only remain in direct and immediate contact with one another, but also with ‘others’ that exist ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ the global network (Morley and Robins 2001). These technologies also

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compress people’s perception of time, space, and distance, resulting in a disconnection between individuals and the physical world that indirectly fosters the emergence of new media geographies. When physical space becomes irrelevant and traditional boundaries increasingly irrelevant, cognitive distinctions between regions, countries, cultures, and communities begin to disappear, and relationships between people on all scales begin to deteriorate, along with individuals’ privacy, dignity, and peace of mind. Humans, who like to consider themselves Masters of the Universe, may one day become a new type of slave—passive objects or consumers under the control of global media. The development of the geography of media has revealed a number of mysteries related to complex and largely invisible power dynamics and new institutional forms in society. In a highly organized society, control of the media equals power, and scrambling for control of the media implies a mad scramble for power. Audiences that previously were in a disadvantageous position now find themselves in an advantageous position insofar as they can use the tools of mass media (particularly the Internet) to influence the outcome of unfolding situations and attack or counterattack powerful individuals and institutions. Netizens can deviate from existing communication pathways by designing new and difficult-to-access pathways or by sending encrypted messages. As a result, they can actively challenge the rigidity and hierarchy of the real world with the mobility of the virtual world, thereby resisting the controls that certain communities may wish to impose on them. This new communication environment may force existing power structures to modify their management strategies away from hierarchical, top-down structures to distributed structures consisting of mediated networks and participatory communication on a more level playing field, resulting in a shift from centralized to decentralized control. The rise of networked digital media will also result in more technologically advanced and effective means of social control. Following the 9/11 attacks in New York City in 2011, the United States government implemented a counterterrorism strategy that relied heavily on digital surveillance, telephone monitoring, and electronic recording. The United States’ intelligence apparatus was also given permission to monitor citizens’ email communications and to employ technologies that can delete any online information deemed a threat to national security. Soon thereafter, this intrusive approach was condemned by concerned citizens and strongly opposed by the American public. Two years earlier, in September of 2009, the Obama administration had implemented an Internet safety surveillance program that many citizens believed would enable the United States government to monitor online activities and invade citizens’ privacy in the name of national security. Nowadays, the managers and operators of ubiquitous surveillance systems use closed-circuit television and facial recognition technology to closely monitor human traffic in shopping malls and other public venues around the world, often with little regard for the legality of this practice. The many changes and resulting uncertainties brought about by the rapidly evolving media geography of many advanced nations will have a direct impact on

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people’s lifestyles and work patterns. The massive amounts of information and accumulated knowledge that are readily accessible online contributes significantly to the substance of our lives and work, and is a driving force for the advancement of human society. From the perspective of media geography, this new networked digital existence also means that human competition is no longer constrained by limitations related to place of birth, language, education, immediate environment, or physical fitness. An individual’s access to information, creativity, skill sets, productivity, income, and quality of life is influenced and shaped by his or her communication environment, which may be high-tech or low-tech depending on a variety of factors.

3.2 Mass Media as the Unity and Extension of Heaven, Earth, and Man Heaven, Earth, and Man share a common origin and evolve concurrently. This concept can be traced back to one of the ancient classics, I Ching: ‘With this view, they understood the way of Heaven as yin and yang, the way of Earth as the weak (or soft) and the strong (or hard), and the way of Man as righteousness and benevolence. Each trigram encompasses these three powers, and when repeated, its full form consists of six lines.’4

From the perspective of media geography, the powers of Heaven, Earth, and Man form an interdependent and interactive system consisting of ecology, society, and the human mind, and any two of these three powers can form a pair. In its description of hexagram 12 (否, ‘Pi’ or ‘standstill’ [stagnation]), this Chinese classic book depicts a period of time characterized by standstill, stagnation, and obstruction: ‘Heaven and Earth are not in communion with each other, and all things in consequence do not have free course; the high and the low [superiors and inferiors] are not in communion with one another, and there are no well-regulated states [nations] under the sky.’5

In other words, in such a time, the creative powers of Heaven (the environment; yang) and Earth (society; yin) are not unified. As a result, disharmony reigns, and confusion, disorder, and mistrust prevail. The way of inferiors (Man, both yin and yang, but lacking in proper principles) is in ascent and the way of superiors (Man, both yin and yang, and guided by proper principles) is in decline. In the spirit of the ancient Chinese philosophy of humans and nature, DONG Zhongshu, who lived during the Han dynasty also expressed the following thought: ‘Heaven, Earth, and Man are the foundation of all things. Heaven gives birth to Man, Earth nurtures Man, and Man matures through life experience. These three are interdependent, integrated, and indispensable.’6

Moreover, the ancient Chinese people believed that Heaven and Earth possess the qualities of 元 (‘Yuan’ or ‘humility’), 亨 (‘Heng’ or ‘spirituality’), 利 (‘Li’ or

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‘generosity’), and 贞 (‘Zhen’ or ‘perseverance’). The ancient Chinese also believed that to achieve their personal goals, they needed to conduct interpersonal relations in a manner similar to how Heaven and Earth interact. HE Chengtian observed, ‘Man cannot be created without Heaven and Earth; without Man, there is no spirit for Heaven and Earth’.7 In other words, Heaven nourishes Man’s emotions, whereas Earth governs Man’s essential nature. Along these same lines, WEI Yuan stated, ‘Heaven, Earth, and Man all have the same origin and, for this reason, Heaven is Heaven, Earth is Earth, and Man is Man.’8 From the perspective of media geography, Heaven, Earth, and the media create and nurture Man, and the media represent and sustain Heaven, Earth, and Man, thus integrating the four elements of Heaven, Earth, Man, and the media into a single system. That is, by adhering to the rules of Heaven (higher principles) and Earth (the laws of nature), Man and the media can be aware of trends in society and the world, keep pace with the times, and seek to achieve balance and harmonious relations. Numerous studies have shown that a region’s growth and survival is affected by its geographic forms, spatial patterns, demographics, economic conditions and particular media sources it has. Moreover, the scale on which media companies operate, the spatial distribution and concentration of media sources within a given region, as well the physical proximity of these sources to target audiences influence how a given media space will develop over time. The media are undergoing fundamental changes on a global scale. For example, civic and urban media, grassroots media, and network media are penetrating deeper into traditional domains of mass media and expanding their own space through industry mergers, media integration, and the extension of existing communication platforms. Geographic location, economic conditions, and audience size together determine the number of media sources operating in a given area. Consequently, the majority of mass media companies are located in cities with dense populations. For example, the majority of American daily newspapers are located in eastern and central cities (Picard and Brody 1996). Similarly, China’s huge media industry is concentrated in eastern and central cities, where resources, talent, and large audiences are abundant. China’s physical geography also influences the distribution of media companies: the lower the altitude, the greater the density of media sources. Numerous media organizations consider urban greenbelts to be ideal locations for increased production, friendly competition, and content dissemination. In addition to preventing urban sprawl and promoting development in and around host cities and throughout regions, urban green belts provide vital green spaces around the periphery of large cities and also serve as catalysts for future growth. Until the end of late capitalism in the 1950s and the emergence of postmodernism in the 1960s, the growth rate of cities around the world was able to keep pace with new developments in media and communication. High consumption rates, a wellestablished financial industry, a wide array of diverse economic activities, and the significant growth of metropolitan areas all stimulated the establishment of new media businesses. Cities serve not only as the political and economic centers of a region or nation, but also as hubs for the exchange of ideas and information (Knox and Pinch 2010).

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Many policies and management systems used in Western countries have been adopted and adapted for use in China’s major cities, and such policies and systems are advantageous to the development of media companies. Moreover, media companies that are headquartered in China’s major cities (e.g., Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin) and in the provinces of South China (e.g., Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang) earn consistently higher profits than those headquartered in interior or remote areas. In the early 1960s, postindustrial societies started to diversity their economies by promoting the development of tourism, entertainment, culture, sports, the fashion industry, the local media, and a wide range of support services. Increasingly, businesses, stores, and other venues became symbols of consumerism and the ‘happiness principle,’ which holds that increasing public consumption of goods and services is a desirable objective and that people’s well-being and happiness depend on their ability to easily obtain consumer goods and access services. The commercial districts of a city are the primary drivers of its economic and social life (De Meyer et al. 2004). Well-known cities with a strong collective identity have a sense of tradition, history, art, and architecture, and the spaces in these cities are frequently designed with architectural landmarks in mind. In the process, traditional spaces and places are gradually losing their original characteristics and cultural significance as they transform into ‘no-place spaces’ with advertisement billboards, flashy decorations, and virtual exhibitions. Therefore, we see how the media shape and are shaped by a city’s social and geographic characteristics. Geographical environment influences not only the socioeconomics, culture, and history of various localities and regions, but also the psychologies, temperaments, and consumption patterns of its inhabitants. Shanxi Province in Northwest China, for example, is representative of the Loess culture (named after the Loess Plateau and the silt-like sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust), whereas Guangdong Province on China’s southern coast is representative of a maritime culture. Shanxi Province is landlocked and bounded by the North China Plain in the east and the middle Yellow River in the west. The inhabitants of Shanxi are heavily influenced by traditional Chinese thought and by the Loess culture it shares with Shaanxi and GansuProvinces. The people of Shanxi are characterized by their straightforwardness, honesty, and conservatism. In contrast, the Cantonese residents of the coastal province of Guangdong who have more opportunities to travel by sea and to interact with people from other regions and countries are receptive to new experiences and more tolerant of foreign cultures. Shandong is a coastal province in the eastern region of China. It extends to the Bohai and Huanghai Seas and is traversed by the Yellow River. Due to its geographic location, Shandong is influenced by the Loess culture (Shanxi) and maritime culture (Guangdong), and because it is located in the transitional zone between South China and North China, its inhabitants share the characteristics of both Southerners and Northerners. In addition to being shrewd and competent, the residents of this province are also courageous and impulsive (Wang 2005). In 2005, Anjelica Ferruzzo, Director of Hong Kong Affairs for the STAR Media Group, conducted a survey of young people in Shanghai and Guangzhou, and the results indicated that this demographic had different product preferences: Young

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people in Shanghai were most interested in high-tech product, whereas the young residents of Guangzhou preferred products that were both practical and ‘cool.’ In 2005, McKinsey & Company’s research arm, based in New York City, USA, conducted a survey of 6000 households in 30 Chinese cities. Their findings revealed that people who live in different cities differ not only in their personal preferences for consumer goods, but also in their purchasing power, and that the majority of China’s high-end consumers live either in ‘Tier 1’ cities (e.g., Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou) or ‘New Tier 1’ cities (e.g., Tianjin, Chongqing, Suzhou, Wuhan, Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Chengdu). The McKinsey survey also revealed that foreign brands, whether those of product manufacturers or media agencies, have a difficult time gaining acceptance in China’s smaller cities. Therefore, if a foreign business wants to be successful in China, it had better consider regional differences related to history, language, culture, demographics, climate, temperament, income, diet, and media exposure (Ragu 2006).

3.3 Directions for Research in Geography of Media The geography of media is now drawing attention to a long-neglected and muchneeded field of study that challenges academics of all persuasions to question the central assumptions and authority of the classic theoretical models used in the cognitive sciences, which reportedly are now recalibrating their analytic frameworks to support new directions in research. The geography of media continues to support many of the fundamental assumptions of these models and frameworks, and acknowledges that the academics who choose to support traditional research goals and methodologies firmly believe that their approach continues to be state-of-the-art. In today’s information society, new communication technologies are making constructive dialogue between the members of intellectual communities much easier and more meaningful than ever. In a short period of time, the media find its place at the center of a given society, and media geographers continue to investigate how the media then go about reconstructing people’s image of this society through its many representations. On the other hand, nevertheless, if we overstate the importance of their chosen field of study or overemphasize the importance of geographic factors on the media, our research will almost certainly reach conclusions that misrepresent the validity and practicality of this field’s core concepts. And if we exaggerate the influence of geographic factors on specific regions, the regional media may respond by overemphasizing specific aspects of civic culture, deviating from mainstream points of view and possibly alienating target audiences. Therefore, we have to fully understand the history and status quo of the field of geography of media. Based on these, future directions for its development can be predicted. As discussed in the previous sub-sections, in addition to history, culture, and economics, media geography research focuses on dialectical materialism, holism, and interdisciplinary methodologies. By maintaining a firm grasp of these guiding principles, the geography of media will be certain to achieve its academic objectives.

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Future studies in the field of media geography should carefully consider the following five points: First, geography of media will continue to emphasize the significance of the interdependent relationships between humans, media, society, and geography, guided by the principles of humanism. Its humanistic outlook opposes conflict and violence and promotes harmony, individuality, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality, and the individual pursuit of self-realization. It welcomes the findings of recent research on the topic of human-society relations, and seeks to incorporate the best and mostrespected perspectives on the relationship between Man and Earth. The viewpoint of media geographers is based neither on discredited theories of environmental determinism nor on conventional scientific traditions and thought; it is a brand-new system of concepts, theories, and analytic frameworks based on dialectical materialism, which asserts that the material world is an objective reality independent of mind and spirit, and on the principles of holism, which hold that the parts of a whole are intimately connected and cannot exist independently of the whole. In 1785, the British philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) introduced his concept of a prison-like ‘panopticon’ which consists of a central observation tower surrounded by a circle of prison cells. Each cell has a window on its front and back wall, with the front window facing the panopticon’s central observation tower. From this tower, a guard can see every inmate in every cell, but inmates cannot see into the tower. Because the inhabitants of the panopticon never know for certain if they are being watched, they resign themselves to following the rules rather than engaging in risky behavior. Regarding the possible creation of a similar panopticon that surveilles the residents of an entire city, media geographers concur that governments will never permit the media to serve as a 24-h watchdog that views the public as captive. Instead, it is expected that the media will see its mission as accurately representing real-world realities, promoting education among the privileged and disadvantaged, informing and entertaining the public with content that has some depth and meaning, and guiding public opinion in ways that support harmonious relationships on the scale of individuals, groups, communities, ethnicities, cities, and nations. Second, Chinese scholars should educate the Chinese media on the significance of geographic factors that influence both the senders (media communicators) and receivers (target audiences) of media products, assist them in clarifying their expanding role in this new era of global digital communication, and suggest ways for them to become more profitable while simultaneously enhancing their overall quality. Media managers and employees should also be encouraged to adopt the perspective that their role in society is to reduce (rather than exacerbate) the discord between humans and environment caused by overpopulation, soil and water pollution, excessive use of carbon-emitting fossil fuels, deforestation due to energy shortages, etc. By incorporating methodologies from other disciplines, such as quantitative research, behaviorism, structuralism, and post-structuralism, media geographers are able to develop logical explanations and accurate predictions regarding the various

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ways urban media can contribute to the development of urban spaces. The media have the power to beautify physical spaces, shape urban environments, and steer societal evolution in a way that promotes the harmonious implementation of ‘virtuous circles,’ which are defined as complex chains of events that reinforce themselves through feedback loops that lead to favorable results. The humanistic orientation of media geography can reduce the influence of institutions that promote self-centered and consumerist behavior patterns. In the interest of future generations, scholars in this field should actively participate in the development of a system that observes and analyzes the effects of human-to-human, human-to-media, and media-to-media relationships in human society. Third, media geographers in China should examine local societies, cultures, and media from a Chinese standpoint. Chinese academics wish to engage with foreign media on a global scale while preserving the distinctive characteristics of China’s domestic media. In addition to maintaining a China-centric vision, they wish to support an Asian and global vision of a shared future of harmony and prosperity. In their opinion, the principle of unity in diversity should be fundamental not only in the philosophy of media geographers and other academics, but also by the managers, content designers, and communicators who work in the media industry. According to Confucius, gentlemen maintain harmony but not sameness, whereas villains maintain sameness but not harmony. In this context, ‘not-sameness’ is a fundamental characteristic of human society. YAN Ying, Minister of the Qi State during the Spring and Autumn period (770 BC–476 BC), once used cooking and music to illustrate the concept of harmony and the significance of ‘difference’: ‘In an oven, you can heat a certain amount of fish, meat, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, and water to make a delicious soup. Similarly, a piece of music can only be appreciated if the interplay between high and low notes is well-coordinated and if different instruments play slow and fast rhythms. Who would want to consume a soup whose only flavor is water? Who would want to hear music played on a single instrument?’9 Therefore, we concur that both individuality and ‘not-sameness’ are essential to the development of social harmony. Fourth, the Chinese media ought to adhere to traditional moral principles and accept their responsibility to inform and educate their audiences in a forthright and objective manner. In addition, China’s media institutions ought to invest in operations that foster a stable expansion of the existing market economy. The media should also be cognizant of its propensity to promote consumerism and to produce increasingly superficial and sensational content. Fifth, the Chinese media should promote and support local, regional, and national economic development and social progress while avoiding localism, tribalism, and ethnic and regional bias. In this regard, language plays a crucial role in the effective dissemination of content that includes texts and messages. Since antiquity, the transmission of messages from senders to recipients has been influenced by history, culture, tradition, and geography, and has always been associated with the positive values of human identity and human dignity. The Chinese language is more than just a symbol of Chinese culture; it is also a unifying and binding force for the entire nation. The Chinese media should therefore take great care to address linguistic issues

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relating to nation-nation, nation-locality, and locality-locality interactions. Chinese scholars and the Chinese media should never disparage the accomplishments of any foreign culture because such arrogance would damage the positive international reputation of Chinese academia and China as a whole. While recognizing the academic position of geography of media, guided by a scientific approach to research, and focusing on topics relevant both to China, its neighboring countries, and the world at large, it is their mission to continue to follow the principles of dialectical materialism in investigating and proposing practical solutions to current problems and challenges. Underlying all of their work will be a humanistic worldview that serves to promote the harmony and well-being of individuals in China and around the world.

Notes 1. This quotation is from the classical Chinese essay ‘Great Declaration’ (‘Tai Shi’) in Shangshu ( 《尚书》 , or Classic of Documents), which is comprised of four sections: ‘Yu Shu,’ ‘Xia Shu,’ ‘Shang Shu,’ and ‘Zhou Shu.’ This excerpt from the Chinese version was translated by James Legge, and was retrieved from the website page of the Chinese Text Project: https://ctext.org/ shang-shu/great-declaration-i/zh?en=on (accessed March 8, 2021). 2. The quotation is from ‘Explaining Earth’ (‘Shi Di’) in Explaining Terms (Shi Ming), a work devoted to the origin of terms that was written by LIU Xi in the latter years of the Eastern Han dynasty. 3. The quotation is from Discussing Ethics at White Tiger Temple (Bai Hu Tong De Lun), which documents a seminar on Confucian classics held by the imperial court of the Eastern Han dynasty at White Tiger Temple in 49 AD. 4. The saying is from the ‘Shuo Gua’ in the I Ching. The excerpt from the English version was translated by James Legge, and was retrieved from the website page of the Chinese Text Project: https://ctext.org/book-of-changes/shuo-gua (accessed 8 March 2021). 5. The saying is from the I Ching. The English version of this quotation was translated by James Legge and was retrieved from the website page of the Chinese Text Project: https://ctext.org/ book-of-changes/pi (accessed March 8, 2021). ( , Luxuriant 6. The quotation is from the chapter ‘Li Yuan Shen’ of the Chunqiu Fanlu《春秋繁露》 Dew of Spring and Autumn Annals), a work of political philosophy written by DONG Zhongshu during the Han dynasty. The book advocates three cardinal rules (ruler guides subject, father guides son, and husband guides wife) and five constant virtues (benevolence, justice, propriety, wisdom, and honor). These rules and virtues were central in the Han dynasty’s system of governance. 7. The quotation is from Da Xing Lun, a major philosophical work written by HE Chengtian in the period of the Northern and Southern dynasties. It argues that Man is the center of all creatures on Earth and in Heaven, and a sentient being that is incomparable to any other creatures on the earth. 8. The quotation is from ‘Zi Lu’ of the Analects, an ancient book comprised of a large collection of ideas and sayings attributed to the Chinese philosopher Confucius, and to contain material written by his contemporaries and followers. It is thought to have been compiled during the Warring States period and to have achieved its final form around the middle of the Han dynasty. In the early years of the Han dynasty, the Analects was thought to be a commentary on the Five Classics, but by the end of the Han dynasty, the work was considered to be one of the central texts of Confucianism.

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9. The story is from ‘Zhao Gong’ of A Commentary on the Luxuriant Dew of Spring and Autumn Annals (Zuo Zhuan), written by the historian ZUO Qiuming in the late Spring and Autumn period. It is the first chronicle with a complete narrative of the history of ancient China and a representative sampling of pre-Qin prose works. It records the history from the first year of Lu Yin (722 BC) to the twenty-seventh year of Lu Ai (468 BC) and is one of the great classics of Confucianism.

References De Meyer, Dirk, Kristiaan Versluys, Kristiaan Borret, Bart Eeckhout, Steven Jacobs, and Bart Keunen. 2004. The urban condition: Space community, and self in the contemporary metropolis. Beijing: Waterpub. Giddens, Anthony. 1984. The constitution of society: Outline of the theory of structuration. Berkeley: University of California Press. Knox, Paul, and Steve Pinch. 2010. Urban social geography: An introduction, 6th ed. London: Pearson Education Ltd. Morley, David, and Kevin Robins. 1995. The space of identity: Global media, electronic landscapes and cultural boundaries. London and New York: Routledge. Picard, Robert G., and Jeffrey H. Brody. 1996. The newspaper publishing industry. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Ragu, David. 2006. Great differences between regions in China worry foreign businessmen. Reference News, January 22. Wang, Guorong. 2005. How does geography affect people’s personalities? Beijing Science and Technology Media, March 2. Wu, Guosheng. 1999. Concerns about modernization. Beijing: SDX Joint Publishing Company.

Chapter 4

Time: Flow and Variation in the Geography of Media

If we compare space to a string of pearls, time is the red silk thread that ties them together; if we consider space to be fragmented, time is the glue that binds the fragments together. These analogies point to how time and space together constitute the fundamental dimensions of the universe. They also imply that the conceptions of time and space held by human society are historical in nature and can be viewed together as historical time–space (Holloway et al. 2003). Future studies in the geography of media must include a reasonable concept of time; otherwise, they will overlook the importance of this essential dimension, and their studies will lack sociohistorical depth. ‘One prerequisite for human beings to respond to history, to participate in history, and to create history is that they must possess historical consciousness. But first and foremost, they must have a scientific awareness of time’ (Liu 2010, p. 107). According to Einstein’s general theory of relativity, space has three independent directions—up/down, left/right, and forward/backward—with time as the fourth dimension, resulting in a 3 + 1 dimensional manifold known as the ‘space–time continuum.’ Space is therefore comprised of three spatial dimensions and one dimension of time. Together, they can specify the location of a particle, object, or event in four-dimensional space–time. However, the gravitational effect of material objects may cause space to curve, resulting in space–time distortions, which means that time is not strictly linear and may exhibit nonlinear properties. Time is a core concept in the geography of media, and as society evolves, so do people’s perceptions of time. As noted by British postmodernist, Marxist geographer Harvey (1989) in The Condition of Postmodernity: An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change, distinct societies have distinctive conceptions of time. Also, we should not forget that the media play a significant role in altering the way people perceive time. With the aid of new digital communication technologies, the mass media have fundamentally altered the modes of production in human society, as well as people’s lifestyles and patterns of thought (Shao 2002b, p. 35). In today’s

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information society, the traditional concept of clock time is archaic. One of the longterm objectives of the mass media therefore is the creation and implementation of a new, universally acceptable concept of time.

4.1 Time and the Media Throughout history, philosophers, historians, mathematicians, sociologists, geographers, and poets have expressed profound ideas about the nature time. Time is a snapshot of a moment in time–space, and if we study the diverse changes that occur over the course of time, we can learn about the evolutionary history of human psychology, society, and civilization (Shao 2020a, p. 85). The Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca said, ‘Time reveals the truth.’ The passage of time cannot be controlled by any external authority (Li 1999a, p. 179). As time flows from the present into the future, it bears witness to the endless processes of creation and destruction. Of the seven ancient ‘wonders of the world,’ only one still exists—the Great Pyramid of Giza; over the centuries, the others have been reduced to rubble. The beginning and end of the universe, as well as the flow of life from birth to old age and death, are part of the phantom game of time (Li 1999a, b, p. 136). According to Osborne (1995), one of the reasons why time appears so mysterious to us is that the various discourses of scholars on the subject of time do not support a unified concept.

4.1.1 Different Conceptions of Time The Contemporary Chinese Dictionary, edited by the Dictionary Editing Center, Institute of Linguistics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (2016, p. 1184), is an authoritative single-volume, general-purpose Chinese language dictionary. Its 2016 edition contains three definitions of time: First, time is defined as a system comprised of the past, present, and future that reflects the continuity of movement of people, ideas, materials, and physical systems; second, time is defined as a period of duration with a beginning and an end; and third, time is defined as a particular point or instant in time. All of these definitions are common knowledge. In cultural geography, time has two meanings: The first views time as a duration that can be accurately measured in geographic terms; the second views the progression of time as an underlying feature of social change. The French philosopher Ricoeur (1984, pp. 61–62) thought that time has three distinct characteristics: The first is ‘within-timeness,’ which refers to a type of preoccupation in people’s everyday lives in which the present moment reigns and time is something to be considered only when people interact with others, as in the chronological development of a narrative story; the second characteristic is ‘historicity,’ which refers to the past and

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addresses the problem of authentically extracting generalities from a temporal structure of discrete and transient events such as birth and death; the third characteristic is ‘deep temporality,’ which is regarded as a scientifically credible view of time where the past, present, and future are integrated into a narrative record of geological and planetary events that far exceeds the time scale of individuals, societies, or even the human species. The ancient Chinese people used candles to tell time. They built candle clocks by etching equally-spaced lines down the length of a candle. Each mark would indicate a unit of time, such as one hour. As the candle burned down, each hour melted away. In the Western Han dynasty, LIU An, King of Huainan, stated in the Huan Nan Zi’s ‘Placing Customs on a Par’ (‘Qi Su Xun’), ‘The time of all ages is called Zhou; all directions, including high and low, are called Yu.’1 While we have the ability to sense the three-dimensional space of a mountain, football stadium, or city, we can only measure the passage of time directly by using astronomical instruments, or indirectly by observing natural phenomena such as the successive periods of light and darkness we humans call day and night. Despite the limitations of our sensory and cognitive traits that make it impossible to directly perceive the passage of time from one moment to the next, time determines the direction—always forward—and space provides the coordinates of the three-dimensional geometric frame in which the human species emerged and has evolved (ref., Xue 2018, p. 2). Media geographers divide time into two main categories: natural time and societal time. Natural time refers to the duration between recurring or cyclical natural phenomena such as the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, the twelve months of the year, and in China, the 24 solar terms. Societal time refers to the cultural meaning that societies place on time and the norms that shape how the members of a given society imagine their relationship to time. In our view, societal time also includes the concept of political time, which involves the timing and duration of political affairs and events that occur in a society. Societal time also applies to remembrances and holidays that have social or political significance and which occur every year on predetermined dates. For example, the Chinese people observe International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27), China’s National Humiliation Day (May 9), Children’s Day (June 1), and Army Day (August 1). In this example, societal time refers to the sequence of the listed events over the 12-month period of a calendar year as established by local, regional, or national authorities. Influenced by the information society, social scientists’ traditional understanding and definitions of time are changing. For example, the British sociologist John Urry originated the term ‘instantaneous time’ as a metaphor for the unbelievably brief instants at which new digital communication technologies operate that seem immediate and which are currently replacing the relatively slow, cause-and-effect linear passage of clock time (ref., Turner 2000; Urry 2000, p. 126). In his monograph Liquid Modernity (2000), the Polish-born English sociologist Zygmunt Bauman (1925–2017) introduced the concept of ‘software time,’ stating that the separation of time and space as induced and measured using computer technology

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has resulted in ‘light’ (i.e., software-based) time–space perceptions that make time seem even more fleeting and which devalue the role of space in time perception. In The Evolution of Leisure: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives, the American scientist Goodale and Godbey (1988) introduced the concept of ‘computer time’ to describe those who spend their leisure time working on computers that operate at clock speeds that far exceed the range of human perception and which, one might say, represent a computerized concept of the passage of time.

4.1.2 Time in Media and Communication Because we humans are instinctively aware of the passage of time, it seems to be a self-evident phenomenon. Nonetheless, we have yet to grasp the true meaning of time as it flows from its source to the present moment and into the future. To truly comprehend the nature of time, we should consider the evolution of humannature relationships while also increasing our intelligence (Yang 1998, p. 9). The ultimate goal of understanding how the media alter people’s sense of time is to be able to separate ourselves from time as controlled by external influences such as schedules and deadlines, and to liberate ourselves from this persistent pressure. The three melting timepieces in Salvador Dali’s masterpiece, The Persistence of Memory, represent the futility of the human struggle to resist the passage of time and our yearning to be free of time’s constraints. Scholars have long discussed the potential value of using time as a variable in studies on media and communication. The deep connection between media and time is reflected in Innis’ theory of media bias, McLuhan’s theory of the global village, and the narrative theory of news and journalism (where discourse is structured to communicate a sense of meaning instead of describing events exactly as they occurred). Any medium of communication exists as a physical entity and manifests its characteristics in a specific form, in a specific space, and at a specific time. Books, newspapers, and magazines take up space; radios, phones, telegraphs, and cell phones take up time; and movies, televisions, and computers take up both space and time. The Canadian scholar Harold Innis (1894–1952) developed his concept of media bias in The Bias of Communication (2008 [1951]) and Empire and Communications (2007 [1950]). According to Innis, media bias means that the form of a communication can influence its content, and that any medium has a bias toward time or space. Time-biased media such as television are durable and usually heavy and difficult to transport. They are often used to support the formation of hierarchical structures of authority and power in societies. Space-biased media, on the other hand, are light and portable, and can easily be transported over long distances. According to Innis, paper is the best example of space-biased media. He also observed that ‘time’ refers to the time-biased nature of media, while ‘space’ refers to the space-biased nature of media.

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Marshall McLuhan originated the term ‘global village’ in his book The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man (1962). He believed that the interdependencies of global mass communication would reshape the world and foster a mindset in which the entire world population views itself as a global village. In McLuhan’s opinion, the mass media not only have the power to transform the ways in which people access information and knowledge but also allow them to transcend the limitations of time (i.e., the fact that people can physically only be in one place at a time) and space (i.e., the fact that geographic restrictions impede the free flow of information). Viewed optimistically, the global mass media are intentionally encouraging individuals all over the world to become more interdependent and to use the tools of the new digital media to freely communicate with one another, with the hope that this global interactivity will foster mutual understanding and harmony. In 1984, the American academic Walter R. Fisher (1931–2018) originated the term ‘narrative paradigm’ in his article ‘Narration as a Human Communication Paradigm: The Case of Public Moral Argument.’ The principal contribution of his narrative paradigm to journalism is that it offers a new perspective on comprehending time as it is represented in news stories. The time of a news event can be easily modified and then inserted into a media report, thereby establishing an alternative time framework. In other words, the time sequences depicted in media content may not reflect reality. The sequence or duration of a news event can also be altered by media specialists to emphasize its significance or urgency. Radio and television programs, as well as commercials, media videos and films, are meticulously constructed in the context of specific time sequences and durations. In this way, the media can selectively use the narrative power of time to inject subjective bias in the form of sensationalism, spin, or slant into the objective reality of stories on such diverse topics as international finance, power relations, and ideology. In the course of our everyday lives, we often refer to the passage of time: ‘We have to hurry! We’re late for our appointment!’ or ‘We have an hour before our lunch date. Shall we go shopping?’ And although time is an essential part of our lives, it is ‘silent,’ and it is precisely because of this silence that communication scholars seldom investigate the meaning and implications of time as it is now being shaped by the global mass media.

4.2 Media Transformation of the Concept of Time The concept of time has thus far evolved from natural time to clock time, to media time, and now to mediated ‘audience time.’ Audience time is a result of the media’s efforts to affect audience perceptions of time in relation to media broadcast schedules. Initially, the media attempted to align its programming schedules with the routines of typical audience members. However, many people preferred to structure their daily activities around pre-scheduled media time.

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4.2.1 Evolution of the Concept of Time As a consequence of globalization, and as technology continues to advance, another evolutionary development in the human sense of time appears imminent: intelligent time. Intelligent time is the passage of time as measured by computerized machines or robotic devices with artificial intelligence (AI), which operate at clock speeds starting at approximately one billion operations per second, far exceeding the limits of human perception and transcending conventional concepts of time. Yes, modern computers use clocks that tick billions of times every second. New, more precise time-measuring devices, such as atomic clocks, are now commercially available. (An atomic clock uses the resonance frequencies of atoms as its resonator.) In response to media-induced alterations in time perception, such as media time and audience time, individuals frequently experience higher levels of stress, feel more limited by time, and have a diminished sense of freedom. Natural time in agricultural civilization Natural time is a time-measuring system that references natural phenomena such as astronomical movement (e.g., the earth’s orbital motion around the sun, and the orbital motions of the moon and the planets about the earth and the sun), the cycle of the seasons (e.g., the cyclical progression of spring, summer, autumn, and winter), and the stages of the plant growth cycle (e.g., seed, sprout, small plant, and adult plant). By carefully observing the movement or growth of natural phenomena, and through people’s experience of laboring in natural environments, the objective characteristics of these phenomena gradually become part of people’s conceptual worlds, providing the foundation for humanity’s most fundamental concept of time—natural time. Natural time, which is a product of agricultural civilization, reflects the progression of natural cycles, such as the transition from day to night over a 24-h period, the steady movement of the sun across the daytime sky, and the stars that appear to rise in the east and set in the west, all of which give one the impression of linear motion in an Earth-centric universe. In ancient Chinese agrarian society, people were able to understand natural time through the use of simple time-measuring devices such as sundials and hourglasses, which eventually resulted in the solar/lunar calendar. The 24 solar terms of the Chinese calendar are an important symbol of agricultural civilization as well as a major achievement in the age of natural time. Sundials with gnomons can be used to calculate the time required to complete 24 solar terms, 12 synodic months, and one tropical (solar) year. As the sun changes positions relative to the earth over the course of a day, the gnomon’s shadow, which is cast onto the face of the sundial, changes incrementally, thus reflecting the apparent forward movement of time. On a sundial, the sun begins at 0° celestial longitude, and every 15° of movement along celestial longitude equals one solar term; thus, one solar year equals 360° of movement.

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Clock time in industrial civilization Clock time is a method of measuring time that is based on the law of physics which states that an object in simple harmonic motion is isochronous, meaning that its oscillations are periodic. Water clocks and pendulum clocks, for example, can measure time in abstract units of hours, minutes, and seconds with reasonable accuracy. When Patek Philippe invented the first wristwatch in 1868, they were considered a rare luxury item, but by the early 1900s, wristwatches had become common consumer goods. In 1878, after a long period of general confusion about different time-measuring systems, the Scottish engineer Sir Sandford Fleming invented the modern system of standard time, with 24 time zones each covering 15° of longitude, which made it possible to synchronize clocks in different locations around the world to a single time standard. By the turn of the twentieth century, standard time had gained widespread acceptance. As a result of the dual influences of social progress and industrialization during the twentieth century, clock time significantly altered people’s sense of time, played a crucial role in organizing social systems around the world, and accelerated the pace of industrialization. To support large-scale industrial development, human labor had to be organized and collectivized, operations streamlined, and production methods standardized, refined, and increasingly based on scientific methodologies. The era of sundials and early mechanical clocks had long since passed. To meet the growing demands of industrialization, increasingly precise clocks were developed. Accurate clocks and expensive wristwatches were no longer merely technological advancements, but status symbols of the industrial age. With the proliferation of modern timemeasuring devices, societal patterns and people’s daily rhythms underwent profound changes. In the past, people used to rely on paper calendars to plan their lives and run their businesses. Individuals retained a good deal of autonomy and control over their lives because time was viewed as a resource to be used wisely. However, as industrial society advanced, clock time became more than just a better way to organize production schedules; it also came to play an increasingly important role in the processes of industrial production, to the point where clock time became the key to maintaining an orderly industrial society. By this time, industrial society and clock time had displaced agricultural society and natural time, and people no longer needed to refer to the laws of celestial movement, to rely on one’s intuition, or to follow group preferences and norms. In his 1844 essay ‘The Over-Soul,’ the American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) opined that after the invention of carriages, civilized individuals gradually lost the strength and power of their feet (ref., Emerson 2002). Similarly, when society ran on clock time, we began to lose our ancestors’ ability to measure the passage of time simply by observing the movement of the rising of the sun, its movement across the sky, and its setting. We can, of course, use a celestial table globe invented by the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England to locate planets, stars, and constellations in the night sky, but without the aid of such a device, we rarely if ever recognize specific planets or stars.

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These examples point out how technological advances have caused us to lose touch with nature and natural time. The use of increasingly advanced time-measuring devices such as atomic clocks may—together with the end the post-industrial age— signal the next evolution in our concept of time in which a more conventional approach to industrial production will no longer be local, but globally distributed, and this new age may have a robotic face. Time in the Information Society Since the nineteenth century, with the invention of telegraphs, radios, automobiles, and airplanes, as well as the rapid development of science, technology, and the media, there have been significant changes in the time–space frame of human society. For example, time comes to be understood as the appropriate moment to take action or make a change, and space becomes a way to interpret the meaning of interactions between members of a society. As increasingly accurate time-measuring devices become commonplace, clocks and watches are no longer necessary. Existing systems in the sectors of manufacturing, transportation, finance, communication, and utilities that are based on industrial clock time will soon have to adapt to coming changes in the evolution of the human concept of time. Mediation of time-measuring devices In media and communication theory, ‘mediation’ refers to instances in which a technological medium is used to shape an individual’s relationship to the external world. The processes used by the media to create and disseminate mediated content indirectly influence the human processes of innovation, production, and consumption, thus extending the scope of media geography. As the earth slowly rotates on its axis, we take note of and share with others the events of our everyday lives using digital devices that record and store our words and images, and which invite us to pause for a moment to reflect on the nature of time and the meaning of life. Modern electronic devices such as radios, televisions, cell phones, laptops, and desktop computers have time-measuring functions, and many include stopwatch timers that can measure time in milliseconds, electronic calendars that help us schedule and keep appointments, and digital clocks that can display the current time in any city or country in any of the world’s 24 time zones. Media reconstruction of time in everyday life Through content organization, program sequencing, and periodic time reminders, the media industry shapes our perception of media time as characterized by impressive presentation, instantaneity, and contemporaneity, but with an underlying sense of fragmentation and disconnection from nature and the earth. By altering our traditional conceptions of time, we are being propelled into virtual environments devoid of past, present, and future, undermining and reshaping the traditional structures of our societies, personal lives, and work. As a result, we are subjecting ourselves to a new order, structure, and rhythm that uses media time as a frame of reference and has four distinctive characteristics:

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First, the start of a favorite digital media broadcast can now be used as a reference point for the current time. Through fixed program scheduling, the media influence the viewing habits of its audience. For instance, many Chinese families schedule ‘bath time’ to begin when the evening news concludes and ‘dinner time’ to end when a favorite television program begins. This demonstrates how media schedules can replace traditional clock time references in a typical contemporary family. Second, through the consistent presentation of popular programs such as newscasts, weather forecasts, television dramas, and advertisements, new media structures are created weekly, daily, hourly, and minute-by-minute. The constant stream of media programming has a significant impact on how people organize their everyday lives. Some people, for example, begin their day by watching the early morning news; at noon, they may watch the newest episode of their favorite television drama; and after ‘dinner time’ in the evening, they may watch a popular family-friendly film. The day begins with news programs in the morning, continues with entertainment programs such as soap operas or game shows at midday, and ends with television series or films in the evening. This is the routine of many media-obsessed individuals and households. Third, over the course of a year, media companies make significant efforts to pre-schedule their broadcasts of major events to stimulate interest and increase the number of viewers who eagerly enter the dates and times of upcoming special events into their electronic calendars. Such scheduling practices, which aim to create large audiences who will consume advertisements and increase media revenue, also affect how people keep track of time over the course of a week, month, or year as well as how they organize their everyday lives hour to hour and minute to minute. During the countdown to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and, later, the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, the foreign media incorrectly used the terms ‘Beijing time’ and ‘Shanghai time’ in their reporting to create a sense of anticipation and present a day-by-day, hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute, and second-by-second countdown to the start of each event. As is commonly known, Beijing time has since 1949 been China’s one and only time zone. Despite this fact, the foreign media created an ‘artificial time zone’ (‘Shanghai time’) to promote the opening of the 2010 World Expo. Obviously, a media-presented countdown should be accurate and precise. The primary focus of the virtual countdown to ‘Shanghai time’ was the event’s physical location. Due to the physical distance between the locations of foreign audiences and the event occurring in ‘Beijing time’ in China, the foreign media were able to create a virtual (but chronologically inaccurate) representation of the start time of the World Expo. The media’s ability to manipulate audience perceptions of time and location includes time–space connotations that are both fascinating and somewhat disturbing. The Spring Festival Gala, which is broadcast on CCTV in China, has become a well-known symbol of the traditional Chinese New Year festival. The annual Gala and Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner are significant events for the majority of Chinese people. During the rest of the year, television viewership ratings skyrocket whenever there are sporting events or popular festivals such as Tree-planting Day (March 12), International Labor Day (May 1), Children’s Day (June 1), Dragon Boat Festival

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(May 5, lunar calender), Mid-Autumn Festival (August 15, lunar calender), and National Day (October 1). To increase the audience’s sense of anticipation, the media purposefully link together a series of events that are actually spread out over a 12month period. In his book Future Concussion (1971), the American writer, futurist, and businessman Alvin Toffler (1928–2016), exemplified this function of the media, stating that for most urban residents in the United States, the arrival of spring is marked not by the budding of new plant life but by the start of baseball season. The widespread adoption of new digital media such as cell phones and the Internet has significantly compressed people’s sense of time and space, thereby subverting their traditional notions of time. As a result of the immediacy, interactivity, and personalization of media representations, people’s sense of history and cultural identity is being diminished; social traditions are being reconstructed; familiar patterns of daily life and work schedules are being redesigned; and people’s social behavior and sense of the future are changing. While time flows freely, people succumb to its influence over the rhythms of life, thereby becoming time’s slaves (Wu 1999, p. 127). We have examined the evolution of time-measuring devices over the past several decades, as well as the impact of the invention and widespread use of new and more precise time-measuring devices on the human perception of time. During the agricultural era, farmers needed to know the correct time to plant and harvest their crops. To be punctual and adhere to work hours and production schedules, workers in the industrial era always needed to know the current time. When the new era of intelligent communication, robotics, and artificial intelligence arrives, to adapt to a world in which intelligent machines perform the majority of work and humans merely monitor them, we will conceivably develop a new concept of time that exists ‘outside of time.’ According to the famous German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, and socialist revolutionary, Karl Marx (1818–1883), time is one of the goods over which humans have some control, and free time is one of the most valuable goods they can acquire. Time is not merely an abstract unit to measure the duration of a human life; it is also a prerequisite for human development (Marx and Engels, 2012 [1972]). Over the past millennium, time has been liberated from many of the restrictions of space and the physical world, and we now envision an era in which machines interact directly with humans and computers to coordinate work and industrial production— an era in which intelligent machines work for us rather than against us. Time and space will be more flexible and conformant to modes of production, work will be more humane and efficient, product quality will increase, and individuals will have more time to better themselves, form friendships, and pursue their dreams and aspirations. Time and space are constructs of the human mind. At some point in one ‘directionless direction,’ one’s sense of time and sense of space becomes one, and the sense of time disappears. To move forward into the future, one needs time, but to simply live ‘in the moment,’ time hardly exists, and a watch or calendar is not at all necessary. But time passes, and each ephemeral moment becomes part of human history. Viewed positively, this sense of the passage of time gives humanity the hope of a better future.

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Man is both time’s master and time’s servant. Humans have always wished to be liberated from the ravages of time, to have more time, or to exert control over the passage of time. Chinese myths such as Kuafu chasing the sun2 and Houyi shooting down the nine suns3 are classic examples of the human desire to be liberated from time, as is the historical legend of Luke of Luyang brandishing his weapon at the setting sun and then defeating his foes at sunrise. Similarly, the British film director Sean Ellis’s 2006 film Cashback (Belleza Invaluable) tells the story of Ben Willis, an art student who develops insomnia after a painful breakup. To pass the time at night, he joins a cast of colorful characters working the late shift at a local supermarket and imagines them as performers in a play he creates using his supernatural ability to halt the flow of time. Humans will never be able to alter natural time, simply because it is a constant, stable, and empirical phenomenon that is evidenced by the continual rotation of the earth in its orbit around the sun. As the old saying goes, ‘Time waits for no man,’ and neither does history. In contrast, societal time is malleable and can be sped up or slowed down by cleverly-constructed media representations. We compete against time so that we can keep pace with the evolution of history. Time gained is time saved, especially if we continue to work diligently and efficiently in the future with the assistance of intelligent machines. However, as the future draws nearer, some individuals will prefer to live in the past and resist the promise of a better future; in the process, they will waste precious time as well as their life-time (Shao 2020a, p. 85). The titans of electronic media such as radio, television, and film are rapidly erasing the formerly clear distinctions between physical geography and space. The information society has displaced traditional culture, digital technology has displaced natural time and clock time, and we are now anticipating the arrival of a new concept of time that is both thrilling and terrifying.

4.2.2 Mediation of Time Management While it has been shown that the continual consumption of media content reconstructs individuals’ sense of time, the media also influence how they value and manage their time by reshaping their sense of past, present, and future. For example, the original goal of television program scheduling was to accommodate broadcast time to people’s lifestyles and work schedules. However, many individuals chose instead to organize their lives and work around media broadcast schedules. Today, although people are spending more time consuming real-time media products, there is also a significant increase in the creation and mass consumption of virtual media products that tend to compress and distort people’s sense of time. Social time, societal time, and media consumption time Social time refers to the duration of discrete present or past social activities and experiences of a member of a given society (Liu 2007, p. 61). In other words, it

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refers to the amount of time a person spends interacting with others in a social space. We do not define social time as ‘personal time’ (time spent engaging in leisuretime activities outside of the normal work environment), ‘work time’ (time spent working or socializing with co-workers), or the somewhat paradoxical concept of ‘social media time’ (the amount of time a person spends each day consuming social media instead of engaging in real-world social interactions). Viewed from a different perspective, the remarkable success of social media is a result of the development and maintenance of countless online relationships within a society, a country, or the world. When viewed on a larger scale, social time becomes ‘societal time,’ which refers to the personal significance that various groups, communities, and societies place on the passage of time, as well as the social norms that influence how the individual members of a society conceptualize their relationship to time. Societal time also refers to the process whereby the collective historical memory of previous generations can be reconstructed and represented in the context of present-day social conditions and contexts. Although individual memories cannot be passed down directly from one generation to the next, they can be reconstructed from what remains of the past in the collective memory of present-day society. The synonyms ‘free time’ and ‘leisure time’ are closely connected to media consumption time. Free time is time that one can spend engaged in one’s own personal activities rather than work; leisure time is freedom from one’s work or duties that one can spend relaxing, having lunch with a friend, or enjoying quality experiences such as reading a book or attending a live musical performance. Therefore, we see that social time, media consumption time, and social media time all occur in the space of a person’s free time or leisure time, and that all of these activities occur in the larger context of societal time–space. In Japan in 1975, the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute conducted its Public Opinion Survey on Broadcasting to determine the average amount of time Japanese people spend each day engaging in various leisure-time activities. Findings revealed that they spent approximately 25% of their free time engaging in personal, social, or leisure activities and 73% of their free time consuming media content. According to the NHK survey, Japanese people spend the majority of their free time watching television or sharing content on a social media platform, and the least amount of time listening to the radio or reading books. This supports our hypothesis that consumption of media, particularly television, occupies an increasingly dominant position in people’s choice of leisure-time activities. In 1976, the American epidemiologist and social scientist George Comstock (1915–2007) conducted an analysis of people’s free-time activities in the United States (ref., Schramm and Porter 1982). Although watching television was previously thought to be less important than other free-time activities, such as eating or dining, Comstock discovered that TV consumed approximately 33% of the average American’s free time. When compared to other free-time activities (including social interactions with people at home and outside the home, which accounted for only 25% of the average American’s leisure time), watching TV has long held a dominant

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position. In fact, aside from sleep and work, Americans are more likely to watch television than engage in any other activity. Comstock observed that, in general, the effects on people of watching television are many, usually minimal in magnitude, but sometimes major in social importance. Reading, studying, and consuming other forms of media accounted for 15% of American’s free time, while traveling to other places and participating in leisure-time activities such as hiking, hunting, and attending live musical events accounted for only 5%. Clearly, watching television was—and still is—a significant part of the average American’s leisure-time activities. According to a survey conducted in China more than 20 years ago, the average Chinese urban resident enjoyed 6 h and 25 min of free time per day, of which they spent an average of 3 h and 38 min watching television, or 56.6% of their total free time. While retirees in contemporary Chinese society spend more time watching TV than do other demographics, the total number of people watching live media broadcasts online has increased dramatically. According to the 46th Statistical Report on China’s Internet Development, the number of online video consumers (including short videos) in China reached 880 million in June 2020, accounting for 94.5% of total Internet users, and the number of short video consumers was 818 million, accounting for 87% of total Internet users in China (Hu 1998). From the findings presented above, it can be deduced that in Japan, the United States, China, and in most other developed countries around the world, a growing percentage of an average citizen’s free time is spent consuming media content through various forms of electronic media. According to American historian Paula Fass, television seems to just ‘appear’ in front of us at unexpected times, like an uninvited dinner guest. Occasionally, television can serve as an entertainer or a trusted advisor, but more often it is just a reliable daily companion, a habit, and often a sedative. Whenever Chinese television introduces its domestic audiences to the facts and fantasies of American society, it functions as a societal mediator (ref., Shao 1994, p. 293). In this way, the Chinese media offer its audiences a socializing experience that either reinforces or mediates their political beliefs and worldviews. Arrival of virtual time For today’s netizens, virtual time—the time of the places and spaces where the digital world manifests itself—coexists with physical time. In other words, netizens spend a significant amount of time inhabiting a virtual space in which they are both present and absent, immersed and detached, and often disoriented by virtual time–space compression. Although these netizens appear to live and work like regular people, they spend a great deal of time engaging in entertaining activities such as online games, chat rooms, and watching videos that appear to be real but which are actually far removed from reality. Netizens are also more likely to be enthusiastic about ideas and values that are inconsistent with those of mainstream society and to be indifferent to real-world norms and expectations. It is not entirely accurate to think of ‘virtual time’ as fourth-dimensional linear time that is reconstructed by digital media in online virtual spaces. An online virtual

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space is a fictitious time–space frame or network location that is made possible using digital communication technologies and which communicates media content that interacts with human cognitive systems. For netizens, the virtual world is neither physical (i.e., it does not actually exist) nor material (i.e., it is not composed of matter). The question of how to maximize the benefits and minimize the drawbacks of this complex human–machine relationship, as well as the effects on human psychology and society of this blending of real time and virtual time is of great interest to media geographers. Digital online media allow the creation of Internet chat rooms and blogs, the formation of online communities with shared interests, and a host of other activities that are not constrained by time or space. Through their consumption of digital media, netizens indirectly compress time and space in the real world, thereby liberating themselves from the constraints of real-world time and space and enabling them to engage in a virtual world where they possess greater autonomy and can exert more control. In fact, many of an individual’s daily activities can be linked in some way to online media. For instance, you could be working from home on your computer while also enjoying a romantic virtual date with a recent online acquaintance (Turow 1998).

4.3 Time as a Crucial Factor in Media Production The production and distribution of newspapers and magazines requires the careful management of media space, whereas the production of radio and television broadcasts and films requires the careful management of media time. To their readers and advertisers, newspapers and magazines sell media space that includes news, entertainment, and advertisements. Radio, television, and film production companies, on the other hand, sell media time to their audiences and advertisers.

4.3.1 Time in the Production of Television, Radio, and Film Content In ancient China, people believed that humans were created in the image of Heaven and Earth; in the United States in the 1960s, McLuhan (1964) believed that the mass media are an extension of human society. The human desire to live in harmony and be free of the constraints of time is reflected in every advancement of media technology. The evolution of electronic media, from the telegraph to today’s high-speed computers, cell phones, and the Internet is pushing the limits of information transmission rates. Moreover, the production, editing, and distribution of media content is time-sensitive, with product categories measured, priced, and sold in units of seconds, minutes, and hours.

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In China, research on the management of radio and television time began in the 1980s. Since then, these industries have grown more rapidly than in most other nations, and academics have developed a new field of media management studies that far exceeds the scope and methodologies of the 1980s. As China’s decadeslong process of reform and opening-up continues apace, communication scholars are continuing to develop new theories and practical recommendations for Chinese media practitioners. As a result, research on media management has emerged as an important subfield of media and communication studies. Research on the dimension of time is providing new points of entry and analytic perspectives for improvements in the management of China’s radio, television, and film industries. These three industries can be considered ‘media of time’ because time is a core element, an essential resource, and a critical link between the management and operation of media. The content transmitted via all forms of electronic media is subject to the constraints of time, which serves as both a medium for transmitting this content and a space in which this content exists or is stored. For this reason, effective time management is a top priority in the highly competitive world of electronic media. Chinese media geographers have generated insightful ideas and opinions on the interrelated concepts of time and media management. In his monographs Operation and Management of Media (1998) and Media Management (2002b), SHAO Peiren conducted comprehensive and in-depth analyses of how different media companies manage time. He observed that the two best shortcuts for evaluating the current success of media company are to examine its time management policies and methods, and then to take a close look at its sales figures. Media companies sell audience time to advertisers and media audiences exchange their time and money to consume media content. Time is generally thought to be a scarce and valuable resource, and its scarcity in meeting the growing demand of modern society for timely information and exciting or rewarding entertainment has become a driving force in the media industry as well as a source of profit. In the sender-receiver model of communication, if there were no audience, there would be no media. Loyal audiences are a media company’s most important assets. In addition, media audiences are typically dispersed geographically and therefore differ in terms of physical location, demographics of age, gender, culture, education, socio-economic level, and personal interests, as well as medium or channel and the time required for transmission, reception, and audience feedback. From the perspective of a media manager, audience time irreversible (not able to be undone or altered), heterogeneous (diverse in character or content), variable (not consistent or having a fixed pattern; liable to change), and marketable (able or fit to be sold or marketed). Media companies compete with each other for audience time, and the stakes in this competition are the audience’s undivided attention as well as the social and economic benefits that may accrue from an audience’s consumption of media content. Therefore, every second counts. According to SHAO (2002a), audience time is a people-oriented concept that is central to contemporary media management as well

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as evidence of the evolution of the concept of time from a material to a metaphysical level. SHAO Peiren (2002a) proposed five key considerations for the effective management of television programming: (1) geographic areas that TV broadcasts may cover; (2) distribution and composition of TV audiences; (3) audience viewing habits, optimal program scheduling patterns, and consumer psychology; (4) unique qualities, significance, relevance, and newness of TV programs; and (5) a TV station’s principles, activities, and long-term goals. SHAO has also proposed guidelines for selecting optimal time slots for television shows—an important component of any broadcast management system. The selection of time slots should, for example, take into account the daily patterns of target audiences as well as audience size and demographic composition. Moreover, prime program broadcast time should be synchronized with the most popular content. Any study of electronic media management should begin with an examination of the significance of time because time is a foundational aspect of communication between a media company and its audiences and advertisers, and because proper management of time, timing, and timeliness directly impacts the company’s financial bottom line. Most media managers comprehend the significance of time and how the frequent consumption of media content can affect the way individuals perceive time. However, the vast majority of managers are still focused on media usage data, where they measure the amount of time individuals spend using a particular media form to consume media content. Current research on media management is insufficient, especially as it relates to the concept of media time, but we can predict a substantial increase in the number of systematic, in-depth quantitative studies in the very near future that incorporate media time as a central concept.

4.3.2 Time Management in the Production of Media Content When producing, scheduling, and broadcasting media content, particularly in the television industry, time is of the essence. To ensure effective communication, media managers ought to optimize program schedules and properly assign time slots. At first glance, time appears to have little to do with this process. However, the successful sale and distribution to consumers of time-sensitive content such as breaking news reports depends on the ability of media managers to achieve the objectives of timeliness, appropriateness, and a sense of contemporaneity. Timeliness ‘Timeliness’ is defined as the relationship between the occurrence of a news event, the creation by reporters and media specialists of related, time-sensitive content, the optimal scheduling of broadcast time, and the impact of the transmission on the target audience. Media managers should be aware of the physical and psychological space in which a communication takes place and ensure the integrity of the

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communication environment, including the technology infrastructure used for signal transmission, sender/receiver settings, channel assignments, encoding/decoding, and audience feedback. In this context, timeliness refers to the optimization of intervals between the occurrence of an event, the creation and distribution of news about the event, and audience response to the report’s text and message. To achieve the desired effect, media specialists should swiftly prepare the communication environment, and journalists are required to file their reports as soon as possible to minimize the time between the occurrence of an event and the transmission of related content. Timeliness is a key factor in the effective management of any news organization and in assessments of news value. Only news that is actually new can satisfy an audience’s desire for timely information. Due to the fact that new digital media can significantly outperform traditional media in terms of timeliness, contemporary audiences now have significantly higher expectations for timely content delivery. These factors exert continuous pressure on existing media sources and necessitate continual improvements in management and infrastructure. Despite the advantages of the new media, existing media sources will not become obsolete due to their relative proximity to news events, ready access to teams of reporters, journalists, and other information sources, and access to online media platforms. Traditional media forms will also adopt cutting-edge technologies such as intelligent communication and high-definition/high-resolution video to streamline their operations and enhance their competitiveness. In China, the media industry is expected to prioritize social responsibility and social benefits, and its reporting is expected to be as timely as possible and conducive to national interests, unity, and social harmony. It is also expected to help make Chinese society more ecologically and socially sustainable. Appropriateness The proverb ‘Opportunity knocks but once’ can be applied to media management because it is imperative that they be aware of news-related opportunities and be able to quickly package and transmit related media products. In journalism, ‘Opportunity knocks but once’ implies that reporters, journalists, editors, and other members of a news team are required to be prepared for the ever-present possibility of a new ‘breaking news’ event. The team must act swiftly to gather materials and write and edit news articles so they can be published as soon as possible. To be prepared for such events, reporters and editors also have to remain current on national and international social and political events. In addition to its timeliness, a news report should be disseminated through the appropriate media channel(s) at the appropriate time(s) to achieve the desired communication effect. Because people of different social status frequently have different perceptions of local and non-local situations and different short-term and long-term interests, disagreements are common among media experts with regard to the selection and transmission of news content. When news about the same event and theme is disseminated at different times, its impact on audiences will likely vary. According to Chairman MAO Zedong (1893– 1976), when it comes to specific issues, one should conduct specific analyses (Mao

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1983). The same is true of news reporting. When a breaking news story occurs, the issue is not always when to publish, but rather whether to publish at all and, if so, how to publish. Academics and media professionals propose at least three solutions to this quandary. The first option is to keep a legal record of the proceedings. In theory, there is no problem with taking such action. Once judicial procedures have been initiated, and in accordance with the principles of openness and transparency in the rule of law, judicial activities directed at citizens, legal persons, or the media are subject to social supervision. (Objective news reporting does not always jeopardize judicial independence.) At this point, the second option can be considered. Interviews and new reports are permitted only after the case has been completed. Many practitioners in the judiciary support this action, which aims to prevent ‘media trials.’ The third option is ‘anytime works.’ From the time a news-related case is filed until it is closed, news organizations are free to disseminate the news as they see fit, but they also have to bear sole responsibility for any negative consequences that result from its publication (Wang 2004). Whether they decide to follow option one, two, or three, when journalists that cover judicial proceedings are required to adhere to the principle of appropriateness. ‘To everything there is a season’ (Ecclesiastes III). Acting at the right time helps media managers maximize the positive effects of a news event and avoid unexpected or unfortunate effects; acting at the wrong time may result in a disastrous outcome even if the action initially appeared to be a good choice. To fully recognize a window of opportunity as soon as it presents itself, media specialists should first carefully analyze a news story in its political, economic, and cultural context, and accurately assess the social, demographic, and psychologic characteristics of the target audience. The desire to capitalize on a promising opportunity as soon as humanly possible may also elicit the energizing feeling of ‘Go big or go home!’ Sense of contemporaneity The media industry is fiercely competitive, and associated companies are unable to satisfy people’s need for timely news and information solely through relevance, proximity, positive reviews, and outstanding customer service. In today’s dynamic era of global digital media, information is being created and updated at an unprecedented rate, and people expect the media to provide content that conveys a sense of contemporaneity. To accomplish this goal, media practitioners should take into account the historical context of a given society as well as its continuing evolution. They are expected to be trend-setters and keep up with the times. In general, the media convey a sense of contemporaneity when the content, language, and form of a media product coincides with the current interests of its target audience(s). In market economies, first and foremost, journalists are expected to support the national interest. Media content should address the most pressing and timely issues, capture the most remarkable voices of the day, and introduce new trends, styles, and fashions. Media communicators should document the significant events in people’s lives and capture the spirit of contemporary life, and web designers and graphic

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artists should participate in achieving this goal by creating attractive page layouts and accompanying graphics. Language is also a crucial element in the production of effective media products; it is a tool that is constantly evolving and which the media can used to interpret or represent events occurring anywhere in the world. New words and phrases that reflect current trends and fashions are continuously being created in multiple languages. Media professionals should therefore use the most precise, vivid, and suitable language to create products that accurately and fairly represent and preserve the global spirit of the times.

4.4 Media Time: A New Perspective on Media and Communication Studies Media time is a fundamental consideration in radio and television transmissions, program scheduling, and date and time displays, as well as channel time, program time, advertising time, and viewing time. The concept of media time has resulted from the interaction of electronic media technology and media content with the everyday lives of those who consume media content, and is a product of continuing advancements in time-measuring devices and related technologies.

4.4.1 The Social Impact of Media Time Current research on the concept of media time places a significant emphasis on determining how media time influences people’s social behavior. Although media time does affect people’s perceptions of time, it also enables them to manage their time more effectively. Many individuals are time-obsessed, as evidenced by expressions such as ‘Time is money’ and ‘Wasted time is wasted life.’ On a large scale, altered perceptions of time influence contemporary politics, culture, and economics. Communication studies now incorporate research on the concept of media time and its influence on society. The study of media time represents a critical approach to current and future research on mass media and communication studies; in fact, these two academic approaches are like two sides of the same coin. The broad connotations of media time impact not only the operation and management of program time and advertising time, but also the time reference systems of people’s everyday lives as constructed by media content, media symbols, and the subsequent social impact. What characteristics and connotations are hidden by the media’s manipulation of time? What favorable and unfavorable effects will the reconfiguration of the media concept have on social development and human life? In the critical study of media time, many such questions remain unanswered.

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The ability to subjectively sense the passage of time is innate to all humans, but due to the many advances in science and technology, people sometimes begin to question their own perceptions. People may, for instance, develop time anxiety, feel uncertain about their futures, and become more sentimental about the past. Without no clear sense of time, they experience a ‘time crisis’ and yet distressing emotional state, people avidly consume goods and entertainment in the imagined amount of time remaining before the arrival of ‘the apocalypse.’ By incorporating anti-time elements (i.e., depictions of time moving in the opposite direction) into their products, media culture attempts to help people overcome anxiety that stems from their anticipation of imminent crises; however, this only drives people deeper into the abyss of time. Sadly, psychosocial phenomena such as ‘time crises’ tend to result in a dark sense of powerlessness and helplessness (Yao and Jiang 2002). The psychological impact of instantaneous media transmissions on audiences have gotten out of hand. The sense of an instant, as conveyed by media time, is fueling people’s desire for instant gratification. While immediacy is a positive feature of media time, fragmentation and disorder are its negative effects. The immediacy of media also tends to heighten people’s sense of accelerated information flow, particularly in the immediate aftermath of disturbing media broadcasts such as live reports on serious ‘breaking news’ events. Although media geographers, sociologists, and psychologists are conducting research on this subject, the various effects of media transmissions on audiences are unpredictable and difficult to assess. The fragmentation of today’s media landscape and media audiences has an unavoidable effect on human cognition. People’s attention spans are decreasing because they have become accustomed to reading brief and trivial media texts that lack a sense of temporal flow and completion. Using cloud computing technologies that foster innovation, flexible resource allocation, quicker time to market, and enhanced economies of scale, media companies can now more easily control the sequence and timing of content transmission. While cloud computing provides a new perspective on media time, it also tends to undermine people’s linear sense of time (Bian and Zhang 2006). The new mass media confound people’s cognition of real time and virtual time, resulting in a ‘time deficit’ accompanied by a sense of alienation that makes interpersonal communication more challenging and less frequent (Jin 2008). Television, which continues to affect people’s sense of time, has nowgone digital to accommodate people’s desire for greater control of which programs they can view and at what time they can view them (Liang 2006). ZHANG Menghan (2015) argued in her doctoral dissertation that the more time people spend consuming media content, the less attention they pay to the most valuable things in life such as personal development, true friendships, purpose fulfillment, and the desire to serve others and contribute to one’s community and society. In the information age, with the increased mobility and delocalization of work, time alone does not accurately reflect the true value of labor. Electronic media demonstrate a similar synchronic disparity, but in a way that conceals the well-established influence of capital and technology.

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In Overcoming Time Poverty: How to Achieve More by Working Less (2005), the prolific British author Bill Quain observed that reality and illusion, past and future, and presence and absence are all intertwined in media time, and that people’s experiences with virtual simulations governed by media time are revealing a vast, uncharted realm of perception and cognition. Quain advised people on how to calculate the value of time, how to work less and achieve more, how to avoid tedious people and trivial matters that occupy one’s time, and how to exit the ‘work expressway’ and liberate oneself from the intensely competitive environments of modern life and work. Essentially, he advised individuals on how to overcome time poverty, accumulate time assets, and live happier, more prosperous lives. Although Quain’s good advice may be useful for whitecollar workers and the wealthy, it may be ineffective in addressing the most pressing problems facing the poor and disadvantaged. In a study conducted several years ago, the World Bank used the term ‘time poverty’ to describe the fact that to escape the harsh realities of poverty, people have to devote the majority of their time to earning a living, leaving little free time or money for media consumption or other leisure-time activities. In such a situation, the country’s GDP may increase, but the happiness index of its citizens will decline; their standard of living may gradually improve, but ‘information poverty’ and resulting ‘intellectual poverty’ will steadily increase. The most frightening consequence of time poverty is that time-consuming work schedules will lead not only to more time poverty, but also to a type of ‘double poverty’ in which both one’s material existence and spiritual life are threatened. Critical studies of media time are usually predicated on the recognition of media as an important element in society; they then proceed to discuss the historical development of media and society and analyze how media time influences societies. The concept of media time is based on a macro-cultural perspective on the daily activities and patterns of individuals, the characteristics of human psychology and cognition, and the socioeconomic influences of micro- and macro-cultures. Critical research on media time is vastly more important than the rather limited administrative perspectives on media operation and management. In the information age, the impact of media time on society is an issue that requires the undivided attention of researchers in the field of geography of media.

4.4.2 Media Time and the New Media While many recent studies on the subject of media time address significant advances in digital media technologies, this does not imply that media time does not apply equally well to other areas of research in communication and the social sciences. For example, various forms of electronic media, ranging from television and radio to the Internet and cell phones, played an important role in news coverage of the 2008 Olympic Games, which were held in Beijing, China. As electronic media and media time penetrate deeper into people’s lives and occupy increasingly more of their time,

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the interactivity, instantaneity, and personalization of Internet-based media will exert an ever-increasing influence on society. Digital cell phones, for example, contain technology that accelerates data transmission rates, and their portability and lightness make them easy to transport to any location. Cell phones combine the majority of the characteristics of other media forms and, with the ongoing implementation of 5G cellular networks, even outperform them in terms of the transmission speed of media content, thereby narrowing the time gap between sending and receiving information. The emergence of new digital media technologies is creating a sense of media time that is both instantaneous and fascinating, as well as fragmented and disordered. As a result, new perspectives for critical research on the subject of media time will continue to emerge, whether related to the construction of people’s everyday lives or changes in their cognition of time.

4.4.3 Media Time in the Study of Geography of Media Gravity and the presence of matter affects the motion of time–space, and all types of matter exist within a time–space structure. Time encompasses an event’s location, mode of existence, duration, and continuity as perceived by human beings. Furthermore, time is measured in intervals such as eras, centuries, epochs, millennia, centuries, years, months, weeks, and days, as well as in terms of the past, present, and future, all of which carry cultural and historical connotations. Humans will continue to question and, as necessary, recalibrate their sense of time as long as it continues to be humanized, socialized, and mediatized. Time is a fundamental element of civilization, and over the course of history, humans have developed numerous devices and systems for measuring time. One’s sense of time is a cognitive and social phenomenon that emerges and develops in various social contexts and with various connotations. A moment in time is an image of the world, and one can learn about changes in social structures and human psychology by studying the relationship of time to the development of civilization. Indeed, Plato, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Freud sought to understand the subjective nature of time as experienced in various historical periods, while Pooler, Newton, Leibniz, Einstein, and Hawking used the theories and methodologies of mathematics, astronomy, physics, and biology to analyze the physical nature of time. SHAO Peiren (2009) focused on the concept of media time in his book Advanced Research of Media Theory, elaborating on several conceptual pairs related to the nature of time as understood from various perspectives: work time and school time; social time and personal time; extended time and compressed time; linear time and periodic time; and physical time and virtual time. In the following four subsections, we introduce approaches that Western cultural geographers have taken in recent studies of the concept of time, with the goal of discovering new avenues for future research in China.

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Time–space convergence Based on Einstein’s general theory of relativity, physicists discovered the properties of time expansion and space convergence. It stands to reason that time, which can expand, should be able to converge, and that space, which can converge, should be able to expand. The term ‘time–space convergence’ refers to a shift in human perception of time and distance, as well as a physical reduction in the amount of time required to travel between geographic locations due to technological and social innovations in transportation and communication. Over the last century, the time required for people to travel the same distance has been drastically reduced, and the world appears to be shrinking by the day. The American geographer Janelle (1969), whose primary focus of research is the concept of space–time, collected data on the time required to travel between two cities by carriage, train, and airplane to construct time–space convergence curves. According to Janelle’s findings, it took a few weeks by carriage to travel between Edinburgh, Scotland and London, England in 1776, but by 1966, airplanes had reduced the travel time between these two cities to just a few hours. According to Janelle’s calculations, the average ‘convergence rate’ between these two cities between 1776 and 1966 was 29 min per year. The theory of time–space convergence is similar to McLuhan’s concept of the global village, which he first proposed in his book Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man (1964). McLuhan argued that the arrival of television, radio, and other electronic media shortened the time–space distance between geographic locations, and that the entire world is gradually converging (i.e., shrinking) into a ‘village.’ A wealth of ideas and inspiration will result when researchers bring together the closely related concepts of time–space convergence and the global village, and examine them in depth. Time–space path In his study of time–space geography, the Swedish geographer Torsten Hägerstrand created a time–space diagram to illustrate the paths and interactions of an individual with others and/or the environment as he/she moves through space (ref., Holloway et al. 2003). In this diagram, time (from morning to night) is represented by an upward extending axis, and space (homes, workplaces, theaters, restaurants, and so on) is represented by horizontally interlocking circles. One can use this three-dimensional diagram to track a person’s movement as he or she performs daily tasks, which are represented by vertical and horizontal time–space paths and using the person’s home as the central axis—for example, leaving home in the morning and returning home in the evening. Hägerstrand’s diagram can also be used to depict the variety and complexity of a person’s social interactions, as well as the nature of his or her work, social prestige, and economic status. If one person’s time–space path is limited to the two points and one line between his or her family and workplace, while the other person’s time– space path runs between his or her home and workplace as well as airports, hotels,

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conference venues, and other business-related places, distinct differences in their respective lifestyles and work would be revealed. This comparison demonstrates why some media organizations provide different subsidies to people with different occupations (e.g., media announcers, TV hosts, news reporters, editors, and political leaders) based on the nature of their work and time–space paths. Similarly, to develop scientific plans to monitor and channel population flow through a city in terms of time–space paths, city administrators would first need to identify peak traffic times for normal workdays, weekends, and holiday periods. Time–space compression Time–space compression, a term coined by British geographer Harvey (1990), refers to a set of processes that simultaneously quicken time and collapse spatial dimensions as a result of the fundamental tension between time and space in the capitalist mode of production. In other words, physical barriers tend to shrink as time passes, capital expands and becomes more mobile, and social life accelerates, and the world appears to collapse inward. Harvey pioneered the concept of time–space compression, which is based on the intensification of events per unit of time and per unit of space, and which influence people to live in certain areas rather than others and result in population disparities between different regions and countries. We can therefore state that time–space compression is the result of complex relationships between time and space, societal and cultural representations, and economic considerations. Harvey believed that to make way for new spaces and methods of production, established processes ought to be deliberately dismantled, which inevitably will lead to a universal sense of time acceleration and an almost overwhelming sense of time– space compression in which the present moment is the only certainty. According to Marx’s theory of the annihilation of space by time, the ‘shrinking world’ is part of a cycle of ‘creative destruction’ that the Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter believed was unavoidable in any capitalist system. Time–space compression of media can promote time–space expansion of media, and the time–space expansion of media relies on time–space compression. The amusing advertisement, ‘In one day, you can experience a thousand years of history!’ is an excellent example of how the media can compress time to attract tourists to see The Romance of the Song Dynasty, a magnificent live song-and-dance performance in Hangzhou, China. By condensing the Song dynasty’s three-century history into a duration of a few hours, audiences are able to experience events in real time that actually occurred long ago, and the host company can also profit handsomely from the event. In modern media products and productions, hundreds of years of historical and cultural experience can easily and economically be compressed into a single novel, drama, or film, and an individual’s account of thousand-year period of history can be compressed into a single written essay. In this way, the time–space compression function of paper-based or electronic media allows information and knowledge, as well as thoughts and emotions, to be transmitted from one generation to the next.

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Time–space integration The American sociologist and social historian Immanuel Wallerstein (1930–2019) drew inspiration from Fernand Blaudel’s classification of social time in his framework for the integration of time and space into the concept of time–space and proposed the new concepts of short-term time, simulation time, and structural time (ref., Holloway et al. 2003). The historical time required to trace changes through events, deeds, specific moments, and accidents is referred to as ‘short-term time’. Wallerstein defined a ‘spatial counterpart’ as the short-term geopolitical space in which an event occurs. The Lugouqiao Bridge, for example, was the Chinese counterpart to the 1937 Lugouqiao Incident, also known as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. A time–space form with ideological significance that can reflect trends and periodic changes is referred to as ‘simulation time.’ The counterpart for the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which occurred in New York City at 8:40 a.m. on September 11, 2001 (U.S. Eastern time), was the landmark twin towers of the World Trade Center. This heinous act was interpreted as a clear indication of the global spread of terrorist activities. In terms of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the capture of Nanjing by the People’s Liberation Army in the middle of the night on April 23, 1949, marked the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. This event is depicted in two well-known photographs: one titled Occupation of the Presidential Palace in Nanjing, taken on April 27, and the other of the former Presidential Palace. ‘Structural time’ refers to the long-term and linear structural components that govern a society’s daily activities, such as breakfast, lunch, and dinner. These three types of time form a pyramid. Short-term time is made up of major events and accidents at the top of the pyramid; simulation time is made up of events or activities that reflect historical trends and periodic changes in society in the middle of the pyramid; and structural time is made up of activities typical of people’s everyday lives and work at the bottom of the pyramid. The familiar experience of waiting, which relates to how time flows through us and changes us, is a topic worthy of consideration in the geography of media. As we wait for things to occur, the act of reflection teaches us about ourselves and how we are defined by our hopes and dreams. Changes in social and media systems require not only time, but also a period of psychological acclimatization and knowledge acquisition on the part of members of society, including media practitioners. People gradually become accustomed to living in a sociopolitical system by internalizing its set of rules and guidelines, understanding how to live and work under the conditions of the system, and learning how to deal with various problems that may arise. Adapting to a new institutional environment necessitates psychological flexibility and the acquisition of new knowledge. When computers became commonplace tools for journalists and editors in the field of mass communication, it took some time and space to conduct necessary training. If these professionals had been thrust into a new working environment requiring computer and network communication skills, they would have been completely perplexed and frustrated, and the communication system would have collapsed. As a result, when implementing a new reform or system, rather

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than rushing toward a successful outcome, the advisability of waiting for a while until everything is well-organized and in place should be carefully considered. Generally speaking, in this era of rapid change, people usually need some time to process new information and accept new realities. The rapid development and incorporation of information technologies such as the Internet, social media, big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence into society has resulted in a profound revolution in intelligent time, a new global spatial landscape, and significant changes in people’s everyday lives and work. According to McLuhan (1964), time is being compressed, space is being devalued, and the world is on its way to becoming a global village. Because life and work are becoming more personal, they are also becoming more fragmented. People can quickly and easily deal with issues that may arise at home or at work by using new communication tools. Time no longer conveys a sense of solemnity or historical significance. Traditional boundaries and spaces are collapsing and disappearing as today’s intelligent society develops, and people’s understandings of the past are being challenged and frequently reconstructed. Studies in anthropology should now focus on the disadvantaged in society who are unable to keep up with the fast-moving trends of intelligent society. This is especially true for the elderly and the poor, who lack basic literacy in new communication technologies and thus are neglected or simply ignored by those who are younger, richer, and more agile. We cannot afford to ignore these issues, and for that reason, we ought to carefully examine existing time–space systems and develop a modern set of humanistic and harmonious guidelines that will allow everyone to benefit from the profound changes taking place around the world. According to ancient Chinese thought, ‘The motion of all things is cyclical,’ and ‘The sun and moon alternate in the sky, and the stars move along their paths.’ Although time is an objective phenomenon, the concept of time is the result of individuals’ proper use of time and adherence to its laws. As a result, the concept of time is naturally national, communal, and individual in nature. Because time is a human characteristic that is the result of gene-culture coevolution and can thus be passed down from generation to generation, there is no unified, undifferentiated, and globally applicable concept of time. People experience time over the course of their everyday lives and develop habitual behaviors of spending their time doing this or that. In so doing, they reflect socially meaningful expressions such as ‘Time waits for no man,’ ‘Keep up with the times! ‘Seize the day!’ and ‘Time is money!’ These Western expressions also reflect the Chinese nation’s time-honored tradition of time, which has been cultivated over the course of its long history. Based on the history of continuing evolutionary changes in the human conception of time, we can draw the following eight conclusions: 1. Natural time will continue to be the foundation of time-measuring systems, and the various forms of structured time comprise the timekeeping structures that humans build upon this foundation.

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2. The media technologies that people use to keep track of time (particularly social media) are becoming more advanced, and systems that measure time are increasingly accurate. However, an overemphasis on the necessity of high-precision time-measuring systems can hold people captive and make them ‘slaves of time.’ 3. Date and time displays are becoming more advanced in terms of materiality, fluidity, and visuality. 4. The time-measuring systems used in agricultural and newly industrialized societies have been rendered obsolete by the emergence of the information society and digital time-measuring systems. The relationship between a society and the prevailing conception of time is formed based on an ecological relationship of mutual assistance and coevolution. 5. The continued evolution of societal structures and new conceptions of time will predictably increase stress and anxiety levels, negatively impacting the physical and mental health of individuals. Time-measuring systems evolve slowly but surely in a spiral-like manner. In recent years, more versatile systems for measuring employee productivity and for setting and achieving production goals have been implemented, and decentralized production and work-from-home arrangements have become increasingly commonplace. 6. On the one hand, the vitality of today’s media industry depends on extending the length, depth, and breadth of information dissemination in historical contexts to increase the media’s cultural influence; on the other hand, the media remain vital by reducing the amount of time required for information transmission and by compressing the volume of information transmitted during this time to increase the efficiency of media production and achieve the objective of timeliness in news reporting. 7. Time is a limited resource. In the physical world, there are only 24 h in a day and 365 days in a year. As long as we use existing time-measuring systems correctly, and if we scientifically understand the concepts of time and time arrangement, we will be able to regulate our social lives and conduct in a positive and harmonious manner. 8. A more profound understanding of time that is supported by socially beneficial time-measuring systems will enhance the quality of life for individuals. We can therefore predict that continuing innovations in media forms and content will be complex, interrelated, and carefully manipulated by the media to promote capital accumulation and technological improvement. Time, the fourth dimension of Einstein’s space–time continuum, and a fundamental aspect of the human perception of the world, is fascinating, almost magical. However, current communication research focuses primarily on statistics and theory, and most studies fail to take into account the critical factor of media time. Consequently, no communication theory has as yet satisfactorily addressed the causes and implications of media-related alterations in humans’ conceptions of time in the information age. Although sociologists and political scientists also study time and its effects on individuals and human society, their methods of measuring and describing

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time–space relationships are somewhat behind the times. Serious multidisciplinary research into the nature and effects of media time has only just begun. To encourage much-needed research in communication studies, the field of media management should combine the study of media time with media geography and media ecology, address the concepts of media space and media evolution, and incorporate knowledge from economics, management, and other related fields in the hope of paving the way for a comprehensive system of media reform that fully supports modern laws and regulations for the electronic distribution of information. To precisely define the relationship between the media and society, current and future research on the influence of media time on society can be cross-referenced with theories related to media hegemony, media ethnology, media governance, political science, sociology, and cultural science. Moreover, studies on the history of time, new time-measuring technologies, media theory, and communication theory can be combined to construct a theoretical system and analytic framework for future research on the nature and implications media time.

Notes 1. Huai Nan Zi 《淮南子》 ( , or The Master of Huainan) is a philosophical work compiled by LIU An, King of Huainan during the Western Han dynasty. This text was retrieved from the English translation (p. 733) by ZHAI Jiangyue and MOU Aipeng that was published in 2010 by the Guangxi Normal University Press, Guilin, China. 2. This fable is from ‘Hai Wai Bei Jing’ of The Classic of Mountains and Seas 《山海经》 ( , Shan Hai Jing). It is about the legendary story of Kuafu who aspired to catch up with the sun. The sun was so scorching hot that he became thirsty and tired. To quench his thirst, he went first to the Yellow River and then to the Wei River. But the water from these two rivers was not sufficient to satisfy him, so he decided to go to the Great Lake to drink its water. On the way there, he died of thirst, but before his death, Kuafu cast his walking stick away, and on the place where it fell, there immediately grew a lush forest of peach trees. This story reflects the strong desire of the ancient Chinese people to avoid or survive droughts. To read the entire story in English, please visit: https://english.visitbeijing.com.cn/article/47ON6Q1bHQg (accessed June 5, 2020). 3. This legendary Taoist story is from ‘Ben Jin Xun’ of Huai Nan Zi. The legendary character Houyi is said to have used his bow and arrow to shoot down nine of the ten suns that were scorching the earth in prehistoric times, thereby saving all living things. To read the whole tale, please visit: http://chinaarchery.org/archives/69 (accessed June 5, 2020).

References Bauman, Zygmunt. 2000. Liquid modernity, 1st ed. Cambridge: Polity. Bian, Donglei, and Hongjun Zhang. 2006. The coming of the media time: A study on the origin, formation, and characteristics of the conception of time as molded by media. Journalism & Communication (1): 32–44. Dictionary Editing Center, Institute of Linguistics, and Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 2016. The contemporary Chinese dictionary, 7th ed. Beijing: The Commercial Press.

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Emerson, Ralph W. 2002 [1841]. The over-soul, trans. Lei Li, and Xiaoyong Wen. Beijing: The Contemporary World Press. Goodale, Thomas L., and Geoffrey Godbey. 1988. The evolution of leisure: Historical and philosophical perspectives. State College, PA: Ventura Publishing. Harvey, David. 1989. The condition of postmodernity: An enquiry into the origins of cultural change. London: Wiley. Harvey, David. 1990. The condition of postmodernity. Oxford: Blackwell. Holloway, Sarah L., Stephen P. Rice, and Gill Valentine (eds.). 2003. Key concepts in geography. London: Sage. Hu, Xiumei. 1998. Televisions for leisure and leisure television. Voice & Screen World (12): 13–14. Innis, Harold A. 2007 [1950]. Empire and communications. Toronto: Dundurn. Innis, Harold A. 2008. The bias of communication, 2nd ed. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Janelle, Donald G. 1969. Spatial reorganization: A model and concept. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 59 (3): 384–364. Jin, Chen. 2008. The social time of electronic media. Journal of Hubei Open University (2): 66–67. Li, Dazhao. 1999a. Complete works of Li Dazhao, 3. Shijiazhuang: Heibei Education Press. Li, Dazhao. 1999b. Complete works of Li Dazhao, 4. Shijiazhuang: Heibei Education Press. Liang, Guowei. 2006. Time in TV medium. Contemporary Cinema (1): 119–123. Liu, Dehuan. 2007. On age: Social time in social space. Beijing: All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce Press. Liu, Anting. 2010. ‘Now’ and ‘New’: Time consciousness of Li Dazhao. Yuejiang Academic Journal (2): 107–110. Mao, Zedong. 1983. Selected works of Mao Zedong on journalism. Beijing: Xinhua Publishing House. Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels. 2012 [1972]. The selected works of Marx and Engels, trans. and ed. Translating and Editing Bureau, Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Beijing: People’s Publishing House. McLuhan, Marshall. 1962. The Gutenberg galaxy: The birth of printing civilization and the making of typographic man. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. McLuhan, Marshall. 1964. Understanding media: The extensions of man. New York: McGraw Hill. Osborne, Peter. 1995. The politics of time: Modernity and avant-garde. London: Verso. Quain, Bill. 2005. Overcoming time poverty: How to achieve more by working less. Lancaster: Wales Publishing Company. Ricoeur, Paul. 1984. Time and narrative. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Schramm, Wilbur, and William E. Porter. 1982. Men, women, messages, and media: Understanding human communication, 2nd ed. New York: Harper-Collins College Division. Shao, Peiren. 1994. Sociology of communication. Nanjing: Nanjing University Press. Shao, Peiren. 2002a. Media management. Beijing: Higher Education Press. Shao, Peiren. 2002b. Computers and the Internet: The subverters of geography of media. Academic Journal of Zhejiang Broadcast and Television College (3): 5–7. Shao, Peiren. 2009. Advanced research of media theory. Hangzhou: Zhejiang University Press. Shao, Peiren. 2020. A turning point of media time: Welcoming the revolution of time breaking through space. Modern Audio-Video Arts (2): 85. Shao, Peiren, and Qiang Liu. 1998. Operation and management of media. Hangzhou: Zhejiang University Press. Turner, Bryan S (ed.). 2000. The Blackwell companion to social theory. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. Turow, Joseph. 1998. Breaking up American: Advertiser and the new media world. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Urry, John. 2000. Sociology beyond societies. London: Routledge. Wang, Songmiao. 2004. The timing and follow-up of case reporting. The Press (3): 44–46. Wu, Guosheng. 1999. Concerns about modernization. Beijing: SDX Joint Publishing Company. Xue, Mengxiao. 2018. Chronological recordings in ancient China and ‘political time.’ Shanghai: Shanghai Chinese Classics Publishing House.

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Yang, He. 1998. History of the concepts of time. Beijing: Peking University Press. Yao, Li., and Yunfeng Jiang. 2002. The dilemma of time in popular culture. Jilin University Journal (Social Sciences Edition) (2): 76–81. Zhang, Menghan. 2015. The theory of media time: Media being and multiple time in the information society. Hangzhou: Zhejiang University (Dissertation).

Chapter 5

Space: Material and Landscape in Media Communication

In the academic field of media and communication, the importance of the concept of space has long been overlooked, but in the emerging field of media geography, it is fundamental. In this monograph, the terms ‘time’ and ‘space’ refer to the coordination over time of objects and states of matter. Space refers to all the objects and states of matter contained in medium-scale spaces such as neighborhoods, cities, and regions, and can be broadly defined as the man-made spatial relationships between contiguous objects in the world. Space is both a container and a method for organizing material and media landscapes, and it is the central analytic framework for media geography research. In the geographic construction of media space, the mass media serve as the ‘brain and nervous system’ of human civilization, and this space encompasses geographic locations influenced by a variety of sociocultural factors (Shao and Lin 2011). Edward Relph began Place and Placelessness (1976) with a review of space and its relationship to place. He argued that space is neither a void nor an isometric plane; nor is it a kind of container that holds places. Instead, Relph advised that to study the relationship of space to the more experience-based understanding of place, one should also explore space in terms of how people experience it. Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), one of the great theorists in Western philosophy, observed that geography and history are all around us; geography is about place, while history is about time (ref., Harvey 1969). According to the English philosopher of history Charlie D. Broad (1887–1971), it is impossible to discuss the concepts of space, time, and matter as independent entities in the natural sciences because of their close connections (Broad 1923). In the latter half of the twentieth century, the shift from a focus on ‘time–space balance’ to an ‘orientation towards space’ was a significant development in the field of geography because it signaled that researchers were shifting their attention away from traditional topics such as time, history, social structures, and social relations, to the topic of space. The concept of space influences urban planning, building, and architecture, as well as the characteristics of urban landscapes. The confluence of cultural studies, media studies, and geography has changed the way people perceive cities, shifting them from static to flowing and from © Zhejiang University Press 2023 S. Peiren, New Perspectives on Geography of Media, Qizhen Humanities and Social Sciences Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2111-9_5

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one-dimensional to complex. In addition to environmental causes, societal factors such as class, status, race, language, and conventions all have an impact on how human spaces are constructed.

5.1 Space as the Context of Social Interaction Space is a multidimensional concept that is interrelated to geography, economy, politics, society, culture, and psychology. Georg Simmel (1858–1918), a German sociologist and Neo-Kantian philosopher, observed that space facilitates social interaction. Simmel (1908) believed that human connection occurs within a particular space and that people’s perception of space is affected by factors related to psychological and geographic proximity. A space is distinguished by its distinctive three-dimensional qualities, and it is also shaped by social interactions and altered by media dissemination of information. Moreover, social interactions, environmental factors, and lifestyle changes continuously reconstruct people’s experiences of urban spaces.

5.1.1 Space as a Container for Material and Meaning According to the American postmodern political geographer and urban theorist Edward Soja (1940–2015), space is an assumption based on the characteristics of a given context (Sojas 1989). Whether viewed from the perspective of philosophy, theory, or empiricism, space is thought to be a universal form of matter. According to dialectical materialism, space is a form of coordination between coexisting objects and states of matter. The materialist view of space has in many ways influenced academics’ understanding of space. In the psychology of human cognition, adjectives such as ‘social,’ ‘political,’ or ‘economic’ are commonly associated with human behavior, whereas ‘spatial’ evokes an image of an empty three-dimensional area. As a result, Soja (1989) proposed that, while space may have not originated from some external origin or source, the meaning of space as humans perceive it is the result of social experience, social change, and radical social transformation. The renowned English mathematician and physicist Isaac Newton (1687) viewed space as a container. In contrast to time, space is a physical presence that is independent of human perceptions. In Newton’s view, space has a fixed form that provides the three coordinates needed to locate anything on the earth’s surface, and which imbues everything it encompasses with its eternal spatial character. Newton also argued that absolute space is, by definition, unchanging and unaffected by its surroundings. In addition, space is the absolute and immovable reference point or backdrop for the occurrence of physical phenomena and the motion of objects. People’s perceptions of the world were influenced by Newton’s concept of absolute space until

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quite recently. Nevertheless, the development of Albert Einstein’s theory of relativityradically altered people’s sense of space as a static background. He observed that space is neither balanced nor continuous due to the inability of interconnected spatial patterns to support fixed forms. Consequently, Einstein’s theory of relativity contradicts Newton’s ideas regarding the nature of absolute space. The American anthropologist Edward T. Hall (1914–2009) classified space into four categories: intimate space, personal space, social space, and public space (Hall 1959). Intimate space refers to the distance between confidants in private conversations (about 0.5 m); personal space refers to the relationship between a physical space and the psychological and emotional comfort of personal interactions therein, typically between family members and friends (between 0.5 and 1 m); social space generally refers to the distance between colleagues engaged in relatively formal conversation (from 1.2 to 3.7 m); and public space is the distance maintained between important figures and interlocutors in formal discussions, for example, in a classroom or while giving a lecture, where the distance between a professor and an interlocutor is often greater than 3.7 m. From the standpoint of geography of media, space is a fixed material form and the projection of a physical landscape. Because different materials and objects can be contained in a space, it can take on an infinite variety of shapes. A city’s central business district (CBD), for example, could be built in accordance with a specific economic theory. As the state of a city’s economy and environment evolves, the existing CBD space is represented, cognized, and shaped in new ways. In other words, the human cognition of space changes over time as a result of environmental changes and human experiences.

5.1.2 Proxemics and Perceptions of Personal Space Proxemics is the study of how much space people feel they should keep between themselves and others. Everyone has a different sense of what constitutes proper personal space in different situations. A person’s ‘territory’ is defined as the intangible space that they occupy at a specific point in time. Individuals feel safer and more at ease when they have more space and a larger territory, and they feel uneasy and constrained when they have less space and a smaller territory (Shao and Lin 2011). Proxemics is the study of how people define their personal space in intimate and professional relationships, as well as how population density influences social interaction, communication, and human behavior (West and Turner 2020). Culture is one of several elements that influence the appropriate size of a person’s personal space. Nonverbal behavior differs among cultures in the same way language does (Littlejohn Foss and Oetzel 2016). In contrast to the British and Australians, who prefer to stand comfortably apart when conversing, Latin Americans, Arabs, and Japanese commonly stand close to one another. Therefore, the concept of personal space varies by culture, and misunderstanding local proxemics can easily lead to miscommunication and confrontation.

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Personality and temperament determine the optimal size of a person’s private space. A hostile and irritable person will likely try to occupy more space. In addition, the emotional context of a communication scenario is inextricably linked to the space an individual occupies and the distance he or she keeps from others. According to studies, when conversing, people position themselves close to those they like while keeping a safe distance from those they dislike. Good friends may stand closer when engaged in conversation than new acquaintances, and new acquaintances may come closer than strangers. Introverts typically maintain a smaller personal space than extroverts, and two women will typically stand closer together than two men. Obviously, we should respect one another’s privacy and limits, but there will always be people who intentionally or unintentionally violate others’ boundaries in everyday life. These violations of the laws of proximity occur due to a number of different factors. In a face-to-face conversation, one may try to come closer to another person to demonstrate feelings of intimacy, possessiveness, or even hostility. People who feel threatened by an invasion of their personal space typically retreat to a safer distance or counterattack the aggressor. Interfering with another person’s space or territory will inevitably hinder one’s ability to communicate effectively and non-confrontationally (Shao 1997a, p. 221).

5.1.3 The Openness and Flow of Discourse Space Because there are so many ways to define space, there are numerous ideas about how best to discuss this concept in a productive manner in an academic context. Space is not a separate entity. Instead, it appears in a vast array of contexts and in often complex circumstances. If we consider space to be a fixed, absolute, and quantifiable object, its changing properties and the very nature of the universe are rendered invalid. Space is expansive and fluid. In this regard, globalization jeopardizes the integrity of geographic boundaries across the globe, which will inevitably result in a shift in how space is currently understood, including its context and meaning. In the context of urban design and media geography, the spatial pattern created by the distribution of media outlets in a given city is of great significan. Examining the iconic symbols and public spaces of a city can reveal the distribution of media space. Moreover, the presence of the media in an urban landscape implies the presence of a large number of white-collar media professionals, frequent media-related activities and spectacles, mobile exhibition spaces, and eye-catching media displays on streets and in subways, all of which contribute to the media culture that is an integral part of the city’s ecological space. Pressing sociocultural issues that must be addressed by media geographers and academics in other disciplines include how to define and study geographic space through the lens of media; how to use media to transcend the physical constraints of geographic space; and how to develop media-geographic places in this era of new media. As a result of the ongoing process of globalization, people’s perceptions of the nature of reality will inevitably shift along with their cognition of space. For example,

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the urban sociologists Robert Park and Ernest Burgess (1925) investigated ecological features and functional divisions of urban spaces and proposed the use of a concentric ring model for urban planning and design. They considered the city center to be the most logical location for commercial activities. Surrounding areas were divided into a series of larger concentric circles, each of which could be partitioned to create multiple smaller spaces as needed. People’s perceptions of a city are shaped by how spatial elements interact and merge over time, and urban landscapes are a synthesis of a city’s functions, locations, spaces, and places. In the late 1980s, the study of geography took a cultural turn, expanding its scope to include cultural themes in human geography and emphasizing contemporary culture, economy, and politics. The perspectives of geographers on sociocultural issues such as class, race, gender, ethnicity, personal identity, modernism, feminism, and economic power relations, all of which play a role in the construction of urban spaces and urban landscapes, have significantly expanded. Geographers conducted relevant research and proposed necessary changes to the spatial arrangement of urban spaces, such as the proper definition of city center and periphery boundaries, an emphasis on the importance of supporting diverse urban communities and related spaces, and recommendations on targeted financial investment in modern communication infrastructures that will meet future needs. The geography of media acknowledges that social mobility and social diversity are essential aspects of city life that are becoming increasingly complex due to the media’s close interaction with urban demography, as well as people’s shifting interpretations of and emotional responses to urban landscapes. The rapid expansion of global media is gradually blurring the boundaries between countries and other geographic spaces, which could lead to the emergence of a completely new type of geographic space (Shao and Pan 2006). Because space flows and changes, and because it is a major element in the study of media geography, media geographers ought to develop effective strategies to dynamically establish spatial order and promote discourse in urban spaces.

5.2 Urban Landscapes and Four Types of Space Space is a three-dimensional expanse with measurable length, width, and height in which people and objects interact. The British social scientist and geographer Doreen Massey (1944–2016), who specialized in Marxist geography, argued that if history is about time, then geography is about space (Massey 1992). In geography, the term ‘space’ refers to the surface and atmosphere of the earth where things and people exist (and not to outer space). Soja (1996) defined three kinds of urban space: Firstspace, Secondspace, and Thirdspace. He defined Firstspace as comprised of physical structures that can be mapped and observed in their urban built form. Secondspace is a fictitious representation of how various individuals perceive, understand, and sometimes discuss space. Thirdspace combines Firstspace and Secondspace to produce a fully-lived

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space, a physical and virtual center of structured individualism, community experience, and agency. Consequently, the experience of Thirdspace experience is the Firstspace experience filtered through the preconceptions of Secondspace. This monograph expands on Soja’s concepts by defining a ‘Fourth Space’ as a livedin and continuously-experienced urban environment which humans imbue over time with meaning and a sense of place. Geographic space is a three-dimensional entity that can be measured, observed, and explained, as well as a conceptual form or empirical entity that contains the lives, communities, and cultures of those who reside in this space, or who visit it. The following definitions of four types of space may help media geographers and scholars from other disciplines gain a better understanding of the structure of urban spaces and the characteristics of urban landscapes in a variety of contexts and from a variety of perspectives.

5.2.1 First Space: A Perceptible, Tangible World In The Production of Space (1991), Henri Lefebvre, a French philosopher and Marxist theorist (1901–1991), wrote extensively about the materiality of space. According to Lefebvre, multiple types of social space occur as a result of the dialectical interaction between everyday acts and perceptions, media representations, and spatial imagination. Lefebvre also believed that any observations or analyses of a social space should take into account its history and acquired meaning. As a tangible and/or psychological form, space serves as a container for social relations. Although space has material characteristics, it is far from an isolated phenomenon that is detached from society and social life. Because it can contain the everyday lives and activities of people from various nations and countries, space is politically and economically significant. In this regard, it is important to recognize the materiality of space, in which objects of cognition are tangible forms that can be measured and described through scientific research and observation. For example, the breadth of a major metropolis, which is defined by the extent of its physical geographic environment, is part of a system that can be described in terms of visible, real-world qualities. From the dual perspectives of the geography of media and Marxist dialectical materialism, space is a material and empirical phenomenon. In First Space, tangible connections exist between humans and their environment, and socioeconomic relationships exist between people and the places in which they reside. From the standpoint of empiricism, people can either use their cognitive skills to describe First Space or employ sociological and psychological techniques to investigate its complexities. For example, while urban designers remain cognizant of the unique characteristics of a city’s urban population, they nevertheless plan and construct modern cities comprised of standard features such as streets, blocks, and buildings. First Space is comprised of various material elements including architectural structures such as buildings. It is an urban-geographic system comprised of urban

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landscapes that represent a city’s cultural and ethnic diversity and physicalgeographic features. Nature and physical environment play significant roles in First Space. The evolution of the entire system of First Space is determined by the interplay of its various features and characteristics. Over time, social interactions that take place in First Space increase its complexity and cultural meaning. Therefore, to investigate and understand the concept of First Space, one ought to focus on sociocultural implications instead of mechanical measurements.

5.2.2 Second Space: A Subjective and Changeable World In contrast to First Space, Second Space is concerned with art forms rather than science, and with people’s subjective experiences instead of experiences that objectively occur in the real world (Lu 2004). Spatial elements do not play a central role in the construction of Second Space, which is based on human discourse, and which can be compared to an imagined geography that can only be understood through one’s personal experience. The concepts, images, and symbols of Second Space are to be found in works of art, philosophy, and literature. Second Space is a vast, fictitious environment that is the focus of numerous media representations. Due to its abstract and relative nature, Second Space cannot be accurately described or evaluated. Subjective descriptions of this space are considered fictitious simply because such things do not exist in the real world. In Second Space, one’s imagination can run wild. For example, the ‘stream of consciousness’ writing technique that is used occasionally in literary works can also be used in Second Space to convey a given character’s inner monologue and emotions in a more fluid manner than is possible using conventional text in the real world. Thomas More’s concept of utopia, which proposes an imagined world of ultimate perfection, is a simile of Second Space. A utopia is not entirely an imagined world because it is based on certain realities; however, it remains an enduring hope and goal of humanity, reflected in literary and philosophical works and promoted by the media as an ideal vision of humanity’s future. Regardless of how far people feel from utopian perfection, utopia retains its allure through the agency of media representations, which encourage people to either reject the utopian ideal or continue working toward its realization in the real world. According to Michel de Certeau (1984), modern cities reflect the utopian imagination of those who lived in the Middle Ages or even earlier. Disneyland, a popular public attraction in California, USA, about 30 miles south of Los Angeles, may be regarded as a fantastical vision of utopia which proves that the utopian ideal is alive and well, if only in the minds of children. And, as Oscar Wilde (1948) put it, ‘A map of the world that does not include Utopic is not worth even glancing at, for it leaves out the one country at which Humanity is always landing. And when Humanity lands there, it looks out and, seeing a better country, sets sail. Progress is the realization of utopias.’

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The new digital media employ a variety of media types and technologies that depict Second Space as a vivid but imagined experience. Due to the magic of television and film, people can visually experience imaginary worlds in media space that reflect humanity’s hopes, dreams, and fears. Definitions of media space are constantly changing and evolving. Although one might hope to wake up one day and discover that Second Space is material and real, the distinctions between First Space and Second Space are seldom if ever apparent, a fact which has attracted the interest of scholars. People would prefer to describe Second Space as a physical, material entity simply because it is so enthralling, dynamic, and limitless. In this regard, it is possible that First Space and Second Space may eventually merge to form a brand-new category of space.

5.2.3 Third Space: An Open and Inclusive Mental Construct Soja (1996) introduced the concept of ‘Thirdspace’ in his book Thirdspace: Journeys to Los Angeles and Other Real-and-Imagined Places. In his opinion, space is both a tangible material form that can be mapped, studied, and explained, and a mental construct that consists of both human thoughts and media representations of space and its social meaning. By eschewing the generally accepted dualities of individual/social, nature/culture, and real/imagined, Soja critically evaluates his concepts of Firstspace and Secondspace. In ‘Thirdspace,’ he began by acknowledging the material and psychological components of spatiality before moving on to new and diverse modes of spatial thinking. In this monograph, we define ‘Third Space’ as the reconstruction of ‘First Space’ and ‘Second Space.’ Third Space not only contradicts the conceptual frameworks of First Space and Second Space, but also reconstructs the very nature and meaning of space. The dualities of subject/object, real/imagined, known/unknown, abstract/concrete merge in Third Space to create a space that is all-encompassing and yet completely open to subjective interpretation. It should be noted that any narrative descriptions of Third Space first ought to be channeled through the media as an intermediary. A foundational element of Third Space is the existence and extent of media space. Every mode of communication (e.g., oral language, written language, graphics, digital images, and sound) has its particular way of representing the properties and characteristics of media space. The media provide realistic experiences in Third Space through its dissemination of content on issues related to culture, politics, demographics, power relations, and other topics of interest. In this era of global digital media, the messages, images, and symbols that the media use to communicate news and information have become as important as, if not more important than, the events themselves, thereby supporting the observation that ‘communication is existence.’ Digital displays can now be found in homes, shopping malls, elevators, office buildings, and at airports, bus stops, city squares, and other public places. Cell phones and mobile audio-visual devices have become an essential

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part of people’s everyday lives. The media’s continuous stream of texts accompanied by graphic and digital images affects how one perceives media space. Because Third Space is all-encompassing, media content constantly draws our attention and distracts us from other, potentially more beneficial, activities. According to Walter Benjamin and Georg Simmel, people will form a kind of ‘mental armor’ to protect themselves from the constant interruptions of media content displayed on screens of various shapes and sizes (ref., Holloway et al. 2003). This protective armor represents a new type of programmed attention that is characterized by boredom and cynicism resulting from a person’s hedonistic pursuits). Using narrative texts, the media describe cities as distinct urban spaces with unique traditions, practices, and rules of existence. In the material and mental construct of Third Space, media content conveys cultural meaning. When multiple types of content are presented concurrently, the core message, sequences of graphics and images, and screen display positions (i.e., top, bottom, left, right, or center) are typically accompanied by culturally significant voice-over narrations. As part of its construction of Third Space, the media transmit verbal and visual messages across multiple channels and in accordance with predetermined schedules. However, because the media are part of Third Space, no medium can adequately describe its boundless imagination and total accessibility. Any attempt to ascertain the characteristics of Third Space using scientific or empirical methods will fail, as will any attempt to describe Third Space using media texts, because the medium itself will, in the process, become part of Third Space. Nevertheless, people will continue to consume a wide variety of media content, resulting in modifications to media space and the expansion of Third Space.

5.2.4 Fourth Space: The Space of Place In this monograph, ‘Fourth Space’ is defined as a space that people have imbued with the sense of place or ‘placeness.’ Most scholars who study the concept of place view it as a social construct that is formed through the interactions, experiences, emotions, and memories of the people who frequent or visit a specific locale over the course of time. ‘Locale’ is here defined as a built structure or geographic location where people gather and interact. Most often, a locale is an interior space. Place differs from space in that space is an objective phenomenon while place is a locale or site on the surface of the earth where people gather and interact using words, gestures, and nonverbal cues, and which they imbue with personal significance and meaning. From the standpoint of human geography, a place is more real than a space because the sense of placeness which characterizes a place is more evident to some people than to others. Over time, a place undergoes a process of concretization that makes it appear even more substantial and real. Whenever we recall a specific place, we create a mental image of what it looks like based on our memories. One’s memories of a place are linked on a subconscious level with one’s senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch, or

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smell and, in fact, it is impossible to imagine a place that exists outside of our sensory experience. As a complex sociocultural phenomenon, a place is gradually instilled with a wide range of feelings and emotions such as love, hate, compassion, disgust, jealousy, despair, hope, or disappointment that reflect people’s experiences in that place. Because places evoke people’s emotional responses, they serve as nodes of human contact and connection. Some places are more effective than others at creating long-lasting memories, and it is precisely because of the creative power of placeness that public interest in outdoor cultural performances in China, such as Impression West Lake and Impression Lijiang has grown steadily in recent years. Such breathtakingly beautiful performances expand one’s awareness of a geographic site or locale, creating memory and personal meaning in the process and adding to the accumulated meaning of the performance space which, in his or her mind, has now become a place.

5.3 Interpretations of Media Space By maintaining an awareness of their surroundings and participating in activities hosted at various locations, city residents can acquire valuable urban survival skills. In the process of locating familiar objects and later recalling the distances between them, individuals develop a sense of the urban space. However, this process is not always accurate because every individual’s cognition of space and distance depends to a large extent on their observational and explanatory abilities (Cavallaro 2001). The many different locations in a large city, which are linked together by an intricate web of roads, streets, highways, and subways, form the city’s urban space. As a result of the ubiquity of mass media, people’s perceptions of space are shifting from the real world to the virtual world and from personal experience to the mediated experience of digital media. In this way, the media are a significant factor in societal development that influences how people perceive time and space. Social scientists are now studying the effects and long-term implications of living in a world pervaded by digital mass media. The French sociologist, philosopher, and cultural theorist Jean Baudrillard (1929–2007) believed that the flow of images in television programs creates social meaning in the minds of viewers (ref., Giddens 1982). Netizens tend to respond more positively to online interactions with other netizens, and to the texts and visual images of media content, than to interactions with actual people in the real world.

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5.3.1 The Metaphor of a Global Village: McLuhan’s View of Space Harold Innis introduced the concepts of time bias and spatial bias in his studies on contemporary forms of media. A time-biased society would prioritize religion, hereditary rule, assigned rank, or occupational status, whereas a space-biased society would prioritize economic strength, military power, science, social status, and bureaucratic hierarchy. Innis suggested that the priorities of time bias and space bias should be combined and balanced in a society to maximize the common good (ref., Comor 2021). Following in the footsteps of Harold Innis, Marshall McLuhan (1964) compared the geographic space of a unified world shaped by the forces of globalization and mass media to a global village. The term ‘global village’ vividly communicates McLuhan’s vision of a global space that is continuously reshaped by mass media. In such an electronically connected world, physical distance would become irrelevant. During recent times, new transportation technologies have reduced the obstacle of physical distance and shortened the average travel time between cities. Now, the media-driven forces of time–space compression and time–space convergence are creating new geographic patterns that resemble those of a global village. Natural conditions and physical distance influence human cognition of time and space. During prehistoric times, people traversed vast spaces on foot, and their understanding of the world was based solely on their cognitive abilities, personal experiences, and sensory perceptions. According to McLuhan (1964), the mass media influences how individuals perceive the world. His well-known assertion ‘The medium is the message’ remains an important concept in the study of media geography. As a manifestation of human intelligence and vision, media content provides countless opportunities to learn about the world beyond our senses. New electronic media enable us to transmit information almost instantaneously to others located thousands of miles away. Digitallyenhanced communication capabilities also make it possible for the mass media to globally disseminate up-to-the-minute reports on breaking news events occurring anywhere in the world, thereby creating globally-shared sense of immediacy. Some think that McLuhan’s idealistic vision of a global village actually is a possible outcome of the new communication patterns that are jointly being created by the media and contemporary society. The media-driven process of globalization promises to one day realize the utopian vision of a networked global village in which people from all over the world coexist in peace. In such a global village, cultural and regional boundaries would no longer be clearly defined or stable. The global village’s expansive space would blur distinctions between personal and communal spaces, villages and cities, this nation and that nation. Digital electronic media and networks would render physical barriers to global communication irrelevant, facilitating the formation of a dynamic world in which latitude and longitude lines are no longer fixed, but can shift and possibly flow. Due in part to the influence of the new media, and as a first step toward the realization of McLuhan’s vision, our perception of the

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world is expanding beyond the real world of natural geography and into the mediated virtual world of cyberspace.

5.3.2 No Sense of Place: Meyrowitz’s View of Space According to the British professor of communication, Joshua Meyrowitz (1985), the media affect one’s sense of self, behavior, and the life roles one chooses to play (e.g., lifelong learner, citizen, consumer, worker, one’s individual self, or a family member). Scholars are currently studying the effects of electronic digital media on society due to the fact that it can transcend traditional barriers to communication such as physical geography, time, and space. The physical spaces and social places where the majority of human interactions occur used to overlap, but the proliferation of electronic media has blurred the lines between these elements of urban social space. Moreover, as new spaces and places emerge in urban geographic landscapes, and as new modes of communication emerge, one’s sense of belonging (or lack thereof) is continually reconstructed. As people’s consumption of media products increases, changes in the patterns and rhythms of urban landscapes are increasingly being reshaped by media-geographic factors. The media are now able to cross traditional geographic boundaries, despite long-standing rules that prohibit such violations of sovereign space; and individuals are now able to enter an online communication space so vast that they sometimes become disoriented. According to Meyrowitz (1985), ‘no sense of place’ means that as a result of prolonged media influence, existing social structures and cultural differences are gradually being reshaped, and individuals are losing their sense of place and belonging. However, Meyrowitz also predicts that new structures and differences will eventually emerge and stabilize as a result of these disorienting changes. The Canadian-born sociologist Erving Goffman’s (1922–1982) conceptions of symbolic interactionism and situation in daily interactions inspired Meyrowitz to conduct a more in-depth investigation of situation as it relates to the space of electronic media. Generally, people’s social behaviors follow established patterns and adhere to existing norms (Goffman 1959). Despite the fact that the emergence of digital mass media is diminishing the significance of physical locations where faceto-face communication has traditionally occurred, there is evidence that people’s sense of isolation in the context of large urban spaces is diminishing as they connect with more people in the virtual space of online media. Meyrowitz (1985) was also intrigued by the medium of television, which displays a continuous stream of images, texts, and messages that has a socializing effect on individuals, and which can weaken or reconstruct their sense of place, eliminate perceived connections between physical location and social experience, and shape one’s thinking on topics such as politics, social life, and socially-acceptable behavior. New audiovisual technologies are creating a vast media space that, for instance, allows people in different time zones to engage in an online chat while watching

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the same television program. In this new media environment, netizens with multiple online identities can access and share the same information resources. Traditional definitions of social boundaries are becoming increasingly hazy, resulting in alterations to social relations, power relations, and gender relations, and it is now possible for online communities to publicly challenge or criticize individuals in positions of authority. Meyrowitz’s concept of media space not only emphasizes the media’s ability to overcome the limitations of physical space, but also envisions a new geography of media in which spatial and social boundaries are recognized and respected.

5.4 Media in Space and Space in Media Society creates media spaces and media spaces create society. To convey messages or information that influence and shape society, the mass media use symbolic forms of communication such as written and spoken language, visual images, graphics, and sounds. McLuhan (1964) viewed buildings, roads, and automobiles as media that interactively create spaces, locations, and landscapes. In fact, roads and automobiles are crucial to the growth of space.

5.4.1 Media in Space In The Bias of Communication, Harold Innis (2008) classified media into two types: time-biased media and space-biased media. In ancient Egypt, for example, people used time-biased media such as handmade paper and papyrus to communicate messages and stories (Friesen 2016, p. 78). Although time-biased media are typically limited to a small audience, they have the potential to endure for decades. Radio, television, and newspapers can, for example, reach large audiences over long distances, but human exposure to such media forms is ephemeral. In feudal societies, the limited spatial reach of time-biased media contributed to the concentration of political authority, the development of centralized, but not strictly hierarchical, systems of government, and the promotion of commerce and trade. Innis’s thoughts on the nature of communication have significantly broadened our understanding of media and space. The media exist in media space. The spatial imagination of media professionals allows them to develop extensive urban landscapes that residents use and later rely on to comprehend and navigate their surroundings. The media will undoubtedly continue to develop and expand its spatial imagination, which will play a significant role in defining future cognitive environments. In this regard, nonmainstream social groups and organizations may seek to collaborate with the media to have their voices heard by the mainstream.

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Spatial imagination of the media As an extension of geographic thinking, spatial imagination influences how social groups understand the relationships between physical and social phenomena. For a variety of political, economic, cultural, and psychological reasons, geographic definitions of space are often ambiguous and perplexing. The world consists of flowing spaces that have been imbued with human experience, imagination, and memory, and the media project social realities onto fictitious geographic features. We may sometimes wonder, ‘Is it real?’ as our direct experience of things are replaced by media representations in newspapers, magazines, television, or other media forms. Media representations do, however, make it possible for us to explore the wide world of cultural geography. In media geography, researchers often use concepts such as space and landscape to describe a place and its culture. When applied in the social sciences, these concepts take on the richer connotations of social relations. The words, images, and sounds that comprise media content create new geographic spaces and landscapes that can be represented on maps. For this reason, media geographers study the empirical experiences, cultural meanings, and mental constructs conveyed by the media in its role as a facilitator and a mediator. We are surrounded by geographic metaphors. Our everyday lives, including consumer activities, occur in physical geographic spaces imbued with meanings constructed by the media. For instance, on a city map, the ‘center’ and ‘periphery’ of this space are usually well defined, which reflects positively on the design of the urban space, its infrastructure, and on the relationship between local culture and local media. In such urban environments, diverse communities create visual signs to express their cultural heritage and identify their distinct cultural spaces. Geographic imagination enriches our understanding of local and regional culture. By analyzing geographic elements, researchers are able to better understand the characteristics of three-dimensional urban landscapes within the context of their rich local culture. In this regard, it is important to note that spatial imagination is inextricably linked to physical geography and, as such, is not imaginary. The intricate interweavings of geography and culture are manifest in urban settings, aboveground or belowground (i.e., in subway systems), in mainstream and non-mainstream social groups, and in political or gendered contexts. The effective design of urban environments requires both geographic imagination and an understanding of the sociocultural complexity of such environments, including the influential role of the local and regional media. A movie theater, for instance, is both a shared public space where people go to watch films and a private space in which people do not wish to be disturbed by others. Most people watch television at home, but private family spaces also involve gender- and power-related interactions between family members in situations such as who controls the remote or when decisions are made regarding which shows will be watched and when. Although the emergence of the Internet may have signaled the obsolescence of traditional geography, we now are witnessing the emergence of an entirely new socio-spatial

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form. Geographic imagination is all around us, continuously reshaping and redefining the ways in which individuals perceive their environment. Media as a way to create space In their everyday lives, people acquaint themselves with a city’s history, culture, economy, geography, and media as they walk around in it, all the while forming their own subjective impressions of the city from a street-level perspective. According to the French philosopher and historian Michel de Certeau (1925–1986), one needs to look down on a city from a very tall building in order to perceive it more objectively as a unified whole. Because large cities contain both tangible (physical) and intangible (non-physical; perceived or imagined) spaces, social groups are sometimes required to engage in competition or power struggles with other social groups to claim a specific intangible space as their own. Following the cultural turn in geography in the late 1980s, the concept of social space began to receive the same level attention as natural space, and the study of the sociocultural spaces created by distinct social groupings also attracted the interest of academics. According to current data on socio-geographic distributions, mainstream society shapes and occupies the most desirable spaces in metropolitan areas, while the less areas are occupied by nonmainstream groups that mainstream society tends to avoid. Of course, the norms and values of subcultural communities often differ considerably from those of mainstream communities. Associatively, the geography of media, as well as other disciplines in the social sciences such as sociology, anthropology, and political science, studies the cultural preferences and group dynamics of social groups who reside in urban environments. Texts produced by the media that communicate cultural expectations or demands influence people’s perceptions and evaluations of diverse social groups, and these texts may acknowledge and even support the right of nonmainstream groups to compete for space. It has also been suggested that when social groups use electronic media to communicate with one another, their social spaces tend to expand as a result of greater group solidarity and cohesion. Local media content frequently reflects socially and/or politically biased perspectives or attitudes. For instance, some media sources may support the interests of mainstream social groups, while others may advocate for nonmainstream groups and do their best to assist them in their fight for social and cultural equality. Social divisions and the dynamics of intergroup conflicts, together with media bias and selective advocacy, make for compelling news stories and fuel the production and dissemination of related media content. Media representations have a substantial impact on the division of urban social spaces into subspaces that are inhabited by opposing social groups such as mainstream and nonmainstream, private and public, ethnic majority and ethnic minority, this cultural heritage and that cultural heritage, culturally aware and culturally indifferent, etc. Specific subgroups gravitate toward specific types of locales and venues, and sometimes these groups decide to opt for intergroup social harmony over social strife and merge, in the process of becoming more powerful and influential in the urban social space. Social spaces and subspaces may expand or contract due to social dynamics, media opinion, and public opinion.

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For instance, the earliest performances of American jazz for white audiences took place in private venues reserved for the pleasure and enjoyment of social elites. It did not take long, however, for these elites-only spaces to vanish, and for the social spaces of black ethnic groups to expand and eventually extend their influence, and the musical art of jazz, into the diverse cultural mosaic of an entire nation. As a result, jazz is now an integral part of the American culture and a proud symbol of its African-American heritage. Socio-spatial boundaries are flexible and can change due to the influence of local and regional media. Such changes may improve the ‘flow’ of urban landscapes, redefine the perceived territorial boundaries of specific social groups and subgroups, and educate the general public about new norms that can serve as guidelines for how people should now understand the relative positions of these groups and subgroups in society. By searching for information online, studying travel guides and maps, or by viewing photos and videos of a destination-of-interest on planet Earth, some individuals may convince themselves that they have in this way gained a sufficient understanding of the destination and, to save on time and travel costs, they do not really need to travel there in person. However, if they ever do happen to visit this destination, they most likely will find that their previous conceptions, as conveyed by various forms of media, were incomplete, biased, or false. In fact, media representations are often misleading or even false. To truly experience a destination-of-interest, one ought to visit it in person, walk around for a few days or weeks to observe the daily life and socio-geographic environment of the locals with one’s own two eyes, and form one’s own opinions.

5.4.2 Space in Media In media space, media-generated information ‘flows’ from one individual to another, and this information can be used to navigate media space. To navigate urban spaces, people use GPS-enabled cell phones, which pinpoint one’s current location and guide them to the next. Despite the fact that media representations are not always reliable, they do help establish communication standards, regulate social behavior, and provide information about the characteristics of different spaces and places. Mediasphere Soon after the Soviet semiotician Yuri M. Lotman (1922–1993) introduced the concept of ‘semiosphere’ as a semiotic space comprised of metaphors and culture in Universe of the Mind: A Semiotic Theory of Culture, the British scholar John Hartley (2002) coined the term ‘mediasphere.’ According to Lotman (1990), semiosis (i.e., sign-related activities or processes) cannot exist outside of semiotic space. Therefore, the Lotman’s concept of semiosphere can be interpreted as a spatial metaphor that can be used to interpret the meaning of sociocultural phenomena (Nöth 2014). The German philosopher Ernst Cassirer (1874–1945) believed that the message

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and meaning of human-created symbols is limited to particular contexts and audiences, but that the universal socio-cognitive function of symbols (i.e., communication and representation) applies equally to all schools of thought (Cassirer 1944). The academic discipline of cultural semiotics posits that symbols are formed in a structured-structuring dimension as part of an historical process in which human culture reveals itself as a temporal creation (Orth 2011). Humans transmit, receive, and share texts containing symbols that carry history and meaning. Similarly, a semiosphere can be passed down from generation to generation and, in the process of transmission, new semiospheres can form. Inspired by these ideas, John Hartley (1999, p. 218) concluded that his concept of ‘mediasphere’ is comparable to Lotman’s concept of semiosphere, because media dissemination of texts and messages is essentially no different than the propagation of symbols. In Hartley’s view, media space is both real and imagined, as are all media forms, genres, cultural levels, languages, and nations. In a semiosphere, mediagenerated words and images convey symbolic representations of human history and culture. However, as soon as media products appear in a semiosphere, they become part of the semiosphere as well as prototypes for the creation of new symbols which may, for example, help to alleviate tensions that often result from cross-cultural or cross-cultural differences (Huang 2006). Mediaspheres for groups of ‘others’ In the mediasphere, living conditions vary between individuals. In The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1992), the Canadian-American researcher Jane Jacobs observed that the powerful lights of a city can only illuminate areas that lie within a certain maximum range, and that areas outside this range appear to vanish into the darkness. As a result of the fragmentary nature of the myriad visual experiences that can be consumed in the mediasphere, an individual’s cognitive orientation toward his or her identity, society, and worldview becomes fragmented as well. Media representations of the urban landscapes of ‘disappeared’ places, nonmainstream social groups, and ‘others’ are hazy in detail, incomplete, shrouded in darkness, or invisible, whereas the landscapes of mainstream groups are well-defined and brightly lit. Geographic and cultural factors determine the relative ‘darkness’ or ‘illumination’ of specific landscapes. In many Western countries, disadvantaged individuals are frequently categorized as ‘other’ and relegated to second-class citizenship. ‘Others’ may consist of women or people of color who do not conform to the prevailing societal norms of men or white people. Such ‘us’ and ‘them’ distinctions may be the conscious or subconscious result of ethnic or regional tensions, irregularities in social proximity, or differences in education levels. According to the German-American sociologist Leo Löwenthal (1900–1993), the social sphere that shapes a person’s fundamental understanding of the world and what he or she chooses to share with others is typically limited to those with a college education (Löwenthal 1961, p. 260). In the development of urban landscapes, disadvantaged and nonmainstream social groups are often labeled as ‘alien’ and ignored or misrepresented.

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Mediaspheres for minorities Typically, minority groups are underrepresented in a society’s mediasphere. Consequently, some groups strive to create their own mediaspheres characterized by more egalitarian media environments in which they can vocally challenge the norms and discriminatory practices of mainstream culture and effectuate needed social change. To maintain group cohesion, ethnic minorities frequently choose urban neighborhoods that separate them from other minorities. This phenomenon, referred to as ‘ethnic mosaic,’ can be observed in areas of the United States where, for example, Chinese, Italians, Mexicans, and Spaniards form well-defined urban communities that allow them to maintain and proudly display their cultural identity as distinct from mainstream American culture. As a novel strategy for dealing with persistent discrimination, some minorities are attempting to follow the psychological approach of ‘radical acceptance,’ where one chooses to respond to acts of discrimination with an attitude of acceptance and gratitude instead of negativity, confrontation, or violence. Radical acceptance is often successful in reducing tensions and promoting harmony, partly because such responses are radically different than what discriminators normally expect. Minorities’ attempts to introduce messages that are incompatible with dominant values into the mediasphere of mainstream society often have the unfortunate effect of provoking even more discrimination and social alienation. A prime example is racism in the mainstream media, which is controlled by the white majority. Given that the media have historically mistreated non-white minorities, it is understandable that these groups feel inclined to adopt an uncooperative and confrontational stance whenever they perceive media content to be racist. To promote social equality, eliminate racial prejudice, and increase mutual recognition and social cohesion between diverse elements of society, the media should therefore carefully evaluate and balance its messaging. Mediaspheres for women According to studies on patterns of media consumption, there is a significant correlation between gender and particular geographic spaces and landscapes. Males gravitate toward certain spaces, while females gravitate toward others. During the early stages of industrialization, the domains of production and consumption tended to be gendered, with production associated with the public sphere and masculinity, and with consumption associated with the private sphere and femininity. Gender influences the selection, perception, and recall of media content. Men, for instance, prefer to watch television newscasts, sporting events, and action films, whereas women prefer to watch soap operas and programs about food and fashion, resulting in gendered consumption geographies. Due to the commercial nature of the media industry and its vested interest in producing content that audiences are eager to consume, media specialists ought to remain aware of and sensitive to gender bias and discrimination. Still influenced by traditional notions of gender roles and preferences, the media continue to produce stereotypical messages and images. The nuclear family, for instance, is viewed as a

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harmonious environment, despite the fact that the behavior of some family members is sometimes constrained by the other family members. Soap operas about the challenges of marriage and family life, as well as programs about food, fashion, and society, are examples of media content that specifically targets women. In contrast, the domain of men is the world ‘out there,’ which is filled with male-oriented locales such as workplaces, sports arenas, and culturally diverse border areas, where men can pursue their own interests and imagine themselves as anyone they choose. Marshall McLuhan compared the gender appeal of American westerns and American soap operas in his book The Mechanical Bride: Folklore of the Industrial Man. McLuhan (1951) found that soap operas reflect women’s emotional worlds of home and family, whereas westerns reflect men’s fantasies of rugged individualism. He also observed that television westerns and soap operas illustrate the contrasts between business and society, action and emotion, official duties and personal responsibilities, and masculine and feminine gender. As a momentary ‘escape’ from their mundane home lives, urban males desiring independence may decide to explore the world of online media. When men watch westerns on television, the untamed countrysides and perilous frontiers become the imagined geographic landscapes of their lives, as well as symbols of their desire for freedom and power. In contrast, women’s lives are frequently centered on a relatively stable and unchanging domestic existence, and soap operas provide them with much-needed emotional support. The subgenre of American road movies exemplifies how the media depict a gendered space with a speed and rhythm that, when combined with a flowing montage of dramatic imagery, creates a distinct time–space structure. In road movies, male protagonists ride powerful motorcycles through rugged terrain. As an essential component of modern society, cities offer standardized and highly organized living conditions that frequently leave people feeling isolated, lonely, and depressed. Additionally, one’s home or apartment has a tendency to limit one’s behavior and may occasionally force one to seek refuge in a different environment. In road movies, the highway is depicted as a male-dominated arena where whatever transpires on the road is merely a dangerous game played by men seeking redemption. The open road represents men’s desire to be free and travel across deserts or distant lands. When women do appear in these male-dominated media productions, they typically play secondary roles. Frequent stereotyping of women and other minority groups in road movies reinforces people’s perceptions that they are among the socially disadvantaged. Reconstruction of space by media clusters The formation of media clusters is driven by socioeconomic considerations that seek to bolster the profits of media sources and to foster social harmony by minimizing or eliminating the negative effects of physical and psychological distance between media sources which operate in the same media space. For example, forums, exhibitions, expos, conventions, and industrial venues that occur in a given geographic space can collaborate to form a cluster of advertising and distribution centers for global products.

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A media cluster is a specialized aggregation of media-related businesses that promote and develop mediated content by connecting local producers through partnerships and networks. A regional media company may, for example, wish to leverage its geographic advantages by establishing mutually beneficial relationships with other technology companies, media managers, experts in media design, production, and distribution. Media clusters engage in friendly competition while sharing information and resources within the context of a region’s history, culture, and political and economic ecology (Shao 2006). While the range and scope of a single media organization is relatively limited, media clusters comprised of numerous such organizations can have a significantly greater impact on regional spaces and geographies. As a result of the communication revolution and the expansion of global marketing, the media industry is actively pursuing the development of clusters in specific regions across the globe. Major media organizations are usually located in metropolitan cities, provincial capitals, and coastal areas. Both the Yangtze River Delta in eastern China and the Pearl River Delta in southern China have developed urban belts where a considerable percentage of the nation’s media-related activities are concentrated. Such media clusters are an important development in the global media industry as well as a significant media-geographic phenomenon. The mass media are preparing large-scale operations to penetrate global trade, business, entertainment, and culture as a result of the continued expansion of metropolitan centers around the world. By supporting the role of media in defining social landscapes, related businesses and industries also contribute to the growth of the media industry. The growth of contemporary megacities and urban greenbelts enables the formation of media clusters. Major Chinese media cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, are attracting the interest of a large number of international media organizations seeking to establish local branches. Established media clusters are continually attempting to expand their audiovisual venues, which may have indirect effects on the sociocultural dynamics of urban centers. The construction of a new media order may be accelerated by these and other strategies that aim to establish a global media space that supports both commerce and culture. The development of media forms and content is having a significant impact on urban and regional economic and cultural trends. To innovate and expand the mediasphere, media clusters seek to expand their influence and cohesive power by attracting smaller media enterprises. As the media industry continues to cluster its operations, art and culture will become more commercialized and popular, local media resources will become increasingly dominated by large media corporations, and countless media messages will inundate urban environments. Because the cultural characteristics, consumption patterns, and geographic elements of these urban centers are similar, they influence the business strategies and lifestyles of people living in other metropolitan areas of the world. Media products shape the values and beliefs of individuals, and when values and beliefs are strongly expressed in the form of media content, they influence not only the media industry, but also the construction and growth of media landscapes. The combination of economically developed urban centers and media clusters, backed by a steady flow of capital, will increase the volume of mediated representations

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of urban culture across the globe. Media clusters will increase opportunities for minority groups to have their voices heard, have an impact on the lives of city residents, create new symbolic places, and attract a growing number of individuals to the interconnected world of reality and imagination created by media culture.

5.5 Media Distance and Communication The magnitude of distance is a scalar quantity with no direction. It is a spatial concept that is more complex than either physical or psychological distance. In media geography, physical distance is a scalar measure of the relative distance between two individuals or entities in the context of time. Psychological distance, on the other hand, refers to the distance people feel from other people or things; this sensation, which can be evoked by thoughts, awareness, or emotions, also encompasses a person’s sense of connectedness or intimacy. Some academics have their own definitions of media distance, while others believe the concept is exclusive to media geography.

5.5.1 Media Distance as a Paradigm for Communication In our everyday lives, distance surrounds us. Our sense of space precedes our basic perception of distance. As human society evolved, people living in different regions developed distinct cultures and assigned distinct meanings to space. Lefebvre (1991) asserted that space is a byproduct of social interactions, implying that spatial distance is the result of human cognition. People frequently make decisions about what and how to communicate with others based on the distance they perceive between themselves and others. According to McLuhan (1964), the spoken word is the first technology that permits us to ascertain the optimal physical, emotional, and cultural distance from others. In media geography, distance refers to the amount of space between individuals as perceived by one’s mental cognition and emotional cognition over a specific period of time. In mathematics, distance is defined as the length along a line or line segment between two points; in physics, distance is defined as the magnitude or size of displacement between two positions; in psychology, it is the degree to which people feel removed from physical or abstract phenomena (such as persons, events, knowledge, or time); and in sociology, distance is the amount of space between individuals or social groups in society, as influenced by such factors as social class, race/ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. According to Georg Simmel (1908), the essence of distance is the relationship between an observer and one or more things or people being observed. Due to the powerful influence of oral and written communication, electronic communication, and networked communication, communication scholars have observed that time–space distance is expanding while social and psychological

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distance is shrinking. The invention of print media was a monumental advancement in the history of human communication because it provided individuals with a reliable method of communicating over great distances. In addition to extending the physical distance of human communication, information contained in print media can be preserved indefinitely, unlike the sounds of short-distance interpersonal conversation. The real-time, long-distance transmission of electronic media has reduced the distance between audiences and radio and television media. Eventually, networked digital media will enable people to almost instantaneously send and receive information from all over the world, transforming the planet into a global village. Modern media technologies also allow us to coordinate the timing of an event’s occurrence with an audience’s reception of news about the event. Therefore, regardless of location, modern communication technologies can create the illusion that you are always in close proximity to your family, friends, and coworkers. In the environment of digital communication, one perceives the distances between locations to be shorter than before. In addition, the Internet enhances people’s sensory abilities and allows a large number of people from all over the world to concurrently access information and images online, thereby reducing the psychological distance between senders and receivers (Zhang 2009, pp. 88–104). Distance in different forms of communication When engaging in interpersonal communication, people are acutely aware of distance. According to the American anthropologist Edward Hall (1914–2009), when humans converse with one another, they instinctively seek to maintain a comfortable spatial distance, and they consciously or subconsciously form an invisible circle of space around themselves that defines their ‘territory.’ (Hall 1959) Personality, communication style, and cultural programming all have an impact on the size of a person’s territory. In interpersonal communication, Hall identified four different distance zones: intimate distance (within 0.5 m), which is the space closest to our body and is reserved for those closest to us, such as family members or one’s partner in a relationship; personal distance (0.5–1.2 m), for conversations with friends or good acquaintances; social distance (1.2–3.7 m), for dialogues with colleagues in work spaces; and public distance (3.7–7.6 m or beyond). The concept of distance is more difficult to understand in the context of mass communication than it is in interpersonal communication. In the field of communication studies, research on distance in mass communication focuses on the distance between an audience and its selective contact with a specific media source, as well as secondary factors such as knowledge gaps, source/receiver agendas, and the socalled third-person effect, in which individuals perceive media messages to have a greater effect on others than on themselves. Distance in news reporting The media’s coverage of breaking news events is influenced by distance, as are their decisions regarding which facts to include or exclude in news reports. When reporting on local, regional, and international news, the media use a variety of methods. In a study conducted by communication and media scholars in Hong Kong of China,

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content analysis was used to examine the effects of geographic distance on news production. After compiling a corpus of news articles published in 14 different Hong Kong newspapers, the researchers analyzed how different local newspapers construct, screen, and edit articles about incidents occurring in various regions. According to the findings, the greater the distance between a breaking news event and Hong Kong, the more likely it is that newspapers will rely on official interpretations, the more likely it is that news media will point out opposing viewpoints, and the more likely it is that they will link related issues to institutions, socioeconomic systems, and society (Guo et al. 2010). In short, the media use different criteria when reporting on local versus non-local events. To effectively communicate with an audience, and to make the content appealing, the host of a radio or television program should first establish a psychological distance that is neither too close nor too far away. To achieve the optimal distance, the host ought to simultaneously assume the roles of observer and participant to establish a rapport with the audience that will make the news story or topic of conversation more engaging. If the presenter establishes a psychological distance from the audience members’ everyday lives, they will likely suspect that he or she is ignoring the most important topics or issues. On the one hand, the host has to establish the appropriate psychological distance of the bystander at the beginning of a news program because it is difficult or impossible to do so later. If the audience views the host as merely a participant in the event, they will not respect the host’s opinions and will quickly find the show uninteresting. In China, the news media seek to communicate effectively by establishing a reasonably intimate connection between sender and receiver that will appeal to the masses, is relevant to people’s everyday lives, and accurately depicts social realities. The objective is to bridge the communication gap between the Chinese news media and the Chinese people by broadcasting messages pertinent and significant to both local and national audiences. Distance in media assessments of news value Even during the production stage, distance influences media assessments of the value of news content. George Kingsley Zipf, an American linguist and philologist, was the first to notice the inverse relationship between distance and news value (1902–1950). Zipf (1946) pointed out in an article about factors influencing information circulation that the value of news content which flows across communication channels decreases for the receiver as the distance from the source of the news content increases. This proposition can be stated as P1 × P2/D = news circulation, where P1 represents the population of A, P2 represents the population of B, and D represents the distance between A and B. While academics disagree on the criteria for assessing news value, most agree that proximity and timeliness, both of which imply distance, are important factors in ensuring the optimal flow of information across media communication channels. The geographic, psychological, sociological, or cultural proximity between the news source (the sender) and the audience (the receiver) is referred to as the ‘nearness’ of news. The greater the perceived distance between sender and receiver, the

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more valuable the news. In general, audiences are more interested in learning about news events that are geographically, culturally, and psychologically close to them. Journalists prefer to cover news events that are geographically close to their target audiences because their reports will more likely stimulate interest. To meet audience expectations for up-to-the-minute reporting, the media are expected to provide timely updates on events or occurrences. Timeliness, or the minimization of temporal distance, is an important factor in determining news value because breaking news stories quickly become ‘old news’ and will lose the audience’s attention if they are not broadcast quickly. As a result, in mass media news reporting, journalistic interpretations of distance emphasize the importance of proximity and timeliness, as well as the relevance of news information to people’s everyday lives. Media distance is a fundamental concept in journalism and communication studies, particularly in mass communication. However, the theoretical approaches to distance in mass media have some flaws. In reality, the concept of media distance is a natural extension of current research in disciplines such as journalism, communication, sociology, and psychology, and new research will undoubtedly open up new branches and subfields, and encourage further research.

5.5.2 Communication and the Role of Media Distance Distance is an ever-present challenge in mass communication. Media distance refers to the gaps that exist between media content (such as words and facts) and the audience that receives the content via communication channels. As a result, calculations of optimal media distance have to take into account not only the resources available to senders, but also the potential impact of media messages on receivers. According to the French philosopher Ricoeur (1981), a media text is a type of spoken or written discourse that incorporates three different forms of interpretation which can serve as a paradigm for understanding the role of distance in media communication. Ricoeur’s model for interpreting a text consists of three levels— explanation, understanding, and appropriation—which together form a ‘hermeneutic arc.’ The process of interpretation begins at a simple level and progresses toward a grasp of the text’s deeper meaning; information becomes knowledge. Contradictions inherent in media distance Edward Bullough (1880–1934), a Swiss aesthetician and scholar of modern languages, developed the concept of ‘psychical distance’ as the distance that appears to lie between oneself and one’s affections. Bullough (1957, p. 95) thought that this distance serves two functions: one negative and impeding, which negates the practical side of things and our practical attitude toward them, and one positive and facilitative, which is an elaboration of the experience on the new basis created by the inhibiting action of distance. Bullough also wrote about the ‘antimony of distance’ (‘antimony’ is here defined as a mutually incompatible concept or paradox) as the utmost decrease of distance without its disappearance.

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ZHU Guangqian (1897–1986), founder of the study of aesthetics in twentiethcentury China, observed, ‘In the aesthetic experience, we must jump out of real life, and it is also true that we cannot simply remove ourselves from real life.’ (2009, p. 14) Thus, to validate our work, we must forget ourselves and instead rely on our life experience. This contradiction exemplifies Bullough’s notion of the antimony of distance. The contradictions of media distance imply that a proper distance should be maintained between the communicator, the audience, and the media content to achieve optimal communication effects. If the communicator is too close to the media, he or she may be unable to report on news events accurately and may overlook important details. Local interests may also get involved in the process of news production, intervene in the distribution of specific media content, and try to monitor and influence public opinion. Off-site supervision occurs in China when distant media sources broadcast critical news reports on local events and then assume a supervisory role to avoid any conflicts of interest caused by a media distance that is too close to the target audience. Furthermore, the collective absence of local media from coverage of local news events clearly undermines local media credibility and authority. A media distance that is too far removed from the audience can be harmful to the public by increasing the likelihood that news stories will be interpreted subjectively. Additionally, the shorter the distance between media content and audience, the more information the audience absorbs and the easier it is for audience members to form their own opinions about the event. When news material provided by the media contradicts the content of direct messages from on-the-ground reporters and journalists, the media will use a selective audience exposure strategy, emphasizing favorable information while ignoring the unfavorable. In general, selective exposure refers to audiences’ proclivity to believe news reports that are compatible with or comparable to their own ideas and attitudes, while avoiding or dismissing any information that is diametrically opposed to or contradictory to these viewpoints and attitudes (Lazarsfeld et al. 1984, p. 89). It is obvious that the media face an ongoing challenge in developing and disseminating content that accurately and effectively conveys the intended meaning. On the one hand, if the media distance is too great, audiences will struggle to grasp the specifics of a local event, undermining the desired communication effect. On the other hand, a media distance that is too far from the audience will negatively impact the quality of media content produced by news organizations. Besides that, it is difficult for media organizations to dispatch journalists in a timely manner to the scene of a news event that is taking place in a remote location. To save money on travel expenses, local media will publish related news stories generated by larger news organizations at home or abroad. Furthermore, only experienced and welltraveled journalists are familiar with foreign languages, regulations, customs, culture, and history, and some journalists may harbor prejudices against specific foreign nationalities or groups, resulting in misunderstandings and misrepresentations of news events.

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Differences in media distance In his famous play, Hamlet, William Shakespeare wrote, ‘There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people’s eyes.’ Similarly, different audiences invariably will have different impressions and interpretations of the same news event due to differences in distance between the communicators and the audience members. Disparities in the social groups to which the communicator(s) and audience(s) belong are primarily responsible for variations in media distance. Variations in social milieu, cultural context, social status, values, and beliefs, as well as psychological traits of communicators and audiences at various times, are examples of group differences. Group differences also result in a wide range of media content demands and reactions, both of which lead to more complicated variations in media distance. As previously stated, audiences do not accept media messages at random, but rather choose content that reinforces their pre-existing beliefs. Apart from personal preferences, differences in the values and conventions of the social group(s) to which an audience belongs promote selective exposure because people tend to ignore contradictory information. Generally, the responses of individuals to media content, as well as their choices of media forms such as film or television, are influenced by differences in media distance between members of a given audience. Female viewers, for example, are more likely to feel empathy for or mourn the death of a favorite character in a TV drama, whereas male viewers are more likely to be indifferent to what happens in a TV drama. Young people prefer to search for information on the Internet, whereas seniors prefer to read newspapers or watch television. Variations in media distance motivate the mass media to provide rich and diverse content, precisely identify audience expectations, and accurately position themselves to ensure the success of dissemination strategies. Variability of media distance Media distance will vary when communicators and audiences belong to different social groups or when an audience is viewed as a collection of individuals rather than a homogenous social group. Due to the variable nature of media distance, the media distance established by the same communicator in relation to the same audience will change if the communication conditions between the sender and receiver change. Media distance is affected by an audience’s ability to comprehend the meaning of disseminated media content. The interests and values of individual communicators and the individual members of target audiences are likely to change over time. Moreover, the social environments, life experiences, ages, and educational backgrounds of the people in an audience differ. From early adolescence to late adulthood, individuals maintain different psychological distances that influence how different individuals will interpret media content differently, even if the content is identical. For example, a college student living in an ‘ivory tower’ may find it difficult to understand the subtle and not-so-subtle office politics depicted in the Chinese television drama A Story of LaLa’s Promotion (2010). Before graduating, getting a job, and gaining real-world experience, this college student will not be able to fully

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comprehend the complexities of office politics and begin to appreciate the valuable life lessons contained in this television drama about a young woman named LaLa who works as an entry-level employee at a small Chinese marketing agency. The norms and attitudes of an audience fluctuate as a result of social context or other influences, which then cause variations in media distance. During the Southern Song dynasty, XIN Qiji, a Chinese military general and poet, vividly expressed his feelings in the poem ‘Song of the Ugly Slave: Written on the Wall on My Way to Boshan’: ‘When I was young, I knew no grief that I could not bear; I would like to go upstairs, I would like to go upstairs and write new verses of false despair. I know what grief is now that I am old, but I would not have it told. I would not have it told but only say I am glad that autumn is cold.’1 The sources of differences, contradictions, and fluctuations in media distance are all interrelated. The desired communication effect can only be achieved if these variables are managed properly and in a timely manner, and if the sender maintains an appropriate media distance from the receiver.

5.5.3 Levels of Content-Dependent Media Distance Most media geographers divide media distance into three categories based on the characteristics of media content: (1) the distance between subjective assessments and objective, real-world facts, (2) the psychological distance between the communicator and the media content, and (3) the psychological distance between the media content and the audience. Distance between media content and objective fact There is always a gap between the texts and messages of media content and objective, real-world fact. The creation of media content is a subjective process in which texts are created, filtered, processed, and checked by communicators and other media experts. While the content can interpret the real world from various angles and points of view, it can never truly mirror or represent the real world. The concept of ‘pseudo-environment’ proposed by American news commentator and writer Walter Lippmann (1922) and the concept of ‘simulacrum and simulation’ proposed by Jean Baudrillard (1994) demonstrate the inevitability of disparities between the content disseminated by mass media and objective fact. Lippmann (1922) believed that due to limitations in the scope of real-world activities and one’s subjective cognition of time, individuals are not able to maintain direct, empirical contact with the entirety of their external environment; they can only cognize things that exist beyond their personal experience through the medium of texts that are created and disseminated by the media. When media organizations select, process, and communicate texts or information about a real-world event, the environment of those texts or information becomes a pseudo-environment— the reality that each of us creates to be able to withstand the pressure of societal complexity.

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To describe the information transmitted by mass media, Baudrillard (1994) proposed the terms ‘simulacra’ and ‘simulation.’ He defined ‘simulacra’ as replicas of objects that either had no original or no longer have an original, and ‘simulation’ as the continuous operation of real-world processes or systems. Baudrillard observed that the media create content by replacing real-world images, landscapes, and symbols with fictional or imitation representations or replicas. In this approach, a ‘simulation flow’ of media representations is created, which travels around the world carrying meaningless signs and signifiers (Best and Kellner 1997). The disconnect between media content and objective, real-world fact can be attributed to a number of things. For example, whereas language signs are limited, reality is infinite, and whereas language signs are abstract, reality is concrete. The main cause of this disconnect, however, is the distance that exists between media communicators and media content. Distance between media communicators and media content Media professionals collaborate to produce content for the mass media. During the content creation process, media communicators (i.e., those who distribute the content) create a psychological distance between themselves and objective reality, which in turn creates a distance between the meaning of media texts and objective reality. In addition, once the media content has been created, there is a separation between the communicator and the media content. Media professionals’ understanding of real-world facts is inherently subjective and biased due to differences in knowledge and experience, as well as cultural and regional affinities, and they intentionally or unintentionally introduce this bias at every stage of content production. While media texts are reviewed by editors, editors-in-chief, media managers, and other gatekeepers, the process inevitably results in disparities between content and objective fact. When media content is produced and disseminated, the text exists independently of the communicator, creating a psychological distance between the communicator and the text. The creation of content by media professionals is comparable to the creation of artifacts by artists in some ways. They attempt to incorporate their personal sensibilities into their work, but they cannot allow themselves to become lost in their emotional worlds during the creative process. Therefore, media communicators are expected to objectify their emotions and maintain proper emotional distance. In sociologist Erving Goffman’s well-known book, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959), life is viewed as a drama performed in a theatre where actors either perform ‘front stage’ facing the audience and its expectations or ‘backstage’ where the actors can relax and be themselves. The job of media professionals, like this dramaturgical metaphor, takes place front stage, while their personal lives take place back stage. As a result, when these professionals assume one of these two positions, they must be aware of how their perspectives will shift. According to Goffman, being a communicator is to be an actor, and acting on stage (i.e., in front of a media audience) is a mode of self-expression that must adhere to standards for such public performances as logical presentation, effective rhetoric, precise language, and context awareness (Shao 1997b, p. 132).

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The great French psychologist Henry Delacroix (1927) believed that personal feelings and real-life performances are two quite different things.’ Feelings and emotions, whether simple or complex, that manifest in everyday life must be understood before they can be incorporated into a media narrative that conveys meaning to others through language, images, sounds, and symbols. When communicators (particularly journalists) create media texts, they are expected to adhere to established standards and regulations while maintaining an appropriate distance from the content because the messages conveyed will invariably differ from those expressed in real life. Distance between audiences and media content Unanticipated communication effects are frequently caused by individual, regional, and cultural variables between audience members and media content. Selective exposure, selective interpretation, and selective memory all have an impact on an audience’s understanding of the meaning of media texts. Furthermore, different audiences will react differently to the same media content. Individuals may misread and reject a news article on occasion, resulting in a contentious reaction that detracts from the communicator’s intended message and has a counterproductive effect. Individuals who want to better understand the text of a media communication should resist making snap judgments and recognize that they cannot rely solely on personal experience. Instead, based on their own life experiences and knowledge, they ought to independently confirm the veracity of media content. If an audience member is unfamiliar with the information being disseminated, it will take him or her longer to understand its meaning, and if the media text is too close to the individual’s personal life experience, he or she may reject or be indifferent to the content because he or she is already familiar with it. As a result, maintaining an appropriate distance between an audience and media content is critical for achieving a positive communication effect. The American literary critic Wayne C. Booth (1921–2005) developed the concept of narrative distance in The Rhetoric of Fiction. Booth (1983) contended that any literary work, regardless of whether the writer carefully considers the expectations and needs of readers during the creation process, is, in fact, an elaborately designed system that elicits readers’ involvement based on their specific levels of interest in the subject matter. In other words, the aesthetic distance between readers and a literary work can only be constructed by analyzing and effectively controlling the distance between narrative subjects (i.e., authors, narrators, and characters) and readers (Bai 2010).

5.5.4 Categories of Media Distance Media distance is an important factor in the interrelated activities of the mass communication process, including information gathering, fact evaluation, content creation, content dissemination, and audience reception. Time–space distance, social distance

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(the distance of social interactions), and psychological distance are all dynamic and interactive, and a proper understanding of each level’s interrelationships and dynamics is essential for establishing harmonious communication relationships and achieving optimum communication effects. Time–space distance Time–space distance refers to the geographic distance between the communicator and the audience in four-dimensional time–space, as well as the distance between media content and the audience. Different time–space distances provoke distinct psychological responses from an audience. In media geography, time and space are foundational concepts. The influence of mass media on contemporary culture has altered people’s perceptions of time and location. Due to the fact that electronic media have lessened the obstacle of physical distance to communication, remote and unfamiliar locations no longer appear so remote and foreign. Concurrently, a new challenge has emerged: The importance of the spatiotemporal distance between communicator and audience in media-related activities has increased. During the process of news dissemination, for instance, time–space distances are significantly diminished. Moreover, during the process of gathering, editing, broadcasting, recording, and replaying media content, the distance between a region where an event occurs and another region where the news is reported is compressed to nearly zero. Temporal distance encompasses both the time lag between the communicator’s transmission and the audience’s reception of related media messages and the time lag between the occurrence of a news event and the audience’s reception of related media messages. In studies on media management and communication, the effects of irregularities in the timing of an event, the communicator’s transmission of essential information, and the audience’s reception of these messages ought to be carefully examined. In addition, as a significant component of the larger social environment, the media have to adapt to various sociopolitical, economic, and cultural contexts. Media operations that violate a country’s laws are prohibited, as is the dissemination of content that is incompatible with its culture and social structure. In this regard, the appropriateness of media content may impact the timely dissemination of content. Appropriate timing is the act of selecting the best time to release information to maximize the positive impact on a target audience. Individuals from various social positions frequently see issues from different perspectives and interpret whole-part, present-long term, and subjective–objective relationships differently. As a result, selecting news items and determining the best time to distribute the content is challenging. The primary factors that influence temporal distance in mass communication are the broad social context of the media institution or business, the communicator’s professionalism, and the cognitive capacities and opinions of the target audience. While a media organization’s societal context is undeniably important, it is relatively static. As a result, the professionalism of the communicator is the most important factor in the practice of journalism. Journalists and editors, in particular, are expected to be extremely responsive to breaking news events and post news stories as soon as they occur. They are also expected to be knowledgeable about current

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social issues. For example, on November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was riding in an open limousine through Dallas, Texas on his way to deliver a speech at the Trade Mart. As the presidential motorcade passed through downtown, three gunshots rang out. Merriman Smith, a United Press International (UPI) reporter riding four cars behind President John F. Kennedy’s limousine, assessed the situation quickly, called UPI headquarters using a mobile radio-telephone installed in Smith’s car, was the first to report President Kennedy’s assassination, and later won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting. The changing aesthetic tastes and psychological endurance of audiences have a significant impact on temporal distance. What is unacceptable in one era may become the norm in the next. For example, because of their controversial narratives and avant-garde filming techniques, the films The Shining, Inglourious Basterds, Leon: The Professional, and Once Upon a Time in America were not well received by audiences when they were first released. Some of these films were even considered flops. However, when they were shown in theaters again after some time had passed, they were extremely popular with audiences, and some of them even became classics, as the timing of their release was now more appropriate. The amount of geographic separation between media content and the communicator or audience is referred to as spatial distance. Remote live streaming, which shows viewers the real-world environment in which an event is taking place, is the highest level of news distribution. The spatial distance of mass communication is also closely related to advances in communication technology. During the era of oral communication, humans could only communicate over short distances by using spoken language. The emergence of written language created conditions for the expansion of spatial distance in human communication. Written language could then be imprinted on durable materials such as paper and silk, allowing messages and information to be easily transferred to other locations, circumventing the distance limitations of spoken language and broadening the space of human interaction. With the arrival of print communication, the reproducibility of print media greatly increased the amount of information that could be transmitted, thereby expanding the scope and distance of communication. Today, electronic media have broken down the barriers of time–space distance, transforming the world into a global village where distance is no longer an impediment to communication. In the age of electronic media, communicators and audiences can be found almost anywhere on the planet. On August 8, 2008, for example, approximately four billion people around the world watched a live multi-channel television broadcast of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony. Indeed, advanced communication technology is now well on its way to realizing humanity’s shared vision of ‘One World, One Dream.’ The terms media time and mediasphere refer not only to geographic distance, but also to cultural and psychological distance. Many factors, such as technological advancement, social productivity, multicultural cooperation, and global economic development, all contribute to the reduction of spatial distance in communication. Understanding the effects of physical and temporal distance is more important than ever in today’s global media and communication environment.

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Social distance Richard M. Perloff (1999), an American scholar, defined social distance as a compound variable that includes people’s feelings of commonality, proximity, and personal identity. Vertical distance, according to Park and Burgess (1969), refers to the social distance created by different levels of economic and political status in a community, whereas horizontal distance refers to the social distance caused by the degree to which communication media are concentrated in a specific geographic setting. In other words, vertical distance is a person’s subjective sense of relative social status based on assessments of superiority and inferiority, whereas horizontal distance is a measure of the expansion (or contraction) of global media and communication networks. In media geographic studies on communication, ‘social distance’ refers to the distance between the media communicator (i.e., the sender) and the target audience (i.e., the receiver). If the communicator and the target audience come from different sociocultural backgrounds, audience members often will find the media content difficult to understand. Differences in educational and professional experience, language, cultural and social position, and race/ethnicity all have an impact on social distance, as explained in the following four points: First, differences in educational background create social distance in mass media communication. Because people with different levels of education have different preferences in terms of media providers and media content, the educational background of a target audience has a significant impact on how media content is developed. According to a recent survey, college-educated Chinese viewers prefer to watch dramas broadcast by the state-owned CCTV, whose viewer rating is significantly higher than that of provincial satellite TV stations. It is also worth noting that audiences with lower educational levels are more influenced by mass media presentations, while those with higher educational levels are less influenced. Because the educational backgrounds and life experiences of the members of a media audience vary, the communication effect will also vary depending on whether or not the media message or news story is read by an audience member that possesses the acumen of a well-educated professional or a layperson. While news reports on science and technology topics may contain difficult-to-understand terminology from time to time, professionals dislike reading such content, and laypeople are unable to understand it at all. When a television program on sophisticated agricultural methods was developed in China to communicate scientific knowledge to farmers, the question of whether ordinary people would be able to comprehend the scientific material and concepts arose. To overcome this barrier, the program had to be redesigned so that it clearly relates scientific information to farmers’ everyday lives and their most pressing concerns and challenges, and that it does so with humility and sincerity (Wu and Jiang 2010). Second, language plays an important role in media distance construction, and regional, social, or contextual linguistic variations can frequently make communication difficult or impossible. Language has been an essential system of human communication since the beginning of time, and the symbolic aspect of linguistic

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communication is just as important in today’s era of global media communication. Language is the most powerful tool for comprehending, reflecting on, and changing the world. It is the greatest carrier of our history, culture, and spirit, as well as the foundation of human communication. Of course, different languages have different cultural and social connotations. The biblical story of the Tower of Babel, in which God halted construction on the tower by confusing the workers’ languages to the point where they could no longer communicate with one another, exemplifies the importance of language in human contact and communication. Third, cultural differences contribute to media distance. Consider the massive influx of people during the Chinese Spring Festival season, which is usually the focus of local media at the end of the year. The traditional Chinese culture’s strong emphasis on the Lunar New Year, combined with the strong desire to attend family reunions, results in spectacular scenes of the annual Spring Festival migration, when hundreds of millions of people return home to visit their immediate family members and relatives. In a mad dash to get home before the Chinese New Year’s Eve, people are jammed into airports, railway stations, and bus stations, and cars are backed up in snarled highway traffic. Because Chinese citizens are accustomed to frequent media broadcasts warning of potential Spring Festival transportation disruptions, they plan ahead of time by purchasing train and airline tickets. Foreigners often struggle to understand the significance of family reunions during the Chinse New Year, as highlighted in Chinese media coverage. In fact, the Financial Times, a British newspaper, and some other Western media outlets have described the Chinese New Year as the ‘largest human migration in history’ and an ‘epic population migration.’ Fourth, in cross-cultural communication, racial/ethnic differences are a significant source of media distance. Attitudes toward various races and ethnicities pervade media content, leading viewers to accept information based on racial/ethnic stereotypes. Audiences rarely interact with people of different races/ethnicities, particularly in single-race countries, and their perceptions of others are almost entirely based on media representations. In some twentieth-century films, African-Americans in the United States were depicted as Uncle Toms, black raccoons, tragic mulattos, black nannies, and barbarians (Zhang 2008). For example, in the American director, David W. Griffith’s (1875–1948) silent film The Birth of a Nation (1915), originally titled The Clansman, in reference to the ‘heroic’ Ku Klux Klan (KKK), a white supremacist organization, black people were depicted as ignorant and violent toward white women. Even if members of an audience come from the same cultural background, differences in occupation, education, or social class make it difficult for them to understand the intended meaning of media content. The development of new communication technology has widened the knowledge gap between people from different social and economic backgrounds. Clearly, not everyone has benefited equally from the information revolution. Furthermore, disparities in online access to information are widening between the socially advantaged and disadvantaged, as well as the well-educated and the poorly-educated.

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Psychological distance Berke (2014) noted that when danger or pain are too close, they are incapable of providing any delight and are simply terrifying; however, at certain distances and with specific changes, they can and do provide delight. To put it another way, to grasp the potentially sublime nature of danger and pain, we should keep a safe distance from them. The same is true of psychological distance, in that online characteristics of social media, for example, increase psychological distance between users, resulting in a decrease in the quality of co-experience. According to the British scholar Bullough (1957, p. 96), psychological distance is a spectator’s attitude toward a specific object, which in this monograph refers to a media audience (spectator) and media content (object). Only by putting one’s personal interests aside can a psychological distance be created between the subject and the object, allowing the subject to have a meaningful experience. Bullough went on to explain that introducing this psychological barrier is self-contradictory because the gap disappears when the subject and object are too far apart or too close together. In the evolution of psychological distance as an aesthetic idea, personal participation is combined with an understanding that the object is a cultural artifact. Psychological distance is a feature of media distance in mass communication that includes the concepts of cognitive distance, emotional distance, and intentional distance, and which refers to both the psychological distance between communicator and media content and the psychological distance between audience and media content. In media geography, cognitive distance is defined as the degree of disparity between the communicator’s goal and the audience’s understanding of communicated media content. Because cognition is a subjective reflection of actual reality, different audiences and individuals will perceive the same media content differently. The cognitive distance between communicators varies depending on their educational and cultural backgrounds, as well as the personalities of individual audience members. Furthermore, cognitive distance is caused by tensions between the institutionalization and scaling of media communications and the individualization and autonomy of audiences, insofar as they limit people’s ability to grasp the meaning of media content (Zhang 2009, p. 55). As a result of this interaction, both objective and subjective factors contribute to cognitive distance. A person’s judgment of facts is another factor in establishing cognitive distance. Communicators and audiences frequently disagree about the truthfulness of information in media reporting. Audience members select, read, and interpret information based on their own understanding, whereas communicators choose to create media content based on its news value. Differences in experience, lifestyle, cultural background, personality, and psychology are examples of subjective cognitive factors. Contradictions between subjective and objective criteria result in cognitive distance differences: the richness of the real world versus the constraints of symbolic representations; the complexity of facts versus the simplicity of news broadcasts; the massive volume of media content versus the relatively limited amount of information received by audiences; multi-channel media sources versus single-channel audiences; and the communicator (sender) versus the audience (receiver).

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The difference in emotional attitudes and sentiments toward specific media content between the communicator and the audience is referred to as emotional distance. Emotions and feelings are not the same as cognition. Emotions and sentiments reflect the relationship between people’s subjective consciousness and objective things, whereas cognition reveals the objective characteristics and connections between objects. As a result, different people will have various emotions and feelings in response to the same object. Fulfilling one’s cognitive needs, such as the desire to learn, explore, discover, and create, is intimately connected to one’s thoughts and emotions. Mo-tze (or Mozi), a Chinese scholar who lived during the late fifth century BC to the early fourth century BC, said, ‘Li’ (benefit) is what one is pleased to get; ‘Hai’ (harm) is what one dislikes getting.’2 This saying associates emotions with the fulfillment of one’s desires. The focus of emotional distance in mass communication is whether mass media can meet the needs and desires of media audiences, and the emotional distance between media and audience narrows when these needs and aspirations are met. According to the concept of uses and pleasure (Stafford et al. 2004), the audience’s consumption of media products is purposeful and aims to meet their personal needs. According to the principle of selective exposure (Frey 1986), an individual will prefer knowledge that reinforces pre-existing opinions and reject information that is contradictory. In other words, audiences will accept media content that reinforces their current beliefs and attitudes, reject issues that cause cognitive dissonance, and prefer the experience of pleasant feelings (Shao 2015, p. 308). When media professionals investigate the characteristics of a target audience during the production process, they frequently discover that individual audience members’ desires are diverse, if not contradictory. As a result, the media need to carefully identify the characteristics of target audiences, understand their expectations and needs, and make efforts to meet these expectations and needs through the use of established methods that can achieve the goals of audience-focused communication. Differences in how the communicator and the audience interpret media content, as well as disparities in their respective goals and objectives, are the primary causes of emotional distance. Emotional distance is unavoidable if the communicator and the listener do not share a common goal and point of view. The relative positions of the communicator and the audience also influence emotional distance. When a communicator pays little attention to a target audience’s real needs, the emotional distance between them increases; when the communicator and the audience are in a respectful and mutually reinforcing position, the emotional distance between them decreases (Zhang 2009). It was once thought that closing the emotional gap between communicator and audience was an effective strategy for mass media to attract the attention of large audiences. The media, on the other hand, can only thrive if they maintains an appropriate emotional distance from their audiences. Pandering to the audience’s demands to reduce the emotional distance will result in a quagmire of trivialization and vulgarity, undermining both the positive functions of mass media and, eventually, the audience’s interests and needs.

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In contrast to cognitive and emotional distance, intentional distance refers to the degree of divergence in behavioral patterns between the communicator and the audience in relation to specific media content. The element of intention refers to a person’s tendency to act in a certain way toward a specific object in a specific situation. Intentional distance can only be created if there is intent. The audience will not only have cognitions and feelings when exposed to media content, but they will also react to it. It is based on this premise because there can be no intentional distance without cognitive distance. Emotional distance can help or hurt the establishment of intentional distance. For example, when audience members see a commercial advertisement, some may experience pleasant feelings that fuel their desire to purchase the product, while others may have unpleasant feelings that reduce their desire to purchase the product. Due to the complexity of media distance, the underlying causes of media distance development, and the influence of history, culture, and social systems on information distribution in this era of media globalization, time–space distance, social distance, and psychological distance are insufficient categories for describing the many characteristics of media distance. To predict the effects of various forms of distance on media communication, related research should be based on humanism and conducted by professionals with expertise in sociology, psychology, culture, and history. Concurrently, media geographers should conduct investigations and empirical analyses based on China’s national conditions and current sociocultural characteristics, and use media geographic theories to conduct in-depth research on differences between social classes, eastern and western regions of China, urban and rural areas, white-collar and blue-collar workers, and the rich and poor. Only by gaining a deeper understanding of the dynamics of media distance in particular contexts will researchers be able to develop strategies to improve communication effects and reduce or eliminate the digital divide.

5.5.5 Appropriateness in Media Distance When multiple variables of media distance interact with one another and a sense of harmony is generated in communication activities, the effects are maximized through the act of sharing knowledge and the feelings of joy and emotional resonance that are evoked in the communicator and the audience. Moreover, the media should maintain an acceptable distance throughout the distribution process. According to the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer’s (1788–1860) so-called porcupine dilemma, porcupines (i.e., people) are drawn together by their desire to keep warm (i.e., for human intimacy), only to be repulsed by their sharp spines (i.e., the disagreeable qualities of human nature) (Schopenhauer 2020). This dilemma implies that people will maintain a reasonable physical distance to meet mutual needs and avoid injuring or inflicting pain on others. ZHU Guangqian (2009) discussed the significance of keeping a moderate distance in artistic pursuits because it is difficult or impossible to truly appreciate an object if

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it is too far away from us, and if an object is too close to us, our ability to perceive the object’s beauty will be overwhelmed. As a result, appropriateness is a key principle in art, as well as interactions between the media, society, and individuals, and it is a requirement for achieving the best possible communication effect. Recent research in the psychology of communication psychology has found that if an appropriate psychological distance is maintained between sender and receiver, the positive communication effects can produce a pleasant and even intimate atmosphere. To determine the appropriate psychological distance between a communicator and a target audience, a thorough understanding of the variables of intermittence, equidistance, and implicitness is required. The influence of interpersonal social distance, as well as time–space distance in media communication, has a significant impact on people’s psychology. Although it appears that the shorter the physical distance between people, the shorter the psychological distance, this is not always the case. The value of news increases when there is a special relationship between the location of the news event, whether local or remote, and the location(s) where the news is disseminated. People who value this relationship will genuinely want to share knowledge in such situations, and distance will no longer be a significant barrier (Zheng et al. 1982, p. 35). In general, the communicator’s understanding of the proximity of time, space, and social relations helps to reduce the psychological distance between the communicator and the audience. The following three points offer suggestions for ways to achieve this goal: 1. Communicators should reduce instances of cognitive dissonance in the messages of media products so that audiences can accept and comprehend the content with relative ease. Journalists may also conduct on-site research and in-depth interviews to obtain more accurate information and background knowledge about current events. Normally, people learn about breaking news events by listening to the radio or watching news reports on television. The distance between a journalist and a news event is typically much greater than the distance between a communicator and a news event. As a result, when conducting interviews and writing reports, journalists need to take great care to maintain the appropriate distance and to consider the audience’s perspective objectively. 2. When dealing with the emotional aspects of news events, to reduce emotional distance, the communicator should put himself/herself ‘in the shoes’ of the audience. This can be difficult at times because the communicator and the audience interpret and respond to news events differently. The communicator should not project a callous attitude toward a particular news event, nor should sarcasm, bias, or judgement be allowed to enter. In the Analects chapter ‘Yan Yuan,’ Confucius advised, ‘Do not do to others what you would not wish done to yourself.’3 This is a fundamental principle of humanism, and from a non-dual perspective, everything is you and you are everything. Therefore, people themselves should serve as a model for how to treat the people and things they encounter in life (Shao and Pan 2019, p. 1).

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3. To narrow the gap between the intended communication effect and the audience’s actual reaction to the media content, the communicator ought to clearly understand the sociocultural nuances of the target audience. Journalists are expected to be professional when reporting on news events, to be sensitive to cultural context, and to be on the lookout for factors that increase news value. Conflicts between a journalist and an audience may arise to the point where he or she fails to meet these high standards. In one Chinese city, for example, manhole covers were frequently stolen, but the thief was never apprehended. For several hours, a resourceful TV station reporter crouched in the pouring rain to photograph a cyclist who had crashed into an exposed manhole and suffered injuries. The reporter filed his news report, which was broadcast to audiences who were enraged by the method used to obtain the news content, as well as the fact that the reporter failed to warn the cyclist of the impending danger. The heated response caught the reporter completely off guard. The media’s indifference is a source of concern when reporters purposefully maintain a distance between themselves and their audience under the guise of professionalism. In this age of multi-level pan-entertainment products, certain media organizations may be concerned about specific social actors while disregarding viewers in their coverage of specific news events. For example, in 2007 a young lady named YANG Lijuan from Gansu province passionately pursued the well-known musician Andy Lau, resulting in her father’s humiliation and eventual suicide. Several media outlets were shamefully indifferent in their coverage of this tragic occurrence, and the audience’s criticism of the local media was harsh. In an interview, FENG Yingqian, an Associate Professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, stated that the media bear some responsibility for the YANG Lijuan incident because they provided financial support to the young lady’s family during her pursuit of Andy Lau in the hopes of obtaining a face-to-face news scoop. Such tactics, which seek to temporarily increase circulation or viewership, clearly violate a journalist’s code of ethics and are completely inappropriate (Du 2007). Media sources have different standards and procedures for disseminating information, and therefore have different perspectives on what constitutes appropriate media distance. Media distance is considered an objective characteristic of mass communication. If there were no media distance, there would be no communication. The global mass media should therefore adhere to the highest professional and cultural standards while maintaining an appropriate distance based on strategies that take into account multiple media types, cross-cultural and multilingual communication contexts, and the information requirements of audiences.

Notes 1. ‘Song of Ugly Slave: Written on the Wall on My Way to Boshan’ (‘Chou Nu Er: Shu Bo Shan Dao Zhong Bi’) is a poem written by XIN Qiji (1140 AD–1207 AD), a Chinese calligrapher, military

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general, and poet during the Southern Song dynasty. The English version was translated by XU Yuanchong and XU Ming, and was quoted from their translated book of Classical Chinese Poetry and Prose Series. 2. This saying is from ‘Canon I’ of Mozi (Vol. 10) written by Mozi’s disciples and their followers. The English version of this excerpt was translated by Angus C. Graham, and was retrieved from the website page of the Chinese Text Project: https://ctext.org/mozi/book-10 (accessed October 10, 2021). 3. This quotation is from ‘Yan Yuan’ of the Analects of Confucius. The English version of this excerpt was translated by James Legge, and was retrieved from the website page of the Chinese Text Project: https://ctext.org/analects/yan-yuan (accessed May 10, 2022).

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Huang, Jie. 2006. Mediasphere of and opportunities for films and TV dramas. Press Circles (6): 99–100. Innis, Harold A. 2008 [1951]. The bias of communication, 2nd ed. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Jacobs, Jane. 1992. The death and life of great American cities. New York: Vintage. Lazarsfeld, Paul F., Bernard Berelson, and Hazel Gaudent. 1984. The people’s choice. New York: Columbia University Press. Lefebvre, Henri. 1991. The production of space, trans. Donald Nicholson-Smith. Oxford, U.K.: Blackwell. Lippmann, Walter. 1922. Public opinion. New York: Macmillan. Littlejohn, Stephen W., Karen A. Foss, and John G. Oetzel. 2016. Theories of human communication, 11th ed. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press. Lotman, Yuri, M. 1990. Universe of the mind: A semiotic theory of culture. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. Löwenthal, Leo. 1961. Literature, popular culture and society. Palo Alto: Pacific Books. Lu, Yang. 2004. Space theories and literary space. Foreign Literature Studies (4): 31–37. Massey, Doreen. 1992. Politics and space/time. New Left Review 196: 65–84. McLuhan, Marshall. 1951. The mechanical bride: Folklore of industrial man, 1st ed. New York: Vanguard Press. McLuhan, Marshall. 1964. Understanding media: The extensions of man. New York: McGraw Hill. Meyrowitz, Joshua. 1985. No sense of place: The impact of electronic media on social behavior. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Newton, Isaac. 1687. The mathematical principles of natural philosophy. London: Encyclopedia Britannica. Nöth, Winfried. 2014. The topography of Yuri Lotman’s semiosphere. International Journal of Cultural Studies 18 (1): 11–26. Orth, Ernst W. 2011. Ernst Cassirer as cultural scientist. Synthese 179: 115–134. Park, Robert E., and Ernest W. Burgess. 1925. The city. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Park, Robert E., and Ernest W. Burgess. 1969. Introduction to the science of sociology: Including an index to basic sociological concepts. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Perloff, Richard M. 1999. The third person effect: A critical review and synthesis. Media Psychology 4: 353–378. Relph, Edward. 1976. Place and placelessness. London: Pion. Ricoeur, Paul. 1981. Hermeneutics and the human sciences: Essays on language, action and interpretation, trans. John B. Thompson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Schopenhauer, Arthur. 2020. The world as will and representation, vol. 2, trans. Norman, Judith, Alistair Welchman, and Christopher Janaway. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Shao, Peiren. 1997a. Introduction to communication. Hangzhou: Zhejiang University Press. Shao, Peiren. 1997b. Thoughts on conceptions of communication. Journal of Hangzhou University (Philosophy and Social Sciences) (4): 128–133. Shao, Peiren. 2006. Geography of media: Legitimacy, science, and academic adherence. Shanghai Journalism Review (10): 17–19. Shao, Peiren. 2015. Communication studies, 3rd ed. Beijing: Higher Education Press. Shao, Peiren, and Qun Lin. 2011. Time, space, and socialization: Three dimensions of emotion in geography of communication. China Media Report (1): 17–29. Shao, Peiren, and Xianghui Pan. 2006. On development and discipline construction of media geography. Journal of Xuzhou Normal University (Philosophy and Social Science Edition) (1): 131–136. Shao, Peiren, and Rongrong Pan. 2019. Pursuits of and adherence to humanism in communication studies. Contemporary Communication (5): 1. Simmel, Georg. 1908. Soziologie. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot. Soja, Edward W. 1989. Postmodern geographies: The reassertion of space in critical social theory. London: Verso Press.

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Chapter 6

Place: A Carrier of Social Construction and Cultural Memory

Sense of place is both an objective and subjective socio-geographic phenomenon that connects individuals to other individuals, society, and the world, and which is formed as a result of personal and social interactions that occur in, or in relation to, a specific locale. Viewed objectively, a place is a geographic location on the earth’s surface that can be pinpointed using GPS coordinates, whether it be a public venue, a locale, a built structure, a city, a region, a country, a continent, or even the whole world. A place is any venue or locale where people can gather, interact, connect socially (or politically) and develop subjective, personal, and emotional connections that connect them to others that share the sense of place. The physical size of a place can be small (a local bistro) or very large (a country, region, or continent), but its size is irrelevant. What is relevant is that through these connections, a place becomes a medium and repository of social construction, cultural memory, and a shared sense of belonging. An urban space, for example, is comprised of built structures, spatial representations such as ‘downtown,’ ‘block,’ ‘suburb,’ or ‘green belt,’ a network of streets that connects these spaces, and perhaps a subway system designed to facilitate mass transit. An urban space can contain any number of locales and places.

6.1 Place as a Core Concept of Geography of Media Time, space, place, landscape, and scale are the five most important concepts that form the academic foundation of the geography of media. The most complex and widely-debated of these concepts is place, which has been variously defined by scholars in different fields of the social sciences, and which remains ‘under construction.’ One of China’s authoritative dictionaries, Ci Hai, defines ‘place’ (地方, ‘di fang’), as ‘domain’ (领域, ‘ling yu’), as ‘location’ (处所, ‘chu suo’), and as ‘a term used to refer to all administrative regions under the control of the Chinese central government.’1 In comparison, the Concise Oxford Dictionary lists more than 20 definitions of ‘place.’ © Zhejiang University Press 2023 S. Peiren, New Perspectives on Geography of Media, Qizhen Humanities and Social Sciences Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2111-9_6

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In 1939, the American geographer Richard Hartshorne (1899–1992) proposed place as one of the three core concepts of geographic research. In his opinion, the concept of place is essential in humanistic geography because it recognizes the importance of uniqueness as defined by human activities and relationships. Then, during the postwar era (1945–1950) studies that had previously identified place as a core concept in a new cultural geography fell into disrepute and were neglected because the definitions and raison d’être of the concept were perceived as inconsistent, imprecise, and lacking depth. In the 1950s, a new generation of geographers began reconstructing their field of study as a spatial science that focuses on ‘where’ things are and ‘why’ they occur. Utilizing quantitative methods, they worked to develop a new conceptual framework for geographic research and in the process downplayed the importance and promising socio-geographic implications of place. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, humanistic geographers such as Carl O. Sauer (1962), Fred Lukermann (1964), and TUAN Yi-Fu (1974) argued that as a spatial science, geography would be non-humanistic if it did not properly recognize the importance of place as a carrier of sociogeographic meaning. According to Sauer, Lukermann, and TUAN, because place is central to a clear understanding of how people develop strong personal connections to each other and the world, and that the new geography should rightly focus on the human, social, and political implications of place, rather than on the cold, hard world of spatial science. In this regard, these three scholars argued that people do not live in a purely geospatial framework, but in a human world filled with social relationships and meanings. The American geographer Fred Lukermann (1921–2009) defined geography as the knowledge of the world as it exists in places and argued that the concepts of space and place define the essence of geography (Lukermann 1964). The geographer’s conception and analysis of space includes the analysis of geographic sites or locales. As a geographic site and/or locale, a place is a single unit connected to other units by a human and logistical circulation network. It is a locality that people have imbued with meanings and personal attachments through actual or vicarious experiences, and it is therefore both an objective, empirical fact and a sociocultural phenomenon. Place is a ‘special ensemble’ with history and significance (Lukermann 1964, p. 70). In a given urban space, there can be any number of different places, and this multiplicity results in a strong sense of belonging or ‘local consciousness.’ In Place and Placelessness (1976), Edward Relph argued that the concept of place is more complex than a single independent experience or that which can be conveyed through a simple description of a given location, and that the essence of place derives not from superficial worldly experience, but from the largely unconscious intentionality which defines places as profound centers of human existence. Relph believed that one can sense the distinctive qualities of a place in the luminosity of a scene, with its human landscape of everyday life, families, traditions and rituals, and links to other places. He also observed that the most distinctive quality of place is its ability to spatially organize and concentrate such human intentions, experiences, and actions. Thus, space and place are dialectically related in human environmental experience,

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as one’s comprehension of space is closely related to the places we inhabit, and these places derive meaning from their spatial context. Relph (1976, p. 45) emphasized the relationship between people and place and claims that the identity of a place is defined by its ‘persistent sameness and unity’ which distinguishes it from other places. He discussed this persistent identity in terms of the environment, activities, and events that occur there, as well as the personal and social meanings that people derive from those experiences and intentions. He defined an authentic sense of place as ‘a direct and genuine experience of the entire complex of the identity of places—not mediated and distorted through a series of quite arbitrary social and intellectual fashions about how that experience should be, nor following stereotyped conventions’ (Relph 1976, p. 64). Humanistic geography emerged in the 1970s in response to what humanists perceived as a tendency to view places as mere locations or sites. In his book, Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience, Chinese-American geographer TUAN YiFu (1977) argued that the places we inhabit have as many personalities as those whose lives have intersected them. In his book, TUAN stated that people believe geography is all about capitals, landforms, etc., but geography is also about place—its emotional tone, social significance, and generative potential. He suggests that place represents safety and space represents liberty, and that we are attached to one and yearn for the other. From one perspective, a city as a whole can be considered a place because its inhabitants have imbued it with symbolic significance. As a symbol, a city represents manmade order and an ideal community. In keeping with his academic style, TUAN excluded numerous philosophical terms and arguments from his definition of ‘place.’ Instead, he used narrative analysis to interpret ‘stories’ told within the context of research findings. In the early 1980s, place was finally acknowledged as a key concept in the study of geography, thanks to a number of well-known academics who greatly enriched and extended its significance. In contemporary cultural geography, the concept of place has three meanings: (1) a point or location on the earth’s surface; (2) an individual or a community’s subjective feelings about a given location; and (3) the background and setting of people’s everyday lives and communication (Holloway et al. 2003). The Chinese characters for ‘place’ are 场所 (‘chang suo’), which conveys an image of typical places that people frequent in their everyday lives. In an objective sense, a place is a locale that has been instilled with meaning through the everyday activities, face-toface communications, and emotional attachments of the people who interact, live, or work there. A place embodies a locale’s unique historical traditions and geographic features as well as its relation to other places. The concept of place has evolved significantly over the last few decades. At this point in time, many scholars agree that place has the following characteristics: (1) It is a dynamic sociogeographic phenomenon that is constantly changing; (2) as a locale, a place is open to newcomers but is considered by those who know and appreciate it to be a personal space and the source of a strong sense of belonging and communal spirit; (3) it is a concretized phenomenon that is materially objective and psychologically subjective, and which is imbued with the emotions, memories, and personal stories of multiple individuals; (4) it involves people’s identification with

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a specific location/locale, site, or space that recognizes, respects, and highly values its connection to other places; and (5) its unique characteristics can theoretically be replicated and transferred to another location/locale, site, or space. The process of globalization, which may result in the increased homogenization of cultures, languages, ideologies, communications, and economics, does not necessarily imply that places will also be homogenized and thus become uniform. Instead, we may discover that the many challenges posed by globalization will encourage people to reflect on and recognize the importance of localities and places, as well as relations among places, localities, regions, and countries. Places can act as bridges that connect people from around the globe, and serve as points of connection for the flow information and logistics in an interdependent world (Shao 2010). The significance of local media lies both in a locality’s uniqueness and in the ‘information field’ that media create and which is recognized, accepted, and strengthened by local residents. In addition to its frequent representations of a locality’s spatial perceptions, expectations, activities, and history, the local media also strengthen the sense of place of those who live and work in this locality by promoting social interaction and thereby strengthening their collective consciousness. Intellectuals in China have a strong sense of family and nation. These characteristics speak to the spiritual wealth of traditional Chinese culture, the broad consensus on the virtues of the Chinese nation, and the ancient spiritual foundation of the Chinese people. QI Jiguang, a famous Ming dynasty general, expressed in his poem ‘Wangque Terrace’: ‘My laborious efforts are like thick frost sprinkled on thousands of mountains, and the autumn leaves scattered all over the mountains are dyed red.’ From one angle, a family can be viewed as a microcosm of a nation, and a nation can be viewed as a macrocosm of a family; they coexist in good times and bad. An individual’s fate is inextricably linked to the prosperity (or lack thereof) of the country in which he or she lives. To promote harmony, individuals ought to obey national authorities and serve the national interest, and it is the nation’s duty to enable them to work together to achieve mutually beneficial goals. The study of global communication provides a picture of transnational information flow, international trading, and cross-cultural exchange, as well as a new global vision characterized by new business opportunities, increased competition, and the ability to make broad decisions based on a thorough understanding of all facts, not just some of them. Global communication also allows local and national media to connect to a global network and participate in a new level of information exchange. As the world enters this era of shared global vision and digital communication, new concepts and strategies like China’s Internet Plus, proposed on March 5, 2015 by Chinese Prime Minister LI Keqiang, suggest that the potent combination of data and intelligence is driving technological innovation, providing a solid foundation for sweeping social change, and providing a dynamic means for individuals to pursue their dreams. Local, national, and global media are gradually merging their respective communication networks into one that is interconnected, interactive, and well-coordinated. Local media cannot avoid the powerful influence of global media, and the global media cannot avoid being influenced by local media. According to Castells (2002),

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the formation of a network society is founded on the dichotomies and commonalities of globality and locality. While economies, technologies, the media, and the authority of governments will inevitably be reflected in a global network, the rhythms of people’s everyday lives, their cultural identities, and their social and political activities will remain local. It is therefore not likely that the globalization of media communication will ever be able to homogenize the unique characteristics and shared historical and cultural memory of localities.

6.2 Significance and Dimensions of Place in the Context of Globalization Since ‘globalization’ was first introduced, this frequently misused and overused term has been a source of much contention. Anthony Giddens took note of this fact and argued that, in the process, the concept had lost much of its explanatory power (Ref., Rantanen 2005). In this regard, we here pose the following thought-provoking questions: • How has the concept of globalization fundamentally changed our understanding of geography? • Where is current research on geography of media leading in this era of globalization? • It is probable that the forces of globalization will significantly impact the media, and that the media, in turn, will significantly impact the progress of globalization. How much of the content conveyed by mass media will be designed for a global audience instead of transnational, regional, or local audiences? (Straubhaar 2007). • Should current research in media geography focus on how to maintain intact the unique characteristics of localities and places in the face of globalization and the eventual homogenization of cultures, languages, communications, and economies? • Can the people who live and work in various localities retain their diversity and sense of place as the world transforms into a global village? • If, as some predict, globalization will dilute and eventually homogenize localities around the world, should we simply accept these changes as inevitable or should we resist and work to protect and strengthen localities? Such questions—and there are many more to be asked—compel us to delve deeper into the meaning of locality and place and their connection to sociographic context and media environment. Place is here defined as the objective and subjective dimensions of social existence within the context of a specific space and time. Its history is based on the continuity of social interaction and emotional connection, and its significance is based on the language and culture cultivated through these interactions and connections. A strong sense of place shared by residents is essential to

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the social harmony of a locality and serves to reinforce existing political structures, power relations, and social order. In Place and Politics: The Geographical Mediation of State and Society (1987), the prominent British-American political geographer John A. Agnew wrote about developing the ‘place perspective.’ He put forward the idea that place has three dimensions: location, locale, and sense of place. Location refers to the fact that a single place is just one among many that exist in the broad context of a ‘macro-order’ comprised of connections between localities and regions, national politics, and the global economy. Locale and sense of place describe the objective and subjective dimensions of the local social interactions and relationships through which political behavior is realized. Locale refers to a built structure, such as a favorite pub or sports venue, or to a geographic location or site, such as a city—or even an entire country—where people gather together to engage in social and political activities. Distinct from the objective reality of locale, sense of place is the subjective perception of significance and personal connection that people construct over time through their direct or vicarious experiences of a specific locale, and which is closely related to personal observation and the influence of media (Baldwin and McCraken 2008). Any number of places can form in an urban space, and these places establish and maintain connections to other places. According to the American billionaire businessman John Sperling (1921–2014), contemporary political structures and localities are forming a synergistic relationship. In the United States, for example, the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections divided the country into ‘two United States of Americas.’ The country was no longer divided by class, as it had been in the past, but by region and culture. The so-called ‘red states’ supported the Republican Party, while the ‘blue states’ supported the Democratic Party. Republicans tended to be conservative, with the majority residing primarily in rural and suburban areas of the country’s Midwest. Democrats tended to be liberal, with the majority residing in the Great Lakes region and on the east and west coasts. On the one hand, the politically conservative residents of red cities and suburbs were commonly stereotyped as backward, aggressive, and vulgar, and were frequently associated with low income and the need for government subsidies. The politically liberal resident of blue cities and cities were, on the other hand, associated with the qualities of open-mindedness, tolerance, knowledgeability, and innovativeness (Sperling 2004). The concept of place can also be examined in terms of its spatiotemporal dimensions. In its spatial dimension, place manifests as physical or imagined locale or site on the earth’s surface, which can range from a village, to an urban space, to a tall built structure that exists in the urban space, and on to larger-scale locations that can be located using GPS coordinates. In this sense, a place has both a geographic morphology and sociocultural characteristics; it is both material and subjective. When viewed from a temporal perspective, a place emerges over time as a result of the personal meaning assigned to it by those who frequent or visit it and who imbue the locale with their emotions, memories, and attachments which transform it into a place.

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For example, the Chinese city of Xi’an has changed dramatically over the last thousand years in terms of size and landscape, and its current TV tower has undergone significant changes as compared to the tower of 20 years ago. As a result, the characteristics of a place must be understood in relation to a specific period of time, together with social developments and historical changes that occurred over that period of time. Every place is unique due to its distinct sociocultural history and geographic environment. The ways in which people live and communicate differ from place to place. People who frequent a place develop a connection to it over a period of time, which may be short or long, the nature and depth of which connection may vary according to age, gender, or cultural origin. Parks, bars, teahouses, and restaurants, for example, become part of people’s lives, and their connections may become stronger or weaker over time. In a place, one may encounter individuals who speak different languages or dialects, or who have different customs, values, or political worldviews. The unique characteristics of locales and places are frequently the subject of media narrations and representations in print form (e.g., China Daily and Hangzhou Daily), and the satellite television channel Zhejiang Television (ZJTV), and the media encourage and highlight these characteristics. In fact, it is generally considered to be the media’s responsibility to promote the development and survival of local places, and to provide the information that local media audiences require to understand the important roles they play in creating and maintaining places, and to cultivate their sense of place and belonging by familiarizing themselves with the local history, culture, and present-day realities. The following two sayings, the first Chinese and the next American, refer to the ups and downs of people’s lives: ‘The villages originally located on the east bank of the Yellow River were found to be located on its west bank’ (i.e., the Yellow River frequently changes its course), and ‘Hope for the best and be prepared for the worst’ (i.e., things don’t always turn out as one expects). In some cases, it appears as if destiny guides a person (or a place) toward a destination or outcome that is different from, or even opposite to, the original one. When viewed as a place, and in terms of its temporal dimension, China has been steadily progressing toward becoming a more prosperous, inclusive, and tolerant society. On the other hand, new challenges have emerged in China’s spatial dimension, such as disparities in social development, accelerating urbanization, and the degradation of ecosystems, especially with regard to the purity of water and soil. From a Chinese perspective, globalization promotes and strengthens its integration into the world, its possibilities for international dialogue and exchange, facilitates negotiation and cooperation with other countries with the shared goal of achieving a harmonious common future. China’s attitude toward the processes of globalization are inclusive, flexible, practical, and future-oriented, which requires that the nation address both internal and external affairs, interact with various organizations, communication and interact with other parts of the world, and coordinate its regional and global strategies to readily adapt to the coming changes and challenges under the guidance of the principles of positive engagement, cultural and racial tolerance, win–win cooperation, and humanism.

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Newly-formed perspectives on globalization are resulting in a holistic model that will support China’s recognition and acceptance by all countries and peoples. China seeks to encourage the development of an integrated and harmonious ecological relationship between humans, animals, plants, and envisions the world as a ‘global village’ based on equality, mutual respect, and justice for all. China is also well aware of the likelihood that, to pursue this strategy, it may be necessary to relinquish some of its global interests, but that, over time, greater benefits will follow. This situation is comparable to the Chinese ‘pagoda candies strategy’: A child with roundworms in his or her stomach is unlikely to willingly consume Artemisia annua (sweet wormwood), but if you combine this anti-parasitic medicinal herb with sugar, spices, vanilla flakes, and water to make sweet ‘pagoda candies,’ the child happily accepts one or two. General acceptance of China’s holistic model for globalization model would, like the pagoda candies strategy, encourage the rational and unified mode of thinking that will be needed to solve future problems in international relations that are often the result of binary either-or thinking.

6.3 Dissolving of Regional Boundaries and the Emergence of Mediated Place Sense of place is the cumulative effect of emotional attachments and bonds that people develop or experience over time in relation to a specific locale and geosocial environment, on scales ranging from a family home to an entire nation. Sense of place, which is the product of people’s social interactions, memories, and collective imagination over time, becomes symbolic of the physical and historical characteristics of specific locality or region.

6.3.1 Origins of the Sense of Place The study of place has a long history, dating back to ancient Chinese residential geomancy. Yellow Emperor Curtilage Sutra, one of the earliest Chinese classics on the subject of feng shui, advocated that Heaven, Earth, and Man are one, and that people should live in harmony with their homes, the earth, and the Universe. Furthermore, it compared a ‘residence’ to the human body, saying, ‘Residence takes geography as its body, spring water as the blood flowing through its veins, land as its skin, vegetation as its hair, the house as its clothing, and the door as its crown band.’ This fusion of natural elements and body metaphors can be seen as a vivid representation of a concept of feng shui, as well as indicative of the objective and subjective aspects of sense of place. Many ancient Chinese classics used descriptions of the human body to represent the relationship between one’s home and Heaven, as well as between Earth and

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the Universe. I Ching expresses this idea as follows: ‘Heaven and Earth existing, all (material) things then got their existence. After (material) things came into existence, male and female appeared. Husband and wife evolved from the existence of male and female, and father and son descended from husband and wife.’2 Huai Nan Zi, a Han dynasty classic, mentions this idea in the chapter ‘Ben Jing Xun’: ‘Heaven, Earth, and the Universe are analogous to the human body.’ In the eyes of the ancient Chinese, even one’s country is an extension of one’s body. As stated in ‘Xi Ci II’ of the I Ching, ‘The superior man, when resting in safety, does not forget that danger may come; when in a state of security, he does not forget the possibility of ruin; and when all is in a state of order, he does not forget that disorder may come. As a result, his person is safe, and his states and clans can be preserved.’3 Later, Mencius (372 BC–289 BC), a Chinese philosopher and thinker whose importance in the Confucian tradition is second only to that of Confucius, stated that people have this saying, ‘The kingdom, the State, and the family,’ which can be interpreted as the State is the foundation of the kingdom, the family is the foundation of the State, and the head of the family is the foundation of the family.4 Influenced by these and other philosophical views, the ancient Chinese also used the human body as a point of reference to define ‘place.’ From the standpoint of their cosmology, the concept of place includes the connections between one’s body, one’s home, one’s nation, the earth, and the Universe. In the West, research on place and sense of place began in the 1950s with the study of environmental psychology and human perception. The American urban planner and author Kevin Lynch (1918–1984) pioneered research on the relationship between humans and environment, and his monograph The Image of the City (1960) laid the groundwork for the study of place and sense of place from the perspective of environmental design. Lynch thought of cities as both a reflection and an externalization of human nature. He saw a city as a ‘city of people,’ because people are the city’s builders and inhabitants, and they play an essential role in shaping its social life and future development. Lynch suggested that this definition of ‘city’ could also be used as a symbol by a specific social community in communication with others and as an environmental and cultural framework understanding how a city’s collective memory is formed. The Chinese legend of how the goddess Nüwa fashioned humans from yellow clay regarded ‘the land’ as humanity’s place of origin and final destination. In this sense, a modern city can be viewed as a fantastical place built on the land by humans and imbued over time with their feelings, emotions, and memories. TUAN Yi-Fu (1977) and Edward Relph (1976) conducted extensive research on sense of place, discussing the relationship between humans and environment as well as the nature of place. TUAN (1974) also introduced the concept of topophilia into geography, using it to refer to people’s love of, or emotional attachment to, a place in terms of cognition, emotion, and spirit. TUAN’s first notable work, Topophilia: A Study of Environmental Perception, remains required reading for landscape students at colleges and universities in the United States. When people imbue a location and locale with human experience, emotions, and values, people become one with the land (i.e., geographic location).

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This unity is the result of the affective bonds formed by the social activities, emotional attachments, and memories of individuals. Similarly, the ancient concept of ‘the unity of Man and nature’ is founded on the basis of human connection rather than on natural ecology. One might therefore argue that loving one’s self (i.e., humanity) is equivalent to loving the land (i.e. the earth). It is worth mentioning in this regard that John Wright (1891–1969) originated the term ‘geopiety’ to describe people’s deep belief and worship of the invisible powers that underlie nature and geographic space (Wright 1947). Many cultural geographers later introduced this concept when discussing the relationship of humans with natural landscapes. People’s respect for the land and nature results from the lessons learned through the interaction of humans with their environment. While not every part of a city, which is obviously not a natural phenomenon, will elicit people’s respect, urban designers and builders intentionally and willingly create urban landscapes that evoke a feeling of respect. Such landscapes may include churches and cathedrals, museums of history and art, and statues of local and national heroes.

6.3.2 Mediated Place amid the Digitalization of Mass Media We are living in the age of global digital mass media, where netizens develop an insatiable desire to view continuous streams of images and messages on social media platforms such as Weibo and WeChat. Whenever one posts a personal photo online, it usually represents a happy occasion with family or friends, and this moment in time is always associated, consciously or subconsciously, with a specific geographic environment. Similarly, urban planners frequently prioritize aesthetics over functionality or practicality in their designs of urban architectural landscapes. And whenever possible, landscape architects try to create memorable visual impressions that will create an atmosphere of community and geopiety of those network-connected individuals who like to post their personal photos on social media platforms (Shao and Pan 2020). In Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience (1977), TUAN Yi-Fu presented his ideas on the concept of sense of place. In his opinion, sense of place has two meanings: the inherent characteristics of a specific place (locality) and people’s emotional attachment to this place, also called ‘place attachment.’ The American author, Fritz Steele (1981) stated in his monograph The Sense of Place that sense of place is an emotional attachment that develops between people and a locale that over time has become a place. Places cannot exist without the frequent visits of ‘regulars’ or ‘out-of-towners’ who visit every now and then. In addition to enhancing the local geospatial landscape, regular interactions between people and locality—and in particular between people and their natural surroundings—create personal memories that contribute to a sense of place. People with a strong sense of place appreciate their local environment and are grateful and happy to be part of it.

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Most people form an emotional attachment to the homes and hometowns where they were born and grew up. This deep sense of belonging and attachment is comparable to the way sense of place is formed in people’s memories. One’s childhood home represents family life and a safe haven, and one’s hometown evokes childhood memories, both of which embody a sense of familiarity, warmth, security, and nostalgia. The Japanese film Brothel No. 8 is about people’s sense of nostalgia for the comforting attributes of hometown: A small group of Japanese prostitutes was forced to live and work in a country in Southeast Asia located far from their hometown of Tokyo. When they were old and dying, and filled with intense nostalgia for their happier former life, they requested that their tombstones be positioned facing the compass direction of Tokyo. Similar feelings of nostalgia for one’s ‘place’ of origin have inspired numerous works of art and literature in the East and West. Pilgrimages to religious sites are another way to understand sense of place. One’s religion shapes the sense of place through the socializing influence of religious doctrines and ceremonies, as well as the social and community-oriented activities and experiences that religions offer their congregations. The perceived sanctity of religious sites gives members of those religions with a strong sense of place and belonging. Every year, large numbers of believers and curious tourists visit Jerusalem, the Vatican, Mecca, and other world-famous religious destinations which people have over time imbued an aura with deep significance and meaning. People’s appreciation of beautiful natural surroundings contributes to the sense of place of a locality. For example, TAO Yuanming, a Chinese hermit poet and politician during the Six Dynasties period refused to ‘bend the back for five bushels of rice.’ He eventually resigned in a huff from his official position and returned to his hometown of Chaisang. There, he was content to work as a farmer, live of poverty, and devote himself to spiritual matters, as well as drink jugs of wine, nap under the shade of trees, and read books for his amusement. Along these lines, during the Tang dynasty, WANG Wei, a poet, painter, musician, and statesman, decided to retire to his country villa on the Wang River near Zhongnan mountain in Shaanxi province, where he pursued his study of Buddhism and wrote many of his best poems. LIU Haisu, a painter and educator, advocated a blending of Eastern and Western styles and techniques that would fuel the modernization of art education in China. Between 1918 and 1988, LIU visited Mount Huangshan ten times, where he created many famous paintings that were inspired by the spectacular natural scenery. Another aspect of sense of place is people’s appreciation of its cultural heritage. People feel a strong sense of belonging when they visit localities with profound cultural significance, and such localities often become prominent cultural symbols. Suzhou and Hangzhou, for instance, represent the grace, elegance, and prosperity of the water towns of the Yangtze River’s lower reaches. Xi’an, a thriving city in Northwest China, reminds people of the glory of the Han and Tang dynasties as well as the incredible cultural treasures of ancient China. Dali and Lijiang are cities that bring to mind the customs of the ethnic minorities in Yunnan province.

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6.4 Placeness of Media: Progression or Regression? The media have complicated synergistic connection to the formation of place and sense of place. Media companies have their own ‘placeness’ that influences how they develop content and this sense of place influences how they construct and shape content that serves to promote and preserve unique characteristics of other places. Because globalization will lead to the eventual homogenization of media products, local and regional media may lose their sense of place and indirectly bring about the loss of the placeness of countless other places. China’s local media have grown steadily since the 1990s, adapting and evolving from the ‘evening news craze’ to the ‘metropolitan daily craze,’ from local dramas to dialect-based programming, and from print media to radio and television broadcasting. While the rise of local media represents the prosperity of local culture (particularly urban culture), they also signal an increase in people’s cost of living and a growing lack of consensus on norms and values, all of which may increase social tensions and lead to a crisis of personal and collective identity (Shao and Li 2004; Shao and Pan 2005). In their representations of specific places and localities, the media can produce mediated content that will strengthen or weaken the placeness of specific places and localities.

6.4.1 Place and the Role of Media Locality is here defined as a distinct and named or locally recognized population cluster in a built-up area such as a village, town, or city that is comprised of diverse individuals who live in adjacent quarters and who are connected through various social relations, activities, and shared interests. A locality is often associated with one or more places that serve as the locus of its social life, a source of local identity and sense of place, and a repository and symbol of its history and collective memory. A locality may also be characterized by its natural environment (e.g., climate, topography, and hydrology), local production of arts and crafts, historical events and festivals, architectural style, and its representations of important figures of the past and present. For example, the streams and small stone bridges in Wuzhen are representatives of China’s picturesque water towns, and the natural scenery of Hainan is typified by tall coconut trees and the long shadows they cast. Examples of local production of arts and crafts are Jingdezhen porcelain from Jiangxi province, Dongyang woodcarvings from Zhejiang province, and the famous Huishan clay figurines from Jiangsu. Examples of historical events and festivals are the Lugouqiao Bridge Incident, also known as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, which signaled Japan’s full-scale invasion of China, and which evoked patriotic feelings in Chinese people. Examples of the association of architecture and historical figures with localities include SUN Yat-sen and Nanjing, SU Dongpo and Hangzhou, the Leifeng Pagoda and Hangzhou, and the

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Cishou Pagoda at Jinshan Temple in Zhejiang. The people who reside in these localities, or those who visit, accumulate fond memories of their unique characteristics that contribute to a sense of place. In modern society, sense of place is increasingly viewed as a socio-spatial visualization of local culture and a reflection of the trend of commodification. The visual images conveyed through various forms of local media often contribute to a shared sense of place, and with the rapid growth of the global tourism industry, local media distribute images and narratives of scenic places and cultural spaces that associate specific localities with specific activities and products to bolster the tourism business and support local economies. In other words, the media link visual images and narratives to localities’ sense of place and, in the process, turn localities with significant historical and cultural heritage into marketable commodities and local brands. The media play a central role in the creation and commercialization of sense of place. While ancient peoples’ sense of place was primarily based on direct personal experience, modern people’s sense of place is strongly influenced by the representations disseminated by global digital media and over social media. The ubiquity of computers and portable electronic devices such as cell phones make it possible for people to vicariously experience localities through the medium of visual images and narratives and to develop a sense of place that is linked to a distant place or locality. From a media geographic perspective, imageability (the quality of a place or locality that makes it immediately recognizable and memorable) has emerged as an important factor in the creation of a spatially decentered sense of place. Today, people around the world are inundated by visual images produced and disseminated by mass media, and it is often through the visual medium of these digital images that people learn about the world and even develop a sense of place of distant localities, cities, and countries without leaving their homes. In his monograph, No Sense of Place: The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior, Meyrowitz (1985) observes that the feeling of ‘no sense of place’ which is caused by digital media’s ‘integration of contexts’ negatively impacts the formation of interpersonal communication models and leads people to use forms of digital media that have little respect for physical geography, boundaries, or distance. As a result, people no longer need to engage in face-to-face communication to share their emotions and memories. The emergence of new media has weakened our sense of where we are and what we know and experience, one of the important features of place. Although researchers continue to pay close attention to boundaries that define and preserve traditional cultures, geographic boundaries, they may overlook the fact that many cultures defined by these boundaries are now disintegrating from within. In contrast to Meyrowitz’s notion of ‘no sense of place,’ it can be predicted that new digital media are leading us to a ‘new sense of place’ characterized by richer diversity and broader vision. Every day, people consume and are influenced by the information, messages, and images conveyed by mass media. In fact, the sheer volume of media content originating in distant countries has become a source of concern. The global media influence people’s sense of place. On the one hand, media content that conveys derogatory messages about a locality or place tends to weaken its position and influence in the global landscape. On the other hand, the media can

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strengthen the influence of a locality or place by transmitting positive information and by highlighting its interesting history and vibrant culture. If people are willing to take the time to compare fragments of different or contradictory media information about a given locality, they can usually distinguish between fact and fiction. Obviously, not all media depictions of a specific localities and places are accurate. Thus, media representations of localities and urban spaces should be viewed as ‘mediated realities’ that are intentionally shaped based on a variety of motives and themes. In its shaping of people’s sense of place, because the media are subject to the influence of vested interests and power relations, it is unrealistic to expect them to resist these influences and nevertheless produce content that accurately reflect the realities of life in various places and localities. For instance, many Chinese tourists dream of experiencing events with wide appeal such as the Olympic venues for the 2008 Beijing Games and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo Park, which a significant percentage of the current population have only learned about through media coverage.

6.4.2 Mediation of Place The realities of geographic space and physical location exert great influence on the unique characteristics of the media industries and contribute to their deeply-rooted sense of place. As one of media’s inherent ontological characteristics, the media’s sense of place has played a significant role throughout its history. Placeness of the media Distinct from the concepts of place and sense of place, placeness is a relatively new concept. A place exists in time–space, and the characteristics of that place change as its social culture evolves. Placeness is formed as a result of the distinctive characteristics of a place or locality that exists in a specific space and over a specific period of time. Localities can exist on a wide range of scales ranging from villages to urban centers to regions, and their respective placeness may be stable or fluid based on the activities and interactivities of human and natural environments. In today’s interconnected world, placeness may be formed based on physical and social similarities or on similar physical or geographic characteristics. The term ‘placeness of media’ refers to characteristics of media in a particular space and time that are shared due to their close relationship to local populations, social conditions, and cultural ecologies. In the geography of media, placeness encompasses sociocultural conditions, human relationships, and the influence of media on these conditions and relationships in the context of a specific geographic space. Due to the fact that the media should be viewed and studied in relation to their geographic context, media placeness involves the unique characteristics of a given place or locality relative to local values. The changeability of a place or locality are diametrically opposed to any fixed process or rigid dogma. In the context of media,

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placeness involves the recognition and affirmation of the values and principles it promotes. Media placeness is similar to placeness in the following ways: It focuses on the unique qualities, generalities, and commonalities of a media source that exists within a specific time–space context. As a result of the ongoing influence of complex socioeconomic and cultural factors, a local media source reflects the characteristics of its geographic location in space and time. Local media sources tend to imitate the general characteristics of mass media, resulting in sense of ‘local commonality.’ The greater the local commonality of given media source, the more obvious its placeness. Although the formation of media placeness is a result of dynamic processes, it is also relatively stable in the sense that it represents a commonality of interests between localities and local media. Stability can be defined as a product of the commonality between locality and local media as a positive result of sociocultural adaptation and change. For example, differences between the artistic communities of the ‘Beijing School’ and the ‘Shanghai School’ from the mid-nineteenth century to the twentieth century reflected aspects of local media placeness. The Beijing School’s media culture emphasized hard news journalism, with a focus on breaking news stories about topics of general concern, and with the intention of moderating public reaction and guiding public opinion. In contrast, the media content produced by the Shanghai School reported on a wide range of interesting and diverse topics. Media placeness is never static, but evolves synchronously with new developments in society and culture. Media placeness cannot result from the activities of a few local media sources, but only through the activities of a large number of local media sources that exist in a specific geographic region. Modernity and globalization of the media To understand the concept of media placeness, one have to consider the closely related concepts of ‘modernity’ and ‘globalization.’ Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) contributed to the history of Western thought with his in-depth analysis of modernity, in which he found human reason to be the product of a collection of distinct moments whose apparent unity is merely formal. In his monograph The Order of Things: An Archeology of the Human Sciences, the French postmodernist philosopher Michel Foucault (1926–1984) condemned the subjective rationalizations (i.e., the ability to convince others) of modern institutions as constructs of social domination. Despite his criticism of Kant’s thinking on the differentiation of reason, Foucault considered Kant’s work to represent the beginning of modernity and a driving force in its ongoing transformation. Jürgen Habermas (2007 [1980]), a social theorist and philosopher, believed that Kant’s concept of formal differentiation laid the groundwork for future thought on the subject of modernity. Other scholars, including Hegel, Marx, Weber, Durkheim, and Giddens, studied modernity from various perspectives. The German philosopher Georg W. F. Hegel (1770–1831) saw the core of modernity in the principle of ‘subjectivity,’ which he associated with individualism, critical-rational competence, and autonomous action. Anthony Giddens, a British sociologist born in 1938, contributed one of the most famous definitions of modernity, stating that ‘modernity’ refers to modes of social

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life or social organization which emerged in Europe around the beginning of the seventeenth century, spread around the world, and which had a significant impact on human civilization. The Age of Enlightenment in the eighteenth century Europe, the Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain in the eighteenth century, the process of democratization in the West beginning in the nineteenth century, as well as related worldwide changes in economics, politics, culture, values, and ideology, all contributed to major changes in the definition of modernity. Modernity is a complex concept that can be understood from the perspectives of social structures and organization, and associated developments in culture and political ideology. The Modern Age, which began in the twentieth century, saw the gradual formation of a new world order based on capitalism, the construction of secular societies, market sharing, and the global flow of commodities and labor resources. During this time, nation-states were formed and administrative organizations and legal systems were established. Guided by the rationalist principles of the Age of Enlightenment, reflective systems (i.e., systems that are logical, methodical, and based on an analytic framework) for understanding human history began to emerge, together with modern educational systems, technologies for large-scale creation and dissemination of knowledge and information, and new fields of academic study (Lang and Xiang 2001). While the primary focus of media geography is on the relationship between modernity and placeness, and on the cultural and ideological connotations of modernity, Giddens (1990, p. 53) presented three sources of the dynamism of modernity, all of which are connected, in The Consequences of Modernity. The first source is the separation of time and space, which provides the means for accurate temporal and spatial zoning as the condition for time–space distanciation of infinite scope. Due to the fact that modern perceptions of space and time are molded by universal timekeeping systems, standardized worldwide time zones and world maps, and global digital media, people can now ‘virtually travel’ around the world. The second source is the emergence of disembedding processes, which ‘lift out’ social activity from limited contexts and restructure social ties over vast time–space distances. De-regionalization, for instance, enables social relations originating in one location to spread across a vast geographic area, reorganizing existing social relations along the way. The third source is the reflective appropriation of knowledge, which is defined as the generation of systematic knowledge about social life that becomes an inherent part of system reproduction, thereby liberating social life from tradition. This source, which is intrinsically stimulating but also unstable, encompasses vast stretches of time–space. The two most important components of the de-regionalization mechanism are universal symbols such as money, power, and language, and the experts who provide professional knowledge and skills. The reflective appropriation of knowledge is the process whereby individuals continuously monitor and assign meaning to their social actions. When knowledge is applied to the monitoring of social action, it becomes an indispensable element in the replication of social actions. As a source of knowledge

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production, experts play an important role in the replication of social systems. In this way, social life is liberated from the ever-present mores and bonds of social relations and social relations undergo reflective adjustment (Liu 2008). As a result of the separation of time and space caused by the dynamic development of modernity, scholars have found the formulation of a generally accepted definition of locality very difficult to achieve. The separation of time and space, the process of de-regionalization, and the reflective use of knowledge separate modernity from traditional social orders and deepen the institutional dimension of modernity. Moreover, the processes of time–space extension and de-regionalization have endowed modernity with the characteristics of globalization—a term that has been widely used since the 1980s. According to Giddens (1990), globalization is ‘the intensification of worldwide social relations that connect distant localities in such a way that local happenings can be shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa.’ In this sense, globalization implies the compression of time–space, as opposed to locality, which tends to expand in time–space. Emergence of local media Local media exist in relation to national media. In China, the term ‘local media’ refers to media outlets other than those sponsored by the Central Committee of the CPC (i.e., the state-run media). It is widely acknowledged that, of all the countries in the world, local media have developed most smoothly in the United States. The Boston News-Letter, the first newspaper to be published in North America, began publication in April 1704. In the second half of the nineteenth century, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and other modern American newspapers were introduced to the public in rapid succession. In the United States’ sophisticated media industry, local newspapers are a dominant powerhouse. In contrast, although local media have long existed in China, a national media industry did not take shape until the 1990s. Because local media in China are mostly based in urban areas, their programming, which typically features the various activities of urban life, has fueled the construction of regional economic centers, cultural centers, and media clusters. During the development of China’s media industry, the rise of local media underwent three stages (Cai 2005): The first stage was the ‘evening news craze’ in the 1990s, when daily newspapers in urban areas began carrying an ongoing series of ‘evening news’ articles. The second stage, known as the ‘urban newspaper craze,’ began in 1995 when a number of urban civic newspapers, sponsored by provincial and prefectural party committee newspapers, came out one after another. Compared with the ‘evening news’ newspapers, urban civic newspapers have clearly-defined target audiences—residents in cities who find city life and urban culture appealing. TV programs also adopted an ‘urbanized’ orientation. A large quantity of the content disseminated by local media channels were representations of urban culture, and these channels touted their urban orientation. The third stage was the formation of local media groups. Newspaper, radio, and television groups were set up throughout the nation, and the influence of local media expanded through the further integration of new media resources.

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The rise of China’s local media was driven by national press agencies. Newspapers are inherently characterized by locality, and their readership has an obvious affinity with local culture. Robert G. Picard (1989), an American economist whose primary area of expertise is the press, argued in Media Economics: Concepts and Issues that newspapers are born as local products and gradually become integrated into specific geographic areas by continuously transmitting local news and advertisements. In the United States, only a handful of large cities have more than two newspapers. For the majority of audiences, local newspapers are the preferred source of news and information. In terms of the depth and breadth of media content, local newspapers cannot be replaced by those published by other cities or by national press agencies. The same applies to electronic media. When it comes to local news and information, national radio and television stations cannot compete with locally-based stations. Local newspapers are popular with local audiences due to the relevance of their content to people’s everyday lives and the fact that they often surpass national newspapers in terms of accessibility, readability, and superior service. Because one of the functions of local media is to showcase local culture and characteristics, they are significant in the manifestation and expression of locality in the context of globalization. In other words, the cultural characteristics localities are furthered by the vitality of their local media. However, in the current media environment where consumerism prevails, local media can become disoriented if they become too involved in the tide of materiality and consumption. At present, local media find themselves in a dilemma: When it tries to emulate global media, it loses its identity and becomes a mouthpiece of transnational media; when it focuses on defending its local essence, it deviates from a broad vision of the nation and the world and, in the process, may become excessively local in scope. If local media cannot properly identify with their locality and serve to shape and preserve local characteristics in the context of globalization, local culture may be engulfed by the new consumer society. As one component of a consumption-oriented mass culture, local media have the responsibility to cultivate citizens’ sense of place and to support cultural diversity through the continuous dissemination of high-quality content. As the Swedish social and economic geographer Brett Christophers (2007) emphasized, we need to be aware of the fact that place and space, as well as place and the world, are closely linked and shape each other through their interaction and as influenced by economic, cultural, and geographic factors. In the near future, a globally-sponsored redrawing of the world map may become an economic, strategic, and moral necessity.

6.4.3 Place, Locality, and Local Media The significance of a locality lies not only in its geospatial and social characteristics, but also in its relationship to the spatial patterns of local media. While location tells us where we are in terms of latitude and longitude, locality shapes the sense of place

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of its residents. The interrelationships among place, locality, and local media shape people’s identities as well as their understanding of the world. In its relation to local media, place has multiple meanings. Place as a product of social relations According to Baudrillard (1983), we live in an era of ‘simulations,’ in which symbols no longer represent concrete ideas, objects, or relationships, but instead create social realities. In a media-mediated space, place embodies a history of human experience related to social and environmental factors. Words, images, and sounds help us understand the local landscape and culture. On-the-scene investigations and faceto-face communication are no longer prerequisites to obtaining current information. People often believe that media depictions of a locality which resonate throughout a mediated environment reflect objective reality. Because of local media’s constant dissemination of information, the meaning and connotations of place are constantly reconstructed and extended. As a core subject of media content, locality is not only the location of events and social activities, but also reflects a particular attitude and connection to these activities. While localities hold significance and meaning, they also exist in the context of regional or national culture and power relations wherein disparities between rural and urban spaces are frequently highlighted. Media representations of villages and cities typically emphasize objective features and historical backgrounds. Such distinctions can become symbols that construct meanings for people other than those to which they directly refer. As a result, no static visual or narrative descriptions of villages or cities exist. Media depictions of rural landscapes may be perceived as picturesque idylls or foreboding wilderness, and a modern city can be characterized as a vibrant and exciting place or as a boiling cauldron of darkness and sin. Obviously, media depictions of locality and place are rarely, if ever, objective reflections of reality, but rather subjective messages that convey various sociocultural messages. Because villages and cities do not exist in isolation but instead are linked to other localities, they can serve as points of reference. As a result, media images often contrast pastoral scene with an urban space consisting of impressive multistory buildings, or a leisurely rural lifestyle with the energetic hustle and bustle of a city street. When we talk about location, we may simply mean the physical geographic setting in which an event or situation takes place. Depending on the observer’s perspective, the meaning of a particular locality can be positive or negative. While advertisements often depict the natural scenery of the countryside as an ideal living environment for humans, they also depict the consumption-oriented lifestyles of people who live in a modern metropolitan area as glamorous and appealing. Villages and cities that are depicted in media products are competing symbol representations that can be interpreted positively or negatively depending of the presentation and the cognition of media audiences. Therefore, the media mediate its images of villages and cities in such a way as to instill them with meanings that go well beyond their actual sociogeographic significance. By manipulating symbolic representations of local places and spaces, the media create imagined socio-geographic landscapes.

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Place as the core of locality Another feature of a place that is associated with a locality is that it clearly indicates where a person or an event is located. Immersing oneself in the social context of a locality is the best way to gain a deep understanding of its various characteristics. Media representations of place and locality may also detail the specific location of a specific activity or social behavior and, in so doing, may have the effect of regulating or restricting such activities or behaviors. Every locality or place has its own set of rules and regulations for acceptable social behavior, and different individuals or groups may interpret them according to their own attitudes and values. For example, people who work in hospitals, restaurants, schools, or places of worship are expected to exhibit appropriate behavior. Goffman (1959) defined the perceived socially-acceptable boundary of such behaviors as the point where individuals begin to feel artificially constrained by an outside agency. According to Goffman, an individual’s sense of personal location is a physical space bounded by the social norms and mores and in which they can engage in social activities at a particular time and in a particular space. Without the aid of media representations, people could only learn about a place or locality through direct experience and social interaction. Goffman also observed that the often-overlooked function of a ‘sensory barrier’ is an aspect of people’s subjective cognition of local spaces and places. In fact, people’s attachments to a locality or place enrich and deepen their perceptions of a given locality or place. In the context of social interaction and information exchange, the separation of ‘foreground’ and ‘background’ adds a sensory dimension to the objective and subjective characteristics of locality. In a specific foreground or background space, behavioral norms usually correspond to people’s traditional values and moral standards. Consequently, the set of social constraints intrinsic to a particular locality derives not only from geographic boundaries, but also from the unseen restrictions of psychosocial boundaries on people’s emotions and behaviors. Various intermediary factors also influence information exchanges in social contexts. Because face-to-face interactions are not always possible, one’s ability to accumulate of social experience depends on other methods of information-gathering, the primary method being the consumption of media content. The rules and behaviors associated with a particular locality or place are the result of long periods of social accumulation in group settings. Therefore, if the perceived boundaries of localities merge or vanish, conventional standards will no longer be relevant. The products created by mass media tend to blur the boundaries between public and private space, and media representations of private activities that occur in personal or family space often appear in full view of the public on the screens of televisions, cell phones, and computers. Real-time transmission of digital media products, which are replete with images and sounds, allows media consumers to wander about in public and private spaces while satisfying their secret desires to get a glimpse into private lives of others. Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 film Rear Window reveals the voyeuristic desires of ordinary city dwellers, which are greatly amplified in the public sphere by modern electronic media, and sci-fi films such as The Truman Show (1998) and EDtv (1999)

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humorously point out the blurry line between physical geography and imagined private space. The rapid development of communication technologies, as well as its sometimes improper use, confuses and blurs the boundaries that separate public space from private space. Under the influence of the media, places become more isolated and spaces become more integrated. When a certain mode of media communication becomes an integral part of daily life, people tend to turn a blind eye to changes in place and space and to the crossing of established boundaries. Through the influence of television programs and mobile media, the notion of personal privacy gradually loses its meaning, and personal space is diminished because of its previously welldefined boundaries and spatial barriers have disappeared. People are entranced by the new ‘private’ online digital spaces, and easily become addicted to the pleasure derived from this form of ‘mediated voyeurism’ (Calvert 2000). In societies where the media exist anytime and everywhere, the boundaries of people’s private spaces become increasingly permeable. Place as a focus of media consumption Localities exist in almost every region of the world, and every locality that is within the range of local or global media is possible consumer of media products. In fact, the information conveyed by mass media is most meaningful when it is consumed by people who live in different parts of the world. City subways, buses, shopping malls, and office buildings are locations where media products are consumed. Because media consumption patterns vary from location to location, media practitioners need to design content and establish communication channels accordingly. Family homes, where the mode of media consumption differs from the public sphere, are the most important locations for media consumption. Although some people do transmit private information in and from public places, family homes are generally regarded as private spaces not subject to outside interference. This distinction allows families to enjoy a more pleasant and relaxing atmosphere in their homes than is possible in the public arena, as well as relatively unrestricted freedom in their consumption of media, despite the fact that some family members will restrict the access of other family members to certain media content. In many family homes, space is optimally allocated for the consumption of media. The bedroom, the study, or the living room may for example be assigned to a specific family member to accommodate his or her unique media consumption and communication needs and patterns. Unlike a bedroom or a home office, a typical living room is less private. For this reason, it is typically used by family members who wish to communicate informally and consume media together. The hierarchy of media consumption within a family relates to the amount of time and choice of media that each family member is permitted to consume. In addition, continued exposure to media content in a family home can result in a variety of troublesome micro-spatial patterns. The family, which is like a cell in the body of society, is an important target audience for social media. Modern media are increasingly able to penetrate the private spaces of families because they conform or adapt to the requirements and preferences

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of family life. Gradually, individual family members develop close relationships to specific forms of media. In the past, television was the media form consumed by most families and family members. Nowadays, computers and cellphones are the most widely-used media platforms in family homes, and they quickly become an indispensable part of daily life. In a familial space where media products are consumed, the relationship between media and location is intimate. Whether it be the continuing popularity of radio and television programming, the attention of magazines and newspapers to issues related to lifestyle and quality of life, or the huge volume of content designed for home consumption, the media readily accommodate themselves to the leisurely private space and atmosphere of family life. The above example of familial consumption of media invites us to take a closer look at the important role of location in the realm of mass media. Just as location influences the form and content of media products, the media in turn influence location. And because digital technologies such as cellphones and the Internet have greatly increased people’s mobility, the power of the mass media is becoming ubiquitous in everyday activities such as mobile shopping, ticket-purchasing, taxi-ordering, online banking. Increasingly, the media connect people to localities and localities to other localities. As long as people continue to occupy real-world physical spaces in their everyday lives, geographic space cannot completely determine their personal identities. In modern societies, people conduct their everyday lives in a way that ensures their ready access to various forms of media. Locality and location therefore influence media transmission modes, and the media actively develop its ‘flowing’ online space. With the arrival of Internet Plus digital intelligence, media communication over fifth-generation (5G) broadband cellular networks is revolutionizing the speed and scale of global digital communication. The dissemination of media information is steadily approaching an era of de-professionalization, in which time and space are no longer significant limitations and where people freely share information in a manner that is open, transparent, and diverse. Mobile media forms such as cellphones and laptops, significantly impact how people live and work, and the types of mediaproduced entertainment they prefer to consume. Mobile digital media also promote the continuous innovation and optimization of communication, improves individuals’ quality of life, and encourages people to organize and plan their lives in a more creative and colorful manner.

Notes 1. The dictionary Ci Hai (sixth edition with colored illustrations) was edited by XIA Zhengnong and CHEN Zhili, and was published in 2009 by Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House. 2. The excerpt was translated by James Legge, and was retrieved from the website page of the Chinese Text Project: https://ctext.org/book-of-changes/xu (accessed May 8, 2022). 3. The excerpt was translated by James Legge, and was retrieved from the website page of the Chinese Text Project: https://ctext.org/book-of-changes/xi-ci-i (accessed May 8, 2022).

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4. The excerpt is from Mengzi (Mencius), as translated by James Legge, and was retrieved from the website page of the Chinese Text Project: https://ctext.org/mengzi/li-lou-i (accessed May 8, 2022).

References Agnew, John A. 1987. Place and politics: The geographical mediation of state and society. Boston and London: Allen and Unwin. Baldwin, Elaine, and Scott McCraken. 2008. Introducing cultural studies, 2nd ed. London: Routledge. Baudrillard, Jean. 1983. Simulations. New York: Semiotext. Cai, Ming. 2005. The rise of local media and urbanized media culture. Press Circles (3): 99–100. Calvert, Clay. 2000. Voyeur nation: Media, privacy, and peering in modern culture. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Castells, Manuel. 2002. Urban sociology in the twenty-first century. Cidades-Comunidades e Territórios (5): 9–19. Christophers, Brett. 2007. Media geography’s dualities. Cultural Geographies 14 (1): 156–161. Giddens, Anthony. 1990. The consequences of modernity. Oxford: Polity Press. Goffman, Erving. 1959. The presentation of self in everyday life. New York: The Overlook Press. Habermas, Jürgen. 2007 [1980]. Modernity: An unfinished project. In Contemporary sociological theory, ed. Craig Calhoun J., 2–363. Oxford: Blackwell. Holloway, Sarah L., Stephen P. Rice, and Gill Valentine (eds.). 2003. Key concepts in geography. London: Sage. Lang, Youxin, and Hui Xiang. 2001. Viewpoints from Anthony Giddens. Zhejiang Social Sciences (3): 105–109. Liu, Dongmei. 2008. Rethinking modernity: An interpretation of Anthony Giddens’s thoughts about modernity. Theory Horizon (6): 117–118. Lukermann, Fred E. 1964. Geography as a formal intellectual discipline and the way in which it contributes to human knowledge. The Canadian Geographer 8 (4): 167–172. Lynch, Kevin. 1960. The image of the city. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Meyrowitz, Joshua. 1985. No sense of place: The impact of electronic media on social behavior. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Picard, Robert G. 1989. Media economics: Concepts and issues. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Rantanen, Terhi. 2005. Giddens and the ‘g’-word: An interview with Anthony Giddens. Global Media and Communication 1 (1): 63–77. Relph, Edward. 1976. Place and placelessness. London: Pion. Sauer, Carl O. 1962. The morphology of landscape. In ‘Land and life’: A selection from the writings of Carl Ortwin Sauer, ed. John Leighly, 317–369. Berkley: University of California Press. Shao, Peiren, and Wen Li. 2004. Is language a bridge or a wall? Suspicions and questions about radio and television news programs in local dialects. Journal of Hangzhou Normal University (Humanities and Social Sciences) (5): 28–29. Shao, Peiren. 2010. Temperature of place: Social construction and cultural memory of media geography. Journal of Xuzhou Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences) (5): 143–148. Shao, Peiren, and Xianghui Pan. 2005. An analysis of social costs in news media broadcasted with dialects. Modern Communication (Journal of Communication University of China) (2): 10–12, 17. Shao, Peiren, and Rongrong Pan. 2020. The soul and foundation of city image shaping and dissemination. Southeast Communication (1): 2. Sperling, John. 2004. The great divide: Retros vs. metro America. Los Angeles: Polipoint Press. Steele, Fritz. 1981. The sense of place. Boston: CBI Publishing.

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Straubhaar, Joseph. 2007. World television: From global to local. London: Sage. Tuan, Yi-Fu. 1974. Topophilia: A study of environmental perception. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: PrenticeHall. Tuan, Yi-Fu. 1977. Space and place: The perspective of experience. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. Wright, John K. 1947. Terrae Incognitae: The place of the imagination in geography. Annals of Association of American Geographers 37 (1): 1–15.

Chapter 7

Landscape and the Media: Mediated Representations of the World

Time, space, locality, scale, and landscape are fundamental concepts in the field of geography. In this monograph, and in the field of the geography of media, we refer to landscape as the topographic features of a natural terrain, to the objective physical characteristics of this terrain that result from natural changes and human intervention, and to the subjective meanings that humans have, over the course of time, attributed to this landscape. A landscape may therefore carry multiple layers of emotional, social, political, moral, or ideological meaning. Media content includes images and narratives of landscapes that describe both its natural setting and physical features and represent its history and accumulated meaning and significance. In this sense, a landscape is a mediated reality that we look at, but do not live in.

7.1 Various Definitions of Landscape In China, the two characters 景观 (‘jing guan’) used to depict the English word ‘landscape’ first appeared in a Tang dynasty poem by LU Yan titled ‘Words from a Fisherman: Meditation’ (‘Yu Fu Ci: Ru Ding’) which reads, ‘Along boundless stretches of riverbank, everything was hazy. After viewing this evening landscape, I felt only emptiness.’ In this poem, landscape describes the deeply emotional effect that beautiful scenery can have on a person. In Old English (450 AD–1100 AD), the word ‘landscape’ was used to describe the arrangement of agricultural sections of land; in modern English, the word first appeared in print in 1603. Its etymology stems from the Dutch word ‘landschap’ and the German word ‘Landschaft.’ As a new concept and focus of research, ‘landscape’ was first introduced into the study of geography in the early nineteenth century by the famous German geographer, Alexander von Humboldt, who suggested that it should be regarded as a central element into the field of human geography and its investigation into the evolution of our planet from a primordial natural landscape to a modern cultural landscape (Ref. Kwa 2005). © Zhejiang University Press 2023 S. Peiren, New Perspectives on Geography of Media, Qizhen Humanities and Social Sciences Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2111-9_7

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From the perspective of cultural geography, landscape refers to geographic morphologies on the earth’s surface that have an effect on humans and which in turn are affected by humans. According to Hartshorne (1939), what we see in a landscape are aesthetically pleasing geographic features on the earth’s surface that elicit feelings and emotions. Sauer (1962) defined landscape as a composite of ‘natural landscape’ and ‘cultural landscape’ as they exist and develop over time. Landscape has two dimensions—one material and objective, and the other cultural and subjective. In its material dimension, landscape refers to natural scenery in a locality, region, or country that is worth looking at and appreciating. In its cultural dimension, landscape—which inherently is a value-neutral material phenomenon—reflects individuals’ subjective views of the world, including their values, beliefs, desires, hopes, loves, hates, and dreams. Landscapes may include natural or artificial landforms, man-made structures, and ecologies that exist in a locality, region, or country. When viewed on a global scale, a landscape is just one of the countless others that make up a whole. In his monograph Landscape Geography, Taro Tsujimura (1936, pp. 12–13) noted that because landscape morphology is still in its infancy, one approach to researching the concept of cultural landscape would be to study photographs and paintings of especially beautiful, distinctive, or unusual natural landscapes. Such landscapes may be cultivated terraces on lofty mountains, lush gardens, or sacred places that testify to man’s creativity, imagination, and spirituality. Cultural landscapes may, for example, be scenic areas that bear the imprint of human activity and intervention, and which people who live nearby have imbued with meaning. Cultural landscapes are like mirrors that reflect the unique characteristics of a locality, village, town, city, or region, and may include material artifacts such as built structures, utensils, and clothing, as well as evidence of non-material cultural artifacts such as language, religion, and music. From the perspective of local media, representations of cultural landscape are marketable commodities in its production and distribution of products that convey information and sociocultural messages to local audiences. In the same way as individuals interpret media texts differently, they may interpret cultural landscapes differently. People’s perceptions and emotional responses to media images of different landscapes provide much of their indirect experience of the world. In the geography of media, definitions of landscape differ in some respects from those put forward by scholars in the social sciences and in the philosophy of the social sciences, which examine the concepts, methods, and logic of the social sciences as well as the social life and nature of the entities that the social sciences study—namely, human beings themselves. The French Marxist theorist and philosopher, Guy Debord (1931–1994), expanded the concept of cultural landscape to include other fields of social studies. In his monograph The Society of the Spectacle, Debord (1995, 1967]) proposed an interesting definition of landscape from a Marxist perspective of contemporary capitalist society while also expressing his deep concern about various characteristics of landscape in this era of media images. He thought of modern society as the subject of a continuing series of media spectacles. People’s fascination with, desire for, and

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reliance on such spectacles has now become a driving force in society and, in the process, objective accounts of human history are being obscured, ignored, forgotten, or lost. Debord’s critiques of the concept of ‘society of landscape’ greatly influenced the thinking of the French sociologist Jean Baudrillard and the American theorist of media culture Douglas Kellner. As a result of their collaboration, ‘society of landscape’ was transformed into Debord’s concept of ‘the society of the spectacle.’ From the perspective of cultural geographers, a landscape is tangible and intangible, objective and subjective. For example, culture, art, and religion are intangible elements that affect the lives and thoughts of human beings and which carry knowledge and experience that lead to the formation of the complex sociocultural landscapes that create ‘spectacle.’ Kellner (2002) was the first scholar to conduct a thorough analysis of media-amplified events as media spectacle. He defined media spectacle as a cultural phenomenon, such as a sports competition or political event, that embodies fundamental values of modern society, helps individuals adapt to the pressures of modern life, and dramatizes social conflicts. In his monograph Media Spectacle, Kellner (2002) analyzed six examples of spectacle in American society—McDonald’s, Michael Jordan, Nike, the O. J. Simpson murder trial, The X-Files, and presidential politics. He defined media spectacle as consisting of the subcategories of consumer culture, sports culture, television culture, political events, and spectacles of horror. Media spectacles are a form of media culture that puts contemporary dreams, fantasies, values, and nightmares on display. Most media geographers agree that media spectacle has a spatial dimension, in addition to its geographic and societal dimensions.

7.2 Effects of Mediated Landscape In the field of cultural geography, the term ‘cultural landscape’ is generally defined as a natural landscape that has been shaped by nature and human intervention, and which has over time become culturally significant and meaningful. In this sense, cultural geography is the evidence left on the land by the actions of individuals and societies. When the media represent a cultural landscape to audiences, they further extend its meaning. Cultural landscapes can exist on different scales such as a city, a region, or a country, although they usually are associated with regions. Regional landscapes provide abundant material for the media’s creation and dissemination of content that represents a mediated version of their social and cultural characteristics. Under the influences of globalization and the mediated representations of global mass media, dramatic changes are occurring in the way people and groups perceive and understand the cultural landscapes of which they are a part.

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7.2.1 Significance of Cultural Landscape In cultural geography, cultural landscapes are a composite symbolic depiction of a geographic landform and a society’s interpretative and creative projections that are rooted in its worldview and relationship to other societies. These projections are regularly reconstructed by the media. In large cities, multi-lane highways, overpasses, and skyscrapers represent the development of industrial society and the transformation of natural landscapes into cultural landscapes. A geographic map can never accurately depict the subjective qualities of a cultural landscape, although most people continue to think that a landscape is simply a topographic feature whose location on the earth’s surface can be precisely determined using a geographic coordinate system (GCS) or global positioning system (GPS). According to the German artist and political activist Gustav Metzger (1926– 2017), maps and globes not only depict countries and their boundaries, but also convey ideological meanings. The manner in which a country is depicted on a map may, for instance, convey an impression of the country’s geographic, cultural, and political integrity. The geographic boundaries of a country are both political and social in nature, and media representations of such boundaries can have the effect of enhancing or weakening the public’s opinion of the country’s stability (Metzger 1998, p. 107). Regional and national media also tie contemporary definitions of regional or national boundaries to their own definitions of media space. Media reproductions of a given landscape via images and language are inherently subjective. As Mike Crang (1998) stated, geographic landscapes can be viewed as interpretable ‘texts’ that represent significant aspects of daily life, politics, and culture. People’s interpretations of a landscape, which are influenced by the presence of media, may differ. For example, media can use scenes of prosperous city life to praise the modern lifestyles made possible by industrial civilization, or they can use the same scenes to criticize people’s alienation in industrial society. That is to say, the ‘texts’ of a landscape become more complex over time.

7.2.2 Differentiation and Symbols of Various Landscapes The signs and symbols that distinguish one landscape from another also reflect differences in regional culture. Modern industrial society has become highly urbanized, and urban landscapes much larger and more diverse than in less populated areas. Insofar as urban landscapes reflect the everyday lives of residents, they become symbols of a city’s social and cultural life. New digital communication technologies and the processes of globalization have accelerated the growth of cities and urban areas that increasingly are becoming points of convergence for diverse cultures, languages, and social groups. Media representations of urban centers that typically focus on their unique qualities or distinctive architecture, are designed to meet the technical and logistical

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requirements of different communication technologies. To highlight the modernity and prosperity of an urban area, the media will, for example, convey images of wealthy neighborhoods, high-end consumption venues, skyscrapers and historical sites, busy central business districts (CBDs), complex highway overpasses, and so on. In contrast, to highlight the difficult living conditions of marginalized people in a city, the media often use images of sidewalk vendors and homeless people as expressive symbols that will evoke a strong audience response. Not all media representations of cities and urban areas are this straightforward, however, and the local or regional media ought to bear responsibility for informing the general public about socially dissonant or negative aspects of urban landscapes. Through the digital kaleidoscope of media, urban landscapes signify the marked contrasts of social order and disorder, equality and inequality, progress and decline, peace and chaos, and wealth and poverty. In addition, because man’s sense of locality is steadily being eroded by the processes of globalization, cultural differences between cities, urban centers, and regions are being homogenized, and academic research on these differences and changes is becoming increasingly challenging. The content of popular magazines, fashion-oriented television channels, and micro-videos typically reflects the leisure-time consumption-related activities of sports events, theatrical events, bar streets, shopping malls, and other public spaces. Another favorite subject of media reports is the influence of class and educational background on consumer behavior. The media also highlight social problems that inevitably exist in cities, including criminality, gender discrimination, high rates of population growth, and abuse of power. Through their detailed representations of the everyday lives of city dwellers, the media amplify the effects of urbanization on contemporary culture. While positive media descriptions of urban landscapes emphasize the benefits of civilization, negative descriptions may characterize an urban landscape as a smoggy hell filled with crime, violence, and corruption (Giddens 1986). The continual reconstruction of the meanings of complex urban landscapes is, to a large degree, a result of the synergistic interaction of the interests and objectives of local media and the powerful influence exerted by local authorities and political organizations.

7.2.3 Media Representation and Audience Consumption of Landscape Media content that represents people’s perceptions of society and culture are inseparable from descriptions of landscape. In this sense, landscape is an artifact of human existence. Most elements of the landscapes we experience are artificial—for example, living spaces, production spaces, recreational spaces, and leisure-time spaces—and have been created based on economic and political principles and public preferences

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to improve residents’ quality of life. The designs of city planners support the development of commerce and the formation of suburbs and greenbelts for residential living and recreation, and this results in a network of diverse but interrelated urban landscapes. Landscapes are formed through a continuous process of construction and reconstruction. Castel (1977, p. 103) observed that a city’s unique architectural styles reflect the influences of history, culture, wealth, power, and technology. For example, tall buildings such as skyscrapers—the ‘cathedrals’ of corporate capitalism—are reflections of a city’s sense of self-confidence. An urban built environment is the locus of collective consumption, and is a product of the influences of capital and power dynamics. Schools, transportation facilities, and leisure-time facilities are designed to encourage people’s consumption of industrial products. While the dominant communities in a given society set the pace for the consumption of different products, the minority groups that live in urban centers are often relegated to devoting themselves to their struggle to attain basic civil rights. Urban landscapes are continually being reconstructed by the media and consumed by residents and visitors. Differences in the way people interact with a cityscape can lead to competition and conflict. Cityscapes also reflect changes in the economic and power relations of cities. For example, commercial and financial enterprises take up a large amount of space in inner city spaces, resulting in high land prices and environmental impacts that may violate the interests of various groups and communities, and which result in social disharmony. When an urban landscape is the focus of media representations, the resulting levels of public attention often result in changes to its spatial patterns. In China, the media have greatly influenced the introduction of bars and bar culture into urban cultural landscapes. Before their adoption by Chinese cities, bars and bar culture, which originated in the West, were considered mysterious and dubious spaces where members of the general public were not welcome. Initially, media coverage of the new bar culture was largely negative, linking it to pornography or other unregulated business operations. Even after their introduction into China, bars and bar streets did not quickly become a feature of residents’ everyday lives. The process of urbanization in China and more positive coverage by the media eventually paved the way for general acceptance of this culture in urban settings. Nowadays, bars are no longer considered to be dark and forbidding, but instead are seen as lively places for the consumption of food, drink, and entertainment. China’s bar streets are now popular venues that, together with the local media, influence the consumer activities of locals and visitors, have become symbolic of the consumptionoriented lifestyles of white-collar workers, freelancers, and fashionistas, as well as an integral part of China’s urban landscapes. The urbanization process drives the constant construction, reconstruction, and renovation of urban landscapes. While some older buildings, historic streets, and decorative elements are preserved and others are removed from rapidly growing urban areas, residents and visitors can always learn about its history and culture through maps, books, movies, and other media. Although some aspects of urban planning and architecture tend to discourage interpersonal interaction, the addition

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of new streets and thoroughfares connect people and places. Although urbanization typically results in the homogenization of urban landscapes, diverse subcultures with distinct footprints sometimes choose to remain in the central area of an urban center, thereby providing rich texts for local media coverage; other subgroups or communities may opt to locate in established and welcoming neighborhoods. At the same time, individuals and institutions continue to shape the urban landscape in a manner that reflects their economic standing, social backgrounds, political orientations, and worldviews. Terrorists seek to draw the attention of the mass media through nefarious acts that have sensational news value and which undoubtedly will attract attention and arouse concern or even panic in media audiences. In the aftermath of a series of major incidents (e.g., the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, the Bali bombings in Indonesia, and the Moscow metro explosion), terrorists are now able to skillfully use propaganda techniques to manipulate or even deceive the media. By staging horrific actions and by broadcasting inflammatory messages and slogans, terrorists make themselves heard around the globe, thereby fueling public panic (Shao 2007). In this context, and in their role as the primary means for the public to obtain timely reports and accurate information, the media ought to fulfill their duty to efficiently cover major news events in an objective, fair, and balanced manner. Also, while the global mass media are required to prioritize national interests and social well-being, they should also ensure that certain sensitive details of shocking news events are not stated (or overstated) lest they be manipulated by terrorists or terrorist organizations.

7.2.4 Landscape and Globalization Globalization is the process by which the world’s economies, politics, and cultures will eventually be integrated into a single international system (Baldwin 2004). While relations between the economies and cultures of various regions and countries have existed since antiquity, interregional and international exchanges are now occurring at a rate and on a scale never before seen. In addition, communication technologies have progressed from telegraphs and landline telephones to radios, televisions, and other electronic media forms, and now to digital technologies that can transmit incredible amounts of data at amazing speeds. While the goal of globalization is to create an open and connected system that benefits all humans equally, there remain deep-seated and persistent imbalances. The economy is becoming more global, while social and political institutions remain largely local, national, or regional. The benefits of globalization have been unequally distributed, and the gap between developed and developing countries has widened. Nevertheless, humanity is invested in realizing the positive vision of globalization: an open and interconnected global society that puts people first while also increasing free trade and commerce, thereby improving living standards around the world. Under the influence of globalization and driven by continuous innovations in information technology, landscapes of all kinds and on all scales are undergoing

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major changes. Because they tend to be more tolerant of social and racial differences, large cities have become desirable places to live and work, and metropolises around the world are becoming melting pots for a wide variety of cultures, languages, and ideologies. Sociologists sometimes study social phenomena that appear in unexpected locations such as supermarkets. Studies show that the astounding variety of goods available in modern supermarkets exemplify the impact of globalization on global economics (Giddens 1986). A large, modern supermarket sells food and other daily necessities that have been produced in various regions around the globe, to the extent that they may lose their local identity and instead become a ‘world market.’ Consequently, sociologists can view the supermarket as a miniature map of the dynamic global space of production and consumption. Due to the continuing rapid development of the global economy, supermarkets and chain stores will continue to increase in size, together with the variety of consumer goods that originate in diverse regions of the world. Product labels printed in different languages will reflect people’s sense of globality and stimulate consumers’ desire to consume. In urban settings, consumption venues are increasingly homogenized. The large show windows of department stores display a vast array of goods from around the world. International chain stores, which often occupy a considerable amount of space in cities, create a sense of uniformity in urban landscapes because consumers can purchase the same or very similar products in various locations, experience familiar, standardized store layouts, ambience, shopping patterns, and level of service. Welllit spaces, floor-to-ceiling displays, and high-quality merchandise all form a strong visual stimulus that encourages people to consume. In the context of globalization, the processes of urbanization and human migration have encouraged more cities to expand their habitable spaces, not only into adjacent areas but also into the sky. The construction of artificial urban landscapes is gradually changing people’s opinions on what constitutes a desirable living space and lifestyle. The rapid expansion of urban areas increases the development of land resources, in the process reducing the land formerly allocated to the construction of urban greenbelts. However, city gardens are now becoming a popular feature of a typical urban landscape. Multinational companies increasingly consolidate their operations into high-rise buildings, implement new business models with global reach, and share similar cultural tastes and preferences. Giddens (1986) observed that today’s global power elites travel frequently between continents, countries, and major cities to support the development of global networks for commerce and cultural exchange. Such largescale undertakings will connect people from different cities, regions, and countries offer new opportunities for intercultural relationships of all kinds. In Thirdspace: Journeys to Los Angeles and Other Real-and-Imagined Places, Edward W. Soja (1996) chose Los Angeles, California as an excellent example of a ‘global city.’ He drew a vivid analogy between Los Angeles and Jorge Luis Borges’ fictional work The Garden of Forking Paths, which referred to ‘the Garden’ as an imaginary place on Earth where all places converge, and highlighting Los

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Angeles, the ‘City of Angels,’ as one such garden. According to Soja, and according to projections of future growth and development, Los Angeles is a fascinating model of a global metropolitan area as a vehicle for the realization of humanity’s vision of living in the world where barriers to communication, commerce, and cultural exchange between different cultures vanish, and ‘the Garden’ becomes reality. With its advanced urban design and state-of-the-art communication infrastructure, Los Angeles is in fact a model for the ‘global metropolis’ of the future. Present-day urban centers could consolidate into megacenters comprise of efficient transportation networks, attractive living spaces, and a wide array of venues for shopping, recreation, and entertainment, which together would realize the model of a ‘global village’ in the form of a metropolitan landscape that exists in the United States but which has a global worldview. Although the topography of Los Angeles’s expanding central business district exhibits the logos of many foreign companies, Soja pointed out that Los Angeles had not yet realized the vision of a global village and that its efforts in this direction has deconstructed its former urban space into a confusing collage of imagined communities and media representations. In her book The Global City: New York, London, and Tokyo, Saskia Sassen (1991) used New York City, London, and Tokyo as examples of global metropolises where diverse cultures, traditions, and languages interact and blend. Trends in human migration predict that increasingly diverse populations will contribute to the creation of diverse cultural landscapes, and may also intensify the stark contrasts between the prosperity of downtown spaces and the isolation and hopelessness of urban slums.

7.3 Landscapes of Villages, Towns, Cities, Subways, and Suburbs Cultural geographer Mike Crang (1998) wrote that landscape can be viewed as a systematization of a society’s underlying values. Others view landscape as a ‘text’ that interprets and explains the values of individuals and communities. The formation and evolution of landscapes that exist in different localities, and on different scales, can serve to consolidate, preserve, and reflect social and political ideologies. The mass media will also continue to reconstruct the symbol meanings of these various landscapes in a way that supports the positive vision of a globalized world.

7.3.1 Villages and Cities: Contrasting Landscapes Densely-populated urban landscapes become a focus of mass media which, in turn, develop and disseminate content that has the effect of guiding the future development of these landscapes. Cities are also where the majority of news events occur. The

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modern thoroughfares and tall buildings testify to the power of industrial civilization. People from all backgrounds and walks of life, who represent modern consumer culture, frequent shopping malls, restaurants, theaters, picturesque plazas, and also participate in a wide variety of social interactions and events that often are a result of media influence. Modern cities are usually divided functionally into commercial, residential, and industrial areas, further consolidating and unifying the overall functionality and efficiency of urban centers. The dazzling sights and sounds of a city’s business district reflect humanity’s creative potential and accelerate the processes of urbanization. In contrast, media reports and stories on life in rural areas appear less frequently in their representations of contemporary culture. In general, rural landscapes are characterized by lower population densities unevenly distributed across large rural spaces comprised of natural landscapes and sceneries. In contrast to the impressive images of dynamic urban environments, images of bucolic rural landscapes evoke feelings of peacefulness, tranquility, and the slow pace of traditional agrarian lifestyles. The countryside is resistant to the forces of industrialization and globalization and may increasingly become welcoming spaces that offer city dwellers a much-needed natural space and refuge that people will wish to preserve intact. In China, considerable differences exist between rural and urban landscapes. Rapidly expanding urban centers frequently encroach on rural areas, creating tensions between rural and urban populations. In many cases, the forces of urbanization overpower the desire of rural communities to preserve and maintain intact their more traditional culture and lifestyle, and these forces eventually acquire and transform rural landscapes into extensions of urban landscapes. In addition, the cosmopolitan residents of urban landscapes are increasingly breaking from traditional Chinese values. In villages, the collectivist mindset is alive and well, and rural society supports and protects its members. In contrast, urbanites are developing a more individualistic outlook on life. Stark contrasts also exist between the educational levels of villagers and city dwellers. Rural landscapes in China are often quite beautiful, but the locals are often viewed as socially and culturally backward in contrast to worldly, welleducated urbanites. These and other contrasts between village life and city life are constantly in flux, as are the objective and subjective aspects of rural and urban landscapes. The media often characterize city life as a synthesis of contradictions, which they frequently overemphasize by casting village life as the polar opposite of city life. On the one hand, the media promote urbanization by positively representing the positive aspects of an urban life (e.g., bustling markets, high-quality leisure-time hangouts, and exciting and diverse forms of entertainment). Advertisements, magazine articles, and fashion-oriented television shows make city life appear very attractive to those who live in rural areas. On the other hand, the media often neglect to report on the not-so-glamorous less-traveled spaces that lie beyond the magnificent façades of large cities and urban centers which, if explored, would reveal the harsh realities of less fortunate urbanites.

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If one studies an urban landscape from different perspectives, the rough edges of a city’s façade of prosperity will easily be exposed. Although the processes of urbanization lay a foundation for higher incomes and improved quality of life, they also destroy the natural ecology of the original landscape. City dwellers, often stressed by the harshness and rigors of industrial civilization, become alienated from their urban landscapes and more isolated from society. The media, which also report on the ‘dark side’ of urban life to balance its representations of modern society, are increasingly concerned about the effects of chaotic symbols and depictions of people’s dark desires that are distributed by different media forms, such as film. For example, the American detective fiction movie Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang, which was filmed in Los Angeles, represents in a semiserious manner the dark side of an industrialized metropolis as a place characterized by human desire, greed, deception, degeneracy, violence, and murder. Villages, where the primary means of making a living continues to be agriculture and animal husbandry, do not have the benefit of modern transportation systems or communications facilities, and the relaxed pace of life stands in sharp contrast to fast-paced and consumption-driven urban lifestyles. Media representations often describe villagers as content, uncomplicated, and living close to nature. Paintings depict idyllic country villages under blue skies surrounded by fields of golden rice stalks swaying in the breeze, and such depictions attract the attention of urbanites who yearn for a simple existence in harmony with beautiful natural surroundings. The media’s positive and negative representations of villages and cities reflect the many contradictions of modern industrialized society. The influential Chinese business magazine New Weekly conducted surveys and interviews to compile its ‘Inner-Heart City List,’ which presented and contrasted diverse perspectives on city life. Although New Weekly mostly reports from the perspective of the social elite, the list was successful in its illustration of the complex sociocultural dynamics of urban landscapes. In contrast to villages as ‘productive landscapes,’ cities are typified by their ‘consumer landscapes.’ However, many idealists believe that the ideal urban landscape would embody the positive characteristics of both urban and rural life.

7.3.2 Suburbs: In-between Landscapes Invariably, urban landscapes have a highly artificial quality that is continually ‘under construction’ by human society. The intensification of urbanization has led to the emergence of transitional zones known as suburbs, which extend from urban areas to the outskirts of rural villages. As a result, research in the field of human geography now includes studies on the formation of suburban landscapes as a new type of human ecosystem. The contrasts between urban centers and suburbs are quite different than those between cities and villages, partly because suburban planning is usually just an extension of urban planning. Suburban landscapes do differ from urban landscapes in terms of location, culture, social relationship and activities, population demographics, and information flow. Urbanites who choose to reside in suburbs are considered

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fortunate because they can escape from the hectic pace of inner city life and relax a bit while also opting to enjoy the positive aspects of urban life whenever they want. The two-character Chinese word 郊区 (‘jiao qu’) has two corresponding words in the English language, namely ‘suburb’ and ‘outskirt.’ From a semantic perspective, ‘suburb’ positions a suburb as a secondary but affiliated urban space and ‘outskirt’ refers to an area that exists on the margins and periphery of an urban space. Both words define ‘suburb’ in terms of its function and geospatial characteristics. Generally speaking, two main factors influence the construction of suburbs: First, the population density of urban space results in declines in quality of life, which drives people to want to live closer to nature; and second, the accelerating process of urbanization is transforming an increasing number of villages into towns and cities, which leads to an increase in the number of suburbs as ‘in-between spaces.’ The movement of urban populations to suburbs and the flow of rural populations to in-between suburban spaces is often induced by people’s imagination about the environment, opportunities, and quality of life in these different spaces. The primary driving force of suburbanization varies from country to country due to differences in economic and political contexts. In China, the suburbanization process is based on models of this process developed in Europe and the United States, which imply that people usually decide to become suburbanites to escape from the pressures and problems that exist in urban spaces. On the other hand, residents of urban spaces are eager to move to suburbs and other nearby rural areas where there is plenty of fresh air, vast natural landscapes, and enough room to enjoy a relaxed and less crowded environment. In the United States, people sometimes use the phrase ‘white skin, black heart’ to describe a growing trend in big cities, where affluent white people flee from the inner city and move to the suburbs, while the poor and people of color remain stranded in their current urban conditions. Although such a metaphor lacks nuance, it does to some extent reflect the relationship between cities and suburbs in developed Western countries. It also helps to explain why the growing trend of suburbanization is unintentionally leading to declines in the quality of life in urban centers, as well as why a person’s successful migration or escape is subject to regulation by regional and national policies and may also be hindered by potential conflicts of interest among stakeholders in the suburbanization process. Growing international trends in urbanization are inextricably linked to economic and political factors. It is also safe to say that the media play a significant role in both urbanization and suburbanization because migration patterns and the transformation of urban, suburban, and rural landscapes are strongly influenced by the mass consumption of related media content. With numerous advances in the development of efficient urban transit systems, it is feasible for people to choose to work in inner-city spaces and to live in the suburbs. Even though suburban landscapes are sometimes represented by the media as a form of ‘spectacle,’ they do not receive as much media coverage as urban areas. Not only does life in the ‘suburbs’ attract considerable media coverage, but so does the media themselves. Radios and televisions are ubiquitous in suburban homes, and distribution outlets for print media such as newspapers and magazines

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are rapidly establishing themselves in rural areas. In their coverage of urban and suburban culture, the media generally support suburbanization, and their programs and reports are designed to fuel people’s interest in making positive lifestyle changes. In addition, the media have reconstructed the cultural maps of modern cities and, in the process, have imparted new meanings to urban and suburban landscapes. Media representations of urban and suburban landscapes are often confusing or contradictory. As opposed to the relatively pristine quality of the countryside, newlybuilt suburban spaces have the infrastructure needed to provide convenient transportation as well as easy access to online communication technologies. Because the media industry is both supported and populated by the elites of society, who are heavily invested in suburbanization, the local media are predictably biased in favor of the suburbs. The hit American soap opera broadcast from 2004 to 2012 by the ABC television network, Desperate Housewives, sets its story in a ‘perfect’ suburban area called Wisteria Lane. This comedy-drama soap opera, which is said to begin a new series in 2022, tells the story of a group of middle-class housewives who live in this rich, refined, and orderly community, but the story’s plot is convoluted. A 1970s photograph titled ‘Suburbs,’ which conveys an idealized image of suburban life in the United States, subtly implies that material wealth is the key to happiness. A middle-class couple is pictured in their beautiful suburban residence, possibly expressing the feelings ‘We are happy; our children are healthy, and they attend a good school; we have a comfortable home and delicious food to eat!’ Those who view this photo are enchanted by its utopian vision of a prosperous suburban lifestyle. But in reality, the suburbs are not always such glamorous and happy places. For example, the American TV drama Sex and the City focuses on the many pleasures and benefits of urban centralism and consumerism while also subtly condemning suburban life as stultifying and mind-numbing. Although they have some characteristics in common, suburban landscapes in China differ significantly from those in Europe and the United States for reasons that are both practical and historical. In reality, Chinese suburbs do not approach the levels of perfection that are often conveyed by the Chinese media. While the Chinese media dutifully fulfill its obligation to market suburban areas as ideal residential spaces surrounded by beautiful scenery, suburban landscapes are typically characterized by high population density, chaotic traffic conditions, and social ambiguities. While domestic media use the (translated) expression ‘urban– rural integration area’ to describe suburbs, fresh air is a rarity and living spaces are usually small and uncomfortable. One can, perhaps, view suburbia in China as a perplexing blending of urban and rural elements in a rather disordered state. Media juxtapositions of the positive and negative characteristics of the suburbs of major Chinese cities as offering highquality, semi-rural lifestyles versus places subject to distressing and chaotic conditions has mediated citizens’ perceptions of Sino-suburbia into a confusing cognitive collage.

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7.3.3 Subways: Belowground Landscapes In his famous movie Underground, the former Yugoslavian director, Emir Kusturica, envisions a belowground world where people are ignorant of the goings-on of life aboveground. Kusturica’s movie is replete with cultural and political metaphor: The word ‘underground’ not only refers to the narrow, self-contained, man-made world depicted in the movie, but also describes the morally dark scenes of Eastern European countries under fascist control in the early twentieth century. Many science fiction novels and movies depict an imagined, dark, subterranean world that exists in a belowground space of a futuristic aboveground city face, where outliers rejected by dominant communities are forced to survive without sunshine, fresh air, or fresh water. Although these underground landscapes are a product of artistic imagination, they reveal to some extent the dualistic predicament of human existence by emphasizing the contrasts between above and below, and darkness and light, fresh and stale. The semantic connotations of the word ‘underground’ can be used to characterize an urban morphology that exists beneath the surface of the earth or to describe its abnormal characteristics, as in ‘underground movies,’ ‘underground broadcasting,’ or underground political activities. However, in this section on the subject of subway landscapes, our focus is not on such negative metaphors, but on the positive aspects of the efficient and often fascinating man-made mass transit systems that now exists beneath the aboveground spaces of most major metropolitan areas. An urban landscape is, therefore, comprised of spaces that exist aboveground and/or belowground, and which people who frequent these spaces and imbue it with personal meaning and significance. While the public generally has free access to aboveground spaces, only the entrances to the belowground spaces of subways are visible aboveground. Intricate webs of electrical wiring, water lines, gas pipes, sewer lines, and communication cables and wiring together comprise suburban utility infrastructure. In addition to subway platforms, trains, and tracks, a variety of shops, public libraries, museums, concert halls, and stadiums often share this space, together constituting the elements of a belowground urban landscape designed to improve the quality of life in aboveground landscapes, enhance the modernity of a city’s mass transit system, and support the expansion of aboveground activities related to commerce and consumption. Subway systems are perhaps the most striking example of built belowground spaces. In 1945, only 20 cities in the world had subways. According to statistics released by the Shenzhen Zhongshang Industry Research Institute in June of 2021, 40 cities in the Chinese mainland had subways with a combined running length of 6642 km. Of these 40 cities, the running length of the subway systems of 11 cities exceeded 200 km, and those of Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, and Guangzhou surpassed 500 km. Extensive, high-capacity subway systems are the belowground arteries of a city, in which masses of people can travel efficiently from almost any part of the city through tunnels and tracks that extend in all directions to their desired

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destinations. In this sense, subways are spaces where the residents of urban landscapes can converge, interact, and get to where they are going in a short period of time. Subways are not only an efficient mode of mass urban transit, but also a medium for social interaction and communication amongst large numbers of individuals who share the same greater metropolitan environment. In this way, the subway landscapes of major cities are a mirror, or perhaps a condensed version, of its aboveground culture and society. For example, the unique characteristics of international metropolises such as London, Paris, New York, Beijing, and Shanghai are reflected in the constant ebbs and flow of their respective subterranean mass transit systems. Because the acquired symbolic meaning of subways varies from city to city, emotional labels such as romantic, fashionable, or classical are sometimes used to describe the distinctive atmosphere of these distinct belowground landscapes. One can also describe the atmosphere of a subway using images of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. The history and unique characteristics of cities aboveground are represented by the presence of belowground stores, restaurants, barber shops, and dry cleaners, or in small exhibition halls and cultural venues. Whether you call it ‘the metro,’ ‘the underground,’ ‘the tube,’ or ‘the train,’ an ideal subway system can be a space that is safe, friendly, reliable, warm, and full of interesting people from all walks of life. Viewed from the perspectives of media geography, cultural geography, and human geography, a subway system is a vast and intricate belowground space, an artifact of industrialized civilization, and a carrier of human culture, emotion, and memory. It is a multicultural space where residents converge for daily transportation and commuting, and where they may recognize diverse others as co-inhabitants of the same urban environment. Films, novels, songs, and advertisements often use subways as interesting settings or backdrops, thereby conveying colorful images of this belowground landscape to audiences and readers. Moreover, the media have expanded their business into subways to include daily newspapers and advertisements that specifically target subway passengers. For instance, The Metro in Stockholm and The Oriental Morning Post in Shanghai provide current news and information to the multitudes of individuals who traverse this belowground landscape on their way from here to there. Most media representations of subways characterize them as positive symbols of modern urban culture.

7.4 Media Spectacle and the Society of the Spectacle Until recently, the modern phenomenon of media spectacle, which is a subject of interest in the humanities and social sciences, was thought to lie beyond the scope of media geography, which aims to understand how acts of communication shape and are shaped by geographic patterns and processes. Today, the commercialization of media and culture continues to produce an avalanche of images that permeate every area of society. Because these messages actively reconstruct landscapes that result

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from human–environment interaction, media geographers now acknowledge that the media are an integral part of its own concept of landscape.

7.4.1 Debord’s Society of the Spectacle The renowned French Marxist philosopher Guy Debord originated the phrase ‘society of the spectacle.’ In The Society of the Spectacle, Debord (1967) observed that in contemporary capitalist society, life is presented as a massive accumulation of spectacles consisting of media images that represent and mediate social relationships. The term ‘spectacle,’ which Debord used to describe the mediated nature of modern society, differs significantly from other definitions of human landscape that, for example, emphasize the effect over time of human interaction with natural landscapes upon which they project subjective meanings and cultural significance. Debord further noted that spectacle actively reconstructs human landscapes by modifying human interactions and relationships. From the perspective of media geography, and with Marxist theory in mind, we here broadly interpret Debord’s concept of spectacle in three ways: First, ‘landscape’ refers to a performance that a minority group puts on and which the majority of people watch. In this analogy, ‘minority group’ refers to capitalists who act as behind-the-scenes manipulators to produce the spectacularly mediated content that comprises modern social life; ‘majority of people’ refers to the collective audience that is dominated by the manipulators. When members of the minority ‘manipulate the manipulators’ by putting on their own fascinating performances, the majority reacts with astonishment and even obsession. The passive and receptive minorities are controlled and made obedient, isolated, and alienated through the act of ‘watching.’ In a spectacle-obsessed society, ‘watching’ is a popular pastime, whereas ‘listening’ is marginalized. This is why Baudrillard used the term ‘the silent majority’ to depict audiences obsessed with watching staged events and performances (Ref. Kellner, 1994). Second, spectacle does not in and of itself imply explicit coercion; it is neither a mandatory political ideology nor a means of forced transaction. It instead refers to a nonviolent performance that induces people with political, critical, and creative potential to become submissive and compliant to the minority’s ideas and actions. Third, many individuals eventually lose their critical and creative faculties and become ‘spectacle slaves’ as a result of the plethora of diversions that make up contemporary spectacles. According to Kellner (2002), people no longer desire an authentic life because they are so enamored with spectacles, and capitalists seek to control the production and staging of spectacles to manipulate social life as a whole. Therefore, a society in which image production and consumption prevail is called ‘the society of the spectacle.’ In this society, the content of communication shifts from thought-oriented activities to pleasure-oriented activities, from narration to a sequence of images, and from one-way communication to interactive communication. The production, display, and dissemination of consumption-oriented images,

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along with people’s constantly changing demands for new commodities and the development of global media technologies, together constitute a world of spectacles. In this way, a commodity-based economy is transformed into an economy of spectacles. That is to say, the consumption of commodities such as spectacles eventually comes to dominate the entirety of social life. The illusions and images that are created and disseminated by the consumption-oriented mass media gradually replace real-world events and face-to-face social interactions, resulting in a world of virtual social interactions driven by digital technologies (Debord 1995, 1967]). The British Marxist sociologist and cultural theorist Stuart Hall (1932–2014) believed that the primary cultural function of the modern media is to intentionally construct ‘social knowledge’ and ‘social images.’ The public then relies on these media constructions to perceive the world and to understand their real-life experiences. In other words, people now live in the society of the spectacle constructed by the mass media. In the ‘economy of spectacle,’ spectacles that attract people’s undivided attention are sold as commodities. Because people are provided with a way to interpret and understand their lives, the society and economy of the spectacle justify their own existence. In Debord’s view, the concept of spectacle represents a concrete and objective view of a society of commodity producers and commodity consumers that is not only a mental projection of commodity-oriented modes of production, but also a reasonable way of looking at modern society through the lens of the image-dominated mind. Debord (1995) also pointed out two of the main features of the society of the spectacle: First, spectacles, which now are dominating people’s everyday lives, have become the raison d’être of capitalistic modes of production. People’s existence is no longer ensured by their pursuit of genuine needs; instead, they are alienated from their past and have come to depend on a collection of media-oriented goals. In the society of the spectacle, people no longer work primarily to obtain physical goods such as food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, but rather to pursue the dazzling parade of spectacles. Second, the society of the spectacle is ideological in nature insofar as its media-driven displays, exhibitions, and promotions serve to legitimate the capitalistic system of modern society. Over the course of their everyday lives, people unconsciously affirm their submission and obedience to the society of the spectacle in three ways: First, their desires are continually fueled by alluring advertisements and the numerous conveniences and luxuries of the modern consumer society, which reflect the decisions made by capitalists who regulate production and consumption. Second, under the influence of capitalist censorship, spectacles should also serve to protect the legitimacy of the existing system by manipulating the unconscious desires of individuals. Third, spectacles exert control over individuals by influencing how they spend their time outside of work. According to Debord, new forms of capitalist governance exert this psychological control on purpose by staging spectacles that stoke individuals’ subconscious desire to consume. Following the model of a highly commercialized media culture with an emphasis on advertising, the society of the spectacle

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expands its influence through leisure time activities, diverse forms of entertainment, and the consumption of products and services.

7.4.2 How Media Shapes the Society of the Spectacle In today’s ‘society of the spectacle,’ we are inundated with media-generated advertisements and images that encourage us to spend our free time consuming the colorful spectacles that the mass media produce on a daily basis. The more mature the consumer environment, the more pervasive media spectacle becomes. People’s dominant mode of perception has shifted fundamentally from oral and written language to digital images and videos, largely as a result of the long influence of television broadcasting. These images and videos allow people to gain an understanding of places, people, and things that they cannot experience directly. Culture, sports, fashion, star-studded forms of entertainment, and political messaging all compete in the marketplace of spectacle consumption. The mass media are both a technological tool and a social spectacle. McLuhan’s (1964) slogan ‘the medium is the message’ gave the material forms of media a new significance. The American scholar and authority on mass communications Wilbur Schramm (1907–1987) compared the media to the brilliant nebulas that adorn the summer night sky, giving the traditional and new media a romantic hue (Schramm 1964). McLuhan’s concept of the media as an extension of the human senses and Schramm’s metaphor of the media as a dreamlike starry sky both emphasize the importance of media in representing society. With the arrival of digital printing, newspapers and books have gone mainstream; advanced photographic and projection technologies support the film industry; radio broadcasting relies on sophisticated digital technology; television has shifted from simulation to digital technology; and the Internet employs vast computer networks and fiber-optic equipment. However, the new media do not rely exclusively on the most advanced forms of digital communication because they have inherited parts of the existing communication infrastructure. This inheritance implies not only the continued use of existing technologies, but also the inheritance of cultural connotations associated the older forms of media. In this sense, the material form of today’s media derives in part from a culture that is past and long gone. Debord conjectured that, as the main producer and transmitter of spectacles, the mass media have become a driving force in commercial society (Johnson et al. 2000, p. 782). Inspired by Debord’s concept of the society of the spectacle, Kellner (2002) proposed a new definition of spectacle as an embodiment of the diverse phenomena of media culture, as the primary medium for conveying the basic values of contemporary society, and as an effective mechanism for guiding people to accept and internalize the way of life represented by the media culture and its values. Popular forms of carefullycrafted media spectacle include extravaganzas, sporting events, political events as well as dramatized accounts of controversies and struggles, conflicts and resolutions.

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As people navigate modern society, they are inundated by spectacles of information and entertainment that profoundly influence their thoughts and behaviors. With regard to the specific types of media spectacle, Kellner (2002) proposed 16 different fields, which include consumer culture, celebrity culture, entertainment, sports, television culture, movies, theater, couture, classical and modern art, contemporary architecture, pop music, food, sex and pornography, video games, terrorism, and politics. Of these 16 fields, Keller considered the most important to be the entertainment industry (including movies, televisions, video games, Disney theme parks, etc.), which has now become a pillar of the United States’ economy. In the meantime, celebrities—for example, well-known stars of television and the movies—have become idol-like objects and symbols manufactured and controlled by media culture. With the accelerating development of the media industry and the growing prosperity of the entertainment economy—and considering the integration of information and entertainment into the society of the spectacle—the combined term ‘infotainment society’ seems especially appropriate (Kellner, p. 2003). Kellner sees spectacle itself as a semantic field in which various discourses may come into conflict with each other. Borrowing from the Marxist intellectual Antonio Gramsci’s (1891–1937) [1971]) theory of cultural hegemony, spectacle can also be viewed as a political phenomenon in which cultural hegemony and resistance coexist. Today, unexpected social events and public emergencies easily become the subjects of compelling media spectacles, which arouse the public’s attention and which are covered with great interest by the media. Generally speaking, there are six categories of extraordinary events or novel phenomena that typically become media spectacles: (1) unexpected or accidental events and natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes, floods, train derailments, major aviation accidents, SARS, the avian flu epidemic, and the COVID-19 epidemic); (2) extraordinary events and phenomena, for example, snow in summer and a rooster laying eggs; (3) anti-social or anti-human events, for example, violence, murder, arson, robbery, incest, indiscriminate killing; (4) anti-mainstream or anti-institutional events, for example, subcultures, homosexuality and LGBTQ + parades, demonstrations, strikes, and public assemblies; (5) non-conventional events or phenomena such as eye-catching fashion, extraordinarily gifted people, unique objects, trendy fashions, or new technologies; and (6) regional or national conflicts or violent events such as wars, terrorist activities, religious conflicts, riots, and political assassinations. The danger of the media’s creation and mass dissemination of spectacles is that whenever the media cover a large number of unusual social events or social phenomena, the public will pay close attention, resulting in much discussion and possibly even panic. However, if such events or phenomena are repeatedly covered by the media, they become normalized and media spectacles become homogenized. The mass media disseminates spectacles to thousands upon thousands of households via computers and the Internet, challenging television’s dominance in contemporary media culture. Compared to television, computers are a multimedia platform that can efficiently process and display a wide range of media products such as written language, images, and videos. The spectacle society continues to infiltrate

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people’s everyday lives through the pervasiveness of the Internet in people’s homes and offices. In China, media spectacles fall into two main categories: (1) grand events such as the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and Expo Shanghai 2010 that inspire patriotism and contribute to social stability, and (2) reports on catastrophic events such as earthquakes, floods, droughts, and mine disasters that elicit sympathy and philanthropy from the public. A combination of economic, political, historical, and psychological factors contributes to the formation of the society of the spectacle. For this reason, any evaluation of media spectacle must be based on thorough analysis of these factors while also taking into consideration the complex relationship between the media and society. On the one hand, mass media provide audiences with spectacles on a daily basis, thereby constructing the society of the spectacle by broadcasting a variety of images and videos. Popular television programs can also be viewed as a type of media spectacle. For example, so-called reality shows fascinate millions of viewers and contribute to the content of the society of the spectacle. Kellner (2002) believed that such programs reflect people’s deep desire to participate in spectacles so they can take a quick peek into the private lives of others and satisfy their deep-rooted narcissism and voyeurism. Due to the mass media’s susceptibility to the commercial logic of the spectacle society, negative content appears frequently. As the core content of spectacles, advertising is highly commercialized and continuously expands its dominance over people’s leisure time, entertainment, and product consumption. However, some advertisements tend to be overly commercial or even offensive. In this way, media spectacle highlights the advantages and disadvantages of contemporary consumer culture. Spectacle becomes a kind of sleeping pill that lulls the masses to sleep and which, over the long term, results in political apathy and depression. Consequently, Debord’s society of the spectacle may prove detrimental to both the elite and the general populace.

References Baldwin, Elaine. 2004. Introducing cultural studies, illustrated and revised ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Castel, Manuel. 1977. The city and the grassroots: A cross-cultural theory of urban social movements. London: Edward Arnold. Crang, Mike. 1998. Cultural geography. London: Routledge. Debord, Guy. 1995 [1967]. The society of the spectacle, trans. Nicholson-Smith Donald. New York: Zone books. Foucault, Michel. 1984 [1967]. Of other spaces, heterotopias, trans. Miskowiec Jay. Architecture, Mouvement, Continuité (5): 46–49. Giddens, Anthony. 1986. Sociology: A brief but critical introduction. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

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Hartshorne, Richard. 1939. The nature of geography: A critical survey of current thought in the light of the past. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 29 (3): 173–412. Johnson, Ronald J., Derek Gregory, Geraldine Pratt, and Michael Watt (eds.). 2000. The dictionary of human geography, 4th ed. Oxford: Blackwell. Kellner, Douglas (ed.). 1994. Baudrillard: A critical reader. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. Kellner, Douglas. 2002. Media spectacle. London: Routledge. Kwa, Chunglin. 2005. Alexander von Humboldt’s invention of the natural landscape. The European Legacy 10 (2): 149–162. McLuhan, Marshall. 1964. Understanding media: The extensions of man. New York: McGraw Hill. Metzger, Gustav. 1998. The artist in the eyes of storm. In The visual embodied: Presence, practice, technology, ed. John Wood, 105–130. London: Routledge. Sassen, Saskia. 1991. The global city: New York, London and Tokyo. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Sauer, Carl O. 1962. The morphology of landscape. In ‘Land and life’: A selection from the writings of Carl Ortwin Sauer, ed. John Leighly, 317–369. Berkley: University of California Press. Schramm, Wilbur. 1964. Mass media and national development: The role of information in the developing countries. Redwood City, CA: Stanford University Press. Shao, Peiren. 2007. Emergence, evolution, and rational choice of media panic and media terror. Modern Communication (4): 27–29. Soja, Edward W. 1996. Thirdspace: Journeys to Los Angeles and other real-and-imagined places. Oxford: Blackwell. Tsujimura, Taro. 1936. Landscape geography, trans. Chensi Cao. Shanghai: The Commercial Press.

Chapter 8

Scale: Locality and Globality of Media Communication

The concept of scale is fundamental to the study of the four major fields of earth science (geography, oceanography, meteorology, and astronomy) as well as ecology, mathematics, chemistry, and engineering. In geography, scale is defined as the spatial, temporal, quantitative, or analytic dimensions used to measure and study any geographic phenomenon. In media studies, scale refers to the measurement of a person’s familiarity and engagement with a particular medium (Shao and Xia 2010, p. 9). In media geography, scale has four dimensions: locality, regionality, nationality, and globality. Locality and globality are the two most important dimensions because they provide a meaningful link between the foci of physical geography and media studies. Due to the influence of mass media and the ongoing process of globalization, the dimension of locality is being compressed and its positive qualities diminished. In the future, the global mass media will play an important role in balancing local and global interests.

8.1 Multiple Meanings of Scale Scale, which is a fundamental concept in geography, has somewhat different meanings in the fields of physical geography and cultural geography. In broad terms, scale refers to the units used to measure time or space when studying an object or phenomenon, such as map scale, analysis scale, and phenomenon scale. It can also refer to the frequency and range of the occurrence of a particular phenomenon or process in relation to time and space (Wu 2000, p. 71). The three basic components of scale are the object (the entity being investigated), the subject (the investigator), and the object’s location in the four-dimensional continuum of time–space. Ecological scale, also known as ‘geographic scale’ in ecology, consists of two components: grain and extent. ‘Grain’ (also called granularity or resolution) refers to the smallest area for which a study intends to evaluate characteristics, while ‘extent’ © Zhejiang University Press 2023 S. Peiren, New Perspectives on Geography of Media, Qizhen Humanities and Social Sciences Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2111-9_8

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refers to the spatial area of the object or landscape to be studied. In subfields of the field of ecology, such as landscape ecology, scale commonly refers to the temporal and spatial dimensions of a landscape or process. In a given research project, the temporal dimension of scale may range from a few years to several hundred years, and the spatial dimension may range from a few square kilometers to several hundred square kilometers.

8.1.1 Evolution of Measurement Systems in Ancient China During China’s Spring and Autumn period and Warring States period, the various standards used by different Chinese states for measuring length, volume, capacity, and weight made trade between these states very inconvenient. After the six rival states of the Zhao dynasty were conquered by the Qin in the late third century BC, China was unified for the first time. China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang (秦始 皇, or ‘First Emperor of Qin’) introduced a new standardized system of weights and measures called ‘Du Liang Heng’(度量衡). Soon after that, the measurement systems used by the six rival dynasties were abolished and the Emperor’s new system of weights and measures was implemented throughout China. An unearthed ‘Qin Quan’ (a measurement device called a ‘weighing hammer’) was engraved with the imperial edict of Qin Shi Huang, which reads, ‘In the twentysixth year (221 BC), the Emperor unified the country by annexing all the vassals, thereby ensuring the stability of the common people, and named himself Emperor. The Emperor issued an edict to Prime Ministers Zhuang (referring to WEI Zhuang) and Wan (referring to WANG Wan) to eliminate inconsistencies in the system of weights and measures used across the country and to implement a unified system.’ This imperial edict also stipulated that the official government would be responsible for supervising the production of standardized measurement devices, thus leading to the establishment of the first comprehensive and accurate system of weights and measures in China. The specifics of this system, which was later improved and perfected during the Han dynasty, were recorded in classic documents. The shortlived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) had a lasting cultural impact, and the Qin system of weights and measures was adopted by subsequent dynasties. A standardized system of weights and measures facilitates governance, management, and commerce. During the final years of the Qing dynasty (1875–1911), the traditional Chinese system of weights and measures underwent a major transformation. In 1929, the Nationalist Government adopted and promulgated the Weights and Measures Act to make the metric system the official standard and restrict the use of former units of measurement. The study of the history of metrology in China began in the early twentieth century, and many outstanding scholars have since then published works on the history of weights and measures in ancient China. Academic giants such as LUO Zhenyu, WANG Guowei, LIU Fu, MA Heng, RONG Geng, SHANG Chengzuo, TANG Lan, and ZHU Dexi have used textual analysis to study Chinese antiquity with a focus

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on the history of devices used to measure capacity and volume, called ‘liang’ ( 量). For example, the ‘Li Shi Liang’ (perhaps the first such device in China, invented by a man surnamed LI in the Warring States period); the ‘Fang Sheng’ (invented by the politician SHANG Yang in 344 BC, and mainly used during the Warring States period of the Qin); the ‘Qin Liang’ (invented during the Qin dynasty); and the ‘Xin Mang Jia Liang’ (a cylinder-shaped device invented during the short-lived Xin dynasty). The history of devices used to measure length has also attracted the attention of Chinese scholars. In traditional Chinese, the combination of the two characters 尺度 (‘chi du’) refers to length or the measurement of length. In a poem entitled ‘Da Qiao Ruo Zhuo Fu’ (‘An Essay on the Phenomenon That Great Art Conceals Itself’), BAI Juyi, a famous Tang dynasty poet, commented, ‘There is a standard for measuring length, but there is nothing superior to the ink line (a tool used by Chinese carpenters to draw straight lines).’ A History of Chinese Weights and Measures, written by WU Chengluo (1937), was the first monograph to be published in China on the country’s history of weights and measures. YANG Kuan (1938), a famous historian specializing in pre-Qin dynasty history, amassed a collection of ancient Chinese artifacts used to measure length and later wrote a book about them titled A Study on the Scales in Different Chinese Dynasties, which was published in Mandarin by the Commercial Press in Shanghai. What is also worthy of mention is Ancient Chinese Measures and Weights, authored by QIU Guangming in 1996, which is an important work that details the evolution of China’s standardized systems of weights and measures. Based on a comprehensive analysis of ancient texts, QIU’s book focuses on the invention, inheritance, and improvement of measurement systems, as well as the significance of implementing effective production and management strategies for such systems. He also analyzes the relationship between the standardization of systems of weights and measures and the development of politics, economics, and science and technology, as well as the impact of Chinese systems of weights and measures on similar systems used around the globe

8.1.2 Multiple Understandings of Scale Researchers in media geography frequently use a concept of scale that is typically associated with cultural geography. Although scale has been a topic of interest in cultural geography for a long while, it did not become a unified theory until the late 1980s. Following the publication of two papers by British geographers Peter Taylor and Neil Smith’s book Uneven Development, cultural geography scholars engaged in a heated debate on the politics of scale (ref., Holloway et al. 2003). Their discussion revealed substantial distinctions between geographers who adhere to Marxist epistemological idealism and those who prefer the approach of Marxist epistemological materialism.

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John F. Hart, an American geographer who subscribes to Kant’s philosophy of idealism, thinks that scale is nothing more than a conceptual mechanism for organizing the world, whereas those who subscribe to dialectical materialism view scale as a system for measuring the physical and temporal characteristics of humans and human societies, as well as their political and economic effects. Spatial scale and temporal scale In media and communication studies, spatial scale and temporal scale are usually regarded as the two fundamental categories. Spatial scale refers to the spatial dimensions of a media object or phenomenon, the quantitative or analytic method used to measure the physical distance between the researcher and a media object or phenomenon, and the breadth or depth of the investigator’s perceptions of said media object or phenomenon. In media geography, we divide scale into three categories: large scale, medium scale, and small scale. Large scale is the maximum range and longest distance of media dissemination of information; medium scale is the midpoint between smallscale and large-scale media dissemination, and small scale is the minimum range and least distance of media dissemination. Small-scale media dissemination is characterized by high visibility, high image resolution, and high information density (e.g., face-to-face interpersonal communication or watching television or a movie) which usually results in optimal dissemination effects. In contrast, large-scale media dissemination is characterized by relatively low visibility and image resolution, and by comparatively low information density which often leads to suboptimal dissemination effects. Large-scale dissemination can be illustrated by examples such as listening to a speech on a football field, watching television or listening to a radio from a long distance, or scientists receiving electronic signals from an orbiting spacecraft. Temporal scale is the measure used to investigate the continuous movement and change of an object within a temporal framework comprised of the past, present, and future. References to the past and present lay the foundation for references to the future. The more deeply people understand the history and present status of communication, the more accurately they can predict and plan for the future. Temporal scales include the scales of natural time as reflected in the movement of celestial bodies, the cycle of seasons, the stages of plant growth, clock time, and media time. Clock time, which is governed by the isochronous law of the movement, was initially measured using devices such as sundials, water clocks, and hourglasses, or by the swinging motion of a mechanical clock’s pendulum, which can accurately measure changes in hours, minutes, and seconds. Time is a notion created by humans to quantify changes. It is not real; nonetheless, change is real. Media time is used to measure the duration of the production, transmission, and receipt of media content, as well as to select the start date and time and the time interval to be used in the regular date/time prompts of a time reference system (Shao and Huang 2009).

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Small-scale and large-scale media environments Time–space measurements of media objects distinguish between large-scale and small-scale environments. Large-scale media environments are phenomena that can have an impact on the key elements of a given communication activity that spans a large geographic area or domain. Small-scale media environments can have an impact on key elements of a communication activity that spans a small area or domain. In terms of communication space, a large-scale environment of a particular media-related activity can encompass a small-scale environment, and this small-scale environment can merge with the space of a large-scale environment. While media content from small-scale and large-scale activities may interweave and/or overlap, the content can still be identified as belonging to one or the other scale. In a model consisting of concentric circles, the circle representing a small-scale media environment is the closest to the center and the circle representing a large-scale media environment is the farthest from the center. The range of media dissemination of information dissemination therefore increases in the progressively larger circles that surround the small-scale (short-range) media activities at the center of the circle. In a given media communication environment, both large- and small-scale environments are linked to political, economic, cultural, technological, and natural factors. A small-scale environment emphasizes physical environments such as production and broadcasting environments, study environments, office environments, and media environments. The media environment is, for example, a combination of media reputation, collective spirit, and the relation between small groups of people who have a common purpose or profession and the general populace. Large-scale environments emphasize aspects of social environments such as social stability and economic prosperity, cultural environment (i.e., the environment shaped by human activities), ratings of national quality, and distinct cultural atmospheres. A circle representing a well-defined small-scale media environment is typically positioned at or near the center of a concentric model, which is surrounded by circles representing well-defined larger-scale media environments. If a large-scale media environment is poorly defined and a small-scale environment is reasonably welldefined, the two environments may still be compatible. If the design of a largescale media environment is adequate but the design of a small-scale media environment is inadequate, it may be necessary to restructure or abandon the information dissemination model. Therefore, media companies must define optimum small-scale environments with great care. Ladder-like and concentric scales In media geography, the study of scale has been inspired by related research in the field of cultural geography. Scholars in the field of media and communication studies use an ascending order of geographic scales—locality, regionality, nationality, and globality—to address specific topics in terms of three-dimensional space. In China, media geographers view scale as starting with the smallest entity (an individual) and moving toward the largest entity (the universe). We can therefore arrange entities of various

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sizes in a 13-level hierarchy represented in an inverted pyramid as follows: individuals, families, neighborhoods (residential areas of a city), communities (villages or urban residential communities), districts (distinct units of a city), cities, counties ( 县, ‘xian’), provinces, regions (e.g., the Yangtze River Delta), countries, continents, the earth, and the universe. We think that the concentric circle model best illustrates the relationship between locality and globality. Definitions of locality can vary depending on context and spatial scale. From the perspective of media geography, when viewed as ‘smaller’ than regionality, nationality, and globality, locality may connote families, neighborhoods, communities, districts, counties, cities, or provinces. In contrast, if we compare the scales of locality and globality, we find that locality connotes transnationalism, nationalism, regionalism in descending order until we reach the smallest scale of family. To accurately convey the intended meaning of the term ‘locality,’ one must first identify the scale(s) on which it exists. In Key Concepts in Geography, edited by Holloway et al. (2003), a ladder-like model of scale (see Fig. 8.1) and a concentric circle model of scale (see Fig. 8.2) were adopted to describe the connotations of scale as applied in the field of media geography. Fig. 8.1 depicts a ladder-like model of scale, with four rungs representing the four scales of locality, regionality, nationality, and globality. There are clear distinctions between adjacent scales (i.e., between locality and regionality; regionality and nationality; and nationality and globality). The four scales are both independent and interactive and, when combined, two adjacent levels can create a synergistic effect. Fig. 8.2 depicts a concentric circle model of scale consisting of four circles with differing radii that correspond to locality (the innermost circle), regionality, nationality, and globality (the outermost circle). Each scale is independent, locational, interactive, and interchangeable (i.e., it can exchange places with another scale). In addition, it is easier to understand the connotations of a smaller scale in the context of one or more larger scales. Fig. 8.1 Ladder-like model of scale

Globality Nationality Regionality Locality

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Globality Nationality Regionality Locality

Fig. 8.2 Concentric circle model of scale

In media geographic research, we refer to these two models to gain a better understanding of the interrelationships between scales. Because definitions of locality can vary depending on context and spatial scale, we think that the concentric circle model best illustrates the relationship between locality and globality. From a media geographic perspective, when viewed as ‘smaller’ than regionality, nationality, and globality, locality connotes families, neighborhoods, communities, districts, counties, cities, and provinces. If we compare locality to globality, we find that locality connotes transnationalism, nationalism, regionalism and so on, in descending order until we reach the scale of families. Before discussing locality, it is therefore necessary to ascertain to which scale(s) one is referring. With the fast pace of globalization, the greatly improved economic and political status of Asian countries, and the increased global recognition of the importance of Asian cultures, scholars who specialize in the study of communication in China and across Asia have attracted international interest. The recent founding of the Chinese School and the Asian School of media and communication studies is of particular interest to academics in the East.

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8.2 Locality and Globality: Heterogeneity and Homogeneity Locality and globality are the most controversial of the four levels of media scale. Locality and globality are core concepts that encompass interconnection and cooperation, as well as contradictions and conflicts, in the context of the ongoing political and economic integration of the modern world. In the 1980s, numerous academic debates in the field of cultural geography focused on issues related to locality and globality. Scholars who support Kantian idealism hold the view that the concepts of locality and globality must also take into consideration the element of human interaction with environment and society. Local processes or practices are viewed as distinct from global processes or practices. Materialists view scale as a product of social conflict and compromise, and see locality and globality as shaped by the influence of various social actors. Under the pseudonym Gibson-Graham (2008), the American feminist economic geographers Katherine Gibson and Julie Graham argued that the frequently antagonistic relationship between locality and globality can be interpreted in six different ways: First, locality and globality are simply two concepts that exist in an analytic and interpretative framework. Clearly, the results of any academic study will differ depending on whether an issue is addressed from a local perspective or a global perspective. For example, during the global financial crisis in 2007–2009 (the Great Recession), the global economy appeared to slow down while, from a local perspective, the growth of many local economies appeared to accelerate. Second, the meanings of locality and globality are not deduced by ‘what they are,’ but by ‘what they are not.’ In other words, only when compared can the true significance of locality and globality be fully revealed. Of course, globality is a larger scale than locality, regionality, and nationality. And, as the smallest of the four scales, locality is considered the opposite of globality. Third, studies of locality and globality can provide different perspectives on social networking. Latour (1993, p. 122), a French sociologist, viewed the world as constructed of different local networks that are neither local nor global in nature, but which possess varying ranges and degrees of connectivity. In Latour’s view, locality and globality share the characteristics of connectivity, specificity, and abstraction. Fourth, because globality cannot exist independently of locality, globalization is equivalent to localization, and it is impossible to discuss locality without considering the perspective of globality. For example, a transnational corporation is, in fact, a transregional business entity rather than a global business entity because its subsidiary companies are located in one or more regions and at specific locations therein. Viewed from this angle, a transnational corporation can also be thought of as local. Fifth, in one sense, locality implies globality. In some cases, locality can be defined as a specific moment in the spatial network of social relations. From the perspective of globality, a locality is simply a global entity’s temporary foothold on the surface of the earth. Therefore, locality does not necessarily imply a specific geographic

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location, but indicates a point of entry that an entity can use in its quest to expand its operations on a global scale. Sixth, locality and globality are processes. From the perspectives of locality and globality, all spaces are eventually differentiated, connected, and integrated to form a ‘glocality.’ Locality and globality are not static, but are constantly in the process of being redefined and reshaped. Another way in which locality is associated with globality is that the global media can disseminate stories around the globe on the characteristics of a certain local place, possibly leading to the adoption of these characteristics by numerous other localities. For example, as part of their globalization efforts, multinational companies such as KFC and McDonald’s have adapted their products to appeal to local tastes and preferences—KFC offers fried dough-sticks and Chinese-style pancakes to Chinese consumers, and McDonald’s sells beer in the French market. According to J. K. Gibson-Graham, locality and globality have always had an unequal relationship, and the dominant influence of globalization will always outweigh the lesser influence of localization. In terms of a global performance, one could argue that globality is the actor and locality is the stage. Inevitably, global influences permeate and alter the original nature of locality (ref., Holloway et al. 2003). On the one hand, globalization can be viewed as an abstract space that facilitates the international flow of currencies and commodities, the expansion of capital and markets, and the transfer of technological innovations. On the other hand, localities are typically perceived as bounded, traditional, and non-capitalist entities with local labor forces (Gibson-Graham, 2008, p. 33). In recent times, a reactionary, antiglobalization stance has emerged on a local scale with the aim of helping communities protect themselves from various negative aspects of globalization. In the process of global economic integration, economically developed Western countries facilitate much of the global expansion of capital, while developing countries do their utmost to keep their localities free of expansionist influences. Given the unequal economic and political relations between developed and developing countries, the influence of globalization is much greater than that of localization. However, the weaker position of localities does not mean that they must submit to the interest of globality. In fact, scholars in the field of communication studies, are now proposing strategies and tactics to shield localities from the negative effects of globalization. As it happens, the synergies created by the differentiated worldviews of globalization and cosmopolitanism may actually serve to preserve and promote locality, community, and social diversity. According to a report by UNESCO (2009, p. 6), the globalization of communication has led to a dramatic increase in the number of cultural exchanges between many countries that serve to promote the values of multiculturalism and cultural identity. We therefore cannot ignore the possible negative impacts of globalization on cultural diversity. In this author’s opinion, both local media and global media will play vital roles in ameliorating discord between cultural locality and cultural globality. In China, a locality is not only emblematic of the nation’s cultural distinctiveness; it is also the foundation for the globalization of Chinese culture. While globality should respect local traditions and cultural values, locality should cultivate a global

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perspective. In the context of communication and media globalization, the locality, regionality, and nationality of Chinese media and communication, as well as the country’s efforts to promote international cultural exchanges, need to be safeguarded while mindfully being integrated into the globalization process. China aims to achieve a dialectical unity of locality and globality through the integration of local and global characteristics, and so that local Chinese culture can expand its presence on the global stage with the support and assistance of global media. Chinese academics devote theselves to promoting the cohesion of locality and globality while adhering to principles that neither exclude nor accept globality and global culture. In other words, China acknowledges the benefits of global culture while rejecting the possibility of assimilation. China accept new things and reject old ones; China accept foreign culture but reject any threatening or harmful elements. Thus, Chinese people will be able to preserve the positive aspects of China’s rich cultural heritage while also appreciating and incorporating the positive aspects of the outside world (Shao, 1997a, p. 69).

8.3 Mass Media and Locality Locality signifies happy homes and familiar places to be cherished and protected, which, with the support of local residents, can serve as a foundation and engine for the advancement of political progress, economic development, and cultural prosperity. Localities can also become sources of disaster due to their resistance to change and innovation, their fear of political chaos and social instability, or their propensity for social and cultural regression. In other words, locality can provide people with a sense of belonging and security, or it can obscure their vision and prevent them from seeing the beauty beyond locality. As an integral part of local culture, the local media play a crucial role in the promotion and preservation of locality, as well as in the regeneration and reconstruction of their communities. In the context of globalization, media representations emanating from an undifferentiated global culture may dilute and weaken local culture. However, local media can counteract this influence by recording, interpreting, and communicating the meaning of significant local events as they occur, thereby emphasizing and bolstering local culture (Shao and Xia, 2012). Humans and the earth, cultures and regions, and ethnic groups and their homelands are closely intertwined in terms of culture, social organization, and spiritual beliefs, and the strong presence of regional consciousness contributes to the construction and maintenance of local society (He, 2010, p. 5). Therefore, a locality may simultaneously serve as the basis for the production and supply of material resources as well as for the development and continuity of cultural and spiritual civilization.

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8.3.1 The Crisis of Locality Locality not only includes places where people live and work but also reflects people’s feelings about their local culture, its meaning, and its relative position to other cultures. In this way, locality serves to reinforce one’s personal identity and status. Everyone’s life and development is intimately connected to a set of specific relationships and places (e.g., family, hometown, school, city, and country). A shared sense of native locality binds people together through similar experiences and emotions about their local culture and local history in the context of a specific period of time. Symbols (including language) are codes used to convey information and knowledge and to signify the relationship between things. Symbols are efficient carriers of culture, which can also function as ‘cultural weapons’ that serve to provoke thought and enhance the quality of life. Languages are a monument to humanity’s past and are the best carriers of history, culture, and thought. However, with the emergence and rapid development of the new media—in particular, Internet media—traditional print media are in decline, the dominance of certain languages used in global mass communication has become increasingly evident, and the robust use of the languages and dialects of diverse localities and cultures is constantly being diminished through the efforts of new media to promote the universality of global communication. According to a report conducted by UNESCO (2009, p. 12), linguists believe that a significant number of the world’s languages will disappear by the end of the twenty-first century. Half of the existing languages (between 6000 and 8000) are spoken by fewer than 10,000 people. According to the UNESCO survey, languages are disappearing at the rate of one every two weeks. With the advance of globalization, the use by mass media of popular languages such as English has a huge impact on the status quo of the world’s lesser-known languages. For China, the Chinese language is like the glue that binds its diverse society together. Language is by no means a purely linguistic phenomenon. It carries the consciousness, thought, and feeling of individuals as well as a nation’s history, traditions, cultural identity, sense of self, and dignity (Shao and Li, 2004). Therefore, the extinction of a certain language signifies the disappearance of the specific cultural inheritance it carries. The same UNESCO study predicted that the globalization of the world’s cultures will inevitably lead to cultural homogenization. Although it is undeniable that globalization will, in some ways, weaken cultural identity and diversity and lead to the increased standardization of people’s lifestyles and modes of production and consumption, it will also interact with and enhance cultural identity and diversity to create a new global sense of ‘togetherness.’ There is currently, and will continue to be, significant tension between the scales of locality and globality. Because the scale of locality embodies individuals’ life experiences, it will inevitably clash with global forces that seek to smooth over regional and local differences through the construction of extensive transportation and communication networks. The predictable construction of new roads and highways, the resulting traffic congestion, and the ever-present influence of global mass media will undoubtedly erode people’s sense of locality, resulting in a flood of standardized

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and undifferentiated local landscapes. This is only one facet of the locality-diversity dilemma in the face of globalization. To reiterate, the sense of locality is associated with specific locations and is derived from individuals’ subjective feelings and memories. Even though this sense is formed over time through meaningful social and cultural interactions and experiences and thus carries the accumulated memories of a given locality, it is a living, fragile construct that can easily be overwhelmed by the forces of globalization. As the most salient feature of locality, cities have always been highly valued as places for social, political, economic, and cultural accumulation. However, under the influence of globalization, the local media energetically appeal to people’s desires by highlighting the romantic or exotic characteristics of distant places, captivating scenery, and colorful spectacles, leading slowly but surely to the increased homogeneity—and monotony—of urban landscapes. Media presentations of foreign landscapes and a vast array of foreign consumer goods are also attractive to local consumers. Clumsy imitations of foreign goods can easily mystify people and, in the opinion of the Canadian urban geographer and sociologist, Rob Shields, such imitations create a sense of ‘somewhere else,’ bringing faraway places magically before our eyes when in fact they have little or nothing to do with those distant places (ref., Crang, 1998). Academic circles have paid far too much attention to the opposing goals and directions of locality and globality while ignoring the greater harm to localities that can result from global localization. It is clear that the integrity of localities is under threat as a result of the pervasive influence of global and transnational media. In their communication networks, transnational media organizations, for example, intentionally publicize and disseminate information about cultures that possess the highest market value, and they frequently use aggressive tactics to promote these selected cultures. In addition, global media may actively suppress or block local media from freely disseminating information to their home audiences, thereby exacerbating the tension between globality and locality. The globally-targeted content of the mass media has broadened people’s knowledge of the world while also depriving people of the opportunity to experience foreign cultures firsthand. Although the allure of beautiful foreign landscapes can entice one to travel beyond one’s locality to non-local destinations, an individual’s native sense of belonging remains crucial to his or her mental health and well-being. While globalization does tend to weaken some aspects of locality, the positive effects of the competing processes of localization may prove to be far more significant than expected.

8.3.2 Signs of Locality Often, our most immediate and memorable perceptions of the world are tied to our sense of place. And despite the fact that our life experiences typically revolve around

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a place that gives us a sense of belonging, the significance of this place extends beyond an individual’s own life. When one considers Beijing, New York, or London, for instance, one envisions not only a geographic location but also its distinct local culture. Because locality refers to the places where people live and their sense of identity, its significance cannot be overlooked. If relationships between people and the places with which they identify are damaged, the essence of these places and the communities to which they belong will be at risk. Nostalgia for familiar landscapes and label-making are two indicators of people’s sense of local identity. Nostalgia for familiar landscapes Over a period of time, people who live in or near the same city become emotionally attached to this socio-geographic space. We can therefore conclude that the passage of time is essential to the formation of a city’s sense of place. If the landscape of a city includes weathered old buildings, it is a good indication of a healthy sense of place simply because these old buildings reflect the city’s history. For this reason, it is worthwhile for residents to make efforts to protect and preserve such landmarks from the pressures of urbanization. When famous old buildings are demolished to make room for more modern structures, part of a city’s history and culture vanishes forever, along with unique features of the city’s diverse landscape. A city’s locality is reflected in the façades of its historic buildings. In a hypothetical globalized urban landscape, the remaining historical city blocks and buildings stand as steadfast witnesses to the evolution of local culture. This is one reason why the media seek to discover traces of a city’s history so they can create related products that represent its locality. For example, the ‘Guangzhou Geography’ column of Southern Metropolis Daily launched a series of cultural reports reflecting Guangzhou’s history, culture, geography, and customs; and the television series City Stories Across China, broadcast in China by Phoenix TV, showcased cultural relics of various historic cities to illustrate their distinctiveness and contribution to locality. With the sense of locality gradually declining due to the impact of globalization, a ‘retro’ trend has emerged in some Chinese cities that wish to revitalize their sense of locality. Nowadays, although one occasionally sees modern high-rise buildings with antique-style angled roofs, such superficial features do not convincingly convey a sense of history or cultural value. Label-making Of the various ways to identify the locality of a city, label-making is undoubtedly the most direct and artistic. For example, subcultural groups draw or paint graffiti on the sides of buildings to display their identity and to mark their territory. Some kinds of graffiti reach the level of street art that gives colorful expression to their sense of community and belonging. Every urban space has its own unique brands of graffiti and street art, and this is partly due to the influence of the media. But perhaps the most remarkable identifiers of a place are its landmark buildings, which symbolize the essence of its local history and culture. One of the most interesting ways for people to become acquainted with the culture of a city is to walk along its streets and get a close look at local architectural styles, which not only

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reflect the creativity of a long succession of urban planners and architects but also represent a blending of the city’s history, society, culture, and politics. For example, courtyard houses (四合院, ‘si he yuan’) and hutongs (‘narrow alleyways or streets in traditional districts’) as well as Tian’anmen Square, have become symbols of Beijing. The Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty are not only wellknown icons of Paris and New York City, respectively, but also symbols of the national spirit of France and the United States. In the process of urban development, new buildings and publicly-displayed sculptures in major cities have become symbols that showcase a city’s essence and intangible characteristics, and which have rapidly become well-known around the world through media representations. Mumford (1961) believed that the large bronze sculpture called ‘The Destroyed City’ in Rotterdam, Holland, best expresses the innermost spirit of this Dutch city. In addition to its visible physical features, locality includes a spiritual element. While architectural and sculptural elements embody aspects of local or regional culture, an understanding of their deeper meaning often requires media interpretation. Urban landscapes and various kinds of labels highlight the diversity of a city and serve to consolidate its locality. The mass media may, for example, represent Shanghai as ‘modern,’ Guangzhou as ‘a fashion hub,’ and Hangzhou as ‘a great place to enjoy one’s leisure time,’ thereby providing audiences with indirect impressions of these localities. The media often represent a city as ‘vigorous,’ ‘livable,’ or ‘enchanting’ based on survey data and in-depth cultural analysis. The media also develop concepts that reflect the history or cultural atmosphere of a place, organizes these concepts into categories, and sketches topographic maps of cityscapes. The New Weekly magazine in Guangzhou, China, has popularized labels such as ‘The Fourth City’ (referring to Chengdu), as well as ‘The Red and Blue Armies,’ and ‘The Inner Cities List.’ The media, which normally are unreservedly subjective in their points of view, influence how audiences perceive the current state of a city’s economy and culture and, in the process, continually reshape people’s opinions and life orientations.

8.3.3 Media Reshaping of Locality The mass media produce and disseminate images that serve to maintain a place’s local character by influencing audience perceptions and experiences. However, when this process is conducted via electronic media that are directly or indirectly under the mediating role of capital structure, something begins to change. Some media enterprises, particularly network media, have migrated across geographic boundaries to represent communities with ‘no sense of place’ in an unorthodox manner, causing audiences to feel alienated, negatively affecting interpersonal modes of communication, and also calling into question traditional geographic boundaries. While the compression of time–space by mass media is gradually transforming the world into a global village, the global dissemination of images and other forms of media representation is gradually eroding localities around the globe.

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Meanwhile, a new sense of place is emerging as a result of the proliferation of media forms that allow people all over the world to experience places that shape and reshape people’s understanding of specific places. The media, for example, may have the effect of weakening the influence of a specific place and diluting its locality in the larger context of globality, or they may highlight and strengthen the locality of a specific place through positive interpretations of its history and culture. Thus, the proliferation of various media forms and interpretations of a place is fragmentary, but if it is compared to other places, its local characteristics become apparent. Obviously, not all media representations of a place conform to reality; they are merely ‘media realities’ that are constructed based on certain themes. In this sense, the meaning of a place is strongly influenced or even controlled by the media because it is difficult to gain a comprehensive view of the various landscapes of a place in a balanced manner and because the meaning of a place is frequently crafted through the dynamics of power relations. As to the reshaping of places by the mass media, the place of the media itself is a factor that cannot be ignored. Because mass media enterprises depend on technology infrastructure and large audiences, they are usually based in cities. Local urban media then see it as their mission to represent the life and culture of their home cities through newspapers, magazines, radio and television broadcasts, and the Internet. The New Yorker and Los Angeles Magazine, for example, present images and information about these two cities to American audiences, whereas in China, the City Pictorial and the Xinmin Weekly publish stories about urban life and illustrate the cultural characteristics of local places. SHAO Peiren (2019c, p. 86) remarked, ‘The media are global and cosmopolitan, but culture is not! Culture is the regional, national, and ethnic spiritual wealth accumulated over history.’ Nowadays, the singularity and homogeneity brought about by global consumerism are eroding local culture and the locality of local media, and an obvious materialistic trend has emerged in many city magazines. The homogeneity of global media forms is somewhat like the CPU of a computer that can be inserted into any urban organism and which will neither be rejected by nor have a noticeable effect on that organism (Wu and Yang, 2003). The characteristics of other types of urban media also tend to be more homogeneous and opaque. It is frightening to consider the possibility of a world without differences, in which the drive for innovation and the potential for personal growth have essentially vanished. When Anthony Giddens and Philip W. Sutton (2010) discussed the issue of globalization in Sociology: Introductory Readings (3rd edition), they firmly held that communication and the media play a key role in the process of globalization by fostering interdependencies between different parts of the world. In the context of globalization, it is the responsibility of the mass media to reshape the locality and culture of places in a way that protects them and prevents them from extinction. Local media have the advantage of being able to create products that integrate local lifestyles and traditional culture, and only when they make use of this advantage can the sense of locality remain intact. China has its own set of core values for international communication and a strong sense of place. The manner in which China conveys its unique sense of place to

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the rest of the world should be investigated in four areas: (1) how to choose media content that resonates positively with global culture; (2) how to better integrate contemporary elements into traditional Chinese culture; (3) how to develop modes of communication that are more aligned with universal cognitive models; and (4) how to capitalize on opportunities to communicate local, regional, and national events of global significance to the world. It is no simple matter to disseminate information about a local culture abroad because of ideological barriers that often stand in the way. Moreover, the concepts and realities of locality and globality have long been contradictory and even antagonistic. Nevertheless, Chinese culture will be understood and appreciated by other countries if Chinese people can open their minds to appreciate and learn from each other. To achieve optimal results, they should first direct their global communication efforts toward neighboring countries in the form of positive, easy-to-understand, and linguistically correct messages. To sum up, on the international level, locality relates to people’s general perception of their own countries or regions in relation to foreign countries and regions. The foundation for effective international communication will consist of a deep understanding of one’s own culture, a humanistic attitude toward other cultures, the desire to achieve consensus on mutually relevant matters, and the promotion of a win–win approach to cooperation (Shao and Wang, 2016).

8.4 Mass Media and Globality Locality and globality exist at opposite ends of the scale of media space. While locality describes a specific place where individuals live and work to survive, globality focuses on transcending regional boundaries in its mission to free up the flow of mass media and capital around the world. Gloomy predictions of the demise of localities due to the forces of globalization may be unwarranted, but the information superhighway being constructed by the electronic media and the Internet is gradually changing the appearance and meaning of various places, thereby motivating people to reconsider the nature and effects of globalization. In recent years, the term ‘globality’ has been widely used and often abused. Optimistic descriptions of globality convey an idealized vision of a future world—a global village that is free of imposed barriers to communication, trade, and travel. However, globalization is a complex synthesis of disparate elements rife with contradiction and conflict. On the one hand, it presents a comprehensive view of political, economic, and cultural trends; on the other hand, it tends to cause imbalances in the process of regional development. Globality and locality are often thought to be contradictory because they represent different ways of understanding one’s life. In some cases, contradictory orientations become entangled and result in a more complex awareness of particular localities. Even Internet media, with its global reach, cannot escape the persistent influence of locality. As Castells (2002) argued, a cyber-society is organized by two opposing

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entities—one global and one local. As we can clearly see, the development and activities of economies, technologies, the mass media, and institutional authorities are all organized around a global network, but the daily work, private lives, cultural identifications, and political affiliations of individuals remain essentially local.

8.4.1 The Local Space of Globality Globality changes the composition of localities because the increased social mobility that results from globalization leads to the formation of increasingly diverse local spaces. The combined effects of new media technologies, changing economic environments, and rising levels of immigration cause widespread cultural changes that transcend physical distance. In large cities such as Los Angeles, California, a formerly strong all-American sense of locality has gradually been transformed into a colorful collage of different cultures and ethnic spaces. Mixed-race cities Gloria Anzaldua and Cherie Moraga observed that, as a result of increased international contact and accelerated immigration, mixed-race cultures consisting of two or more different cultural backgrounds, ideologies, and lifestyles are forming in cities around the world (ref., Ortega, 2016). The term ‘mixed-race culture’ was originally used to refer to the coexistence of African culture, aboriginal American culture, and European culture in some South American countries, such as Argentina and Brazil. But now the term is more often applied to the identity of Mexican-Americans that has been formed by constant interactions and population flows across the border of the United States (especially California) and Mexico. According to Bhabha (2004), previous waves of immigration have created a ‘Third Space’ for cultural blending, and it is mainly in large cosmopolitan cities around the world that these exciting in-between spaces are being created and shaping new mixed-race urban communities and cultures. In his depiction of the urban landscape of Los Angeles, California, Soja (1996) pointed out the interesting inner-city spaces built by immigrants. And as one can see from reading the labels of supermarket merchandise, goods from other parts of the world can transform these ordinary urban spaces into cultural experiences. Persons who immigrate to large cities from other countries and regions tend to come together with others of the same ethnicity to create their own spaces and to develop their own sub-communities. In Los Angeles, Chinese, Japanese, Hispanics, Mexicans, Filipinos, and other minorities have become part of the cosmopolitan cityscape and have added a heterogeneous and colorful atmosphere to this formerly white-dominated metropolis. In Soja’s succinct descriptions, the presence of these minority groups often leads to the harmonious co-existence of modern American supermarkets alongside traditional Chinese, Japanese, or other ethnically-oriented markets. Despite the ethnic and cultural differences between various immigrant communities and between these

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communities and the native residents of their new home of choice, such instances of cultural convergence and peaceful coexistence are a positive result of the process of globalization. While it is predictable that dominant mainstream cultures will encourage media enterprises to construct minorities as disadvantaged groups, negative representations also carry the prospect of cultural integration. It is not uncommon to see AsianAmericans and African-Americans in films and television programs. As for economically developed megacities like Los Angeles, the term ‘melting pot’ is often used to describe it as a place where different ethnicities blend together. But in reality, globalization does not necessarily result in cultural integration because power relations and tensions between hegemonic cultures and weaker cultures often stand in the way. It is in the setting of international metropolises such as Los Angeles that heated cultural collisions between immigrant ethnic groups sometimes occur and are quickly represented by the mass media. The movie Crash (2004), where strangers to Los Angeles grapple with issues of race, class, family, and gender in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks in New York City, won the 78th Academy Award for Best Picture. The cultural impact of black music on the mass media Although conflicts are not uncommon between minority cultures and mainstream cultures, possibilities do exist in the context of globalization for minority cultures to go mainstream. For example, the widespread popularity of black music in the United States, as well as the presence of African-Americans in sports, movies, and other forms of entertainment, has enabled other races to let go of any apprehensions they may have had about people from the mysterious ‘dark continent.’ In fact, black culture has now become part of America’s mainstream urban culture. With the exception of country music, which derives from the folk music of white European immigrants, other popular styles of American music such as soul, gospel, blues, jazz, rock and roll, hip-hop, and rap, have been greatly influenced by black artists. This phenomenon not only reflects modern trends in popular music, but also offers a greater understanding of the mutual effects of human migration and cultural integration that can result from globalization. With some notable exceptions, the majority of African-Americans have been considered a disadvantaged group and have been excluded from the mainstream American society. However, the processes of globalization and urbanization have enabled African-Americans to gradually dominate some neighborhoods in major cities. For example, in Upper Manhattan, New York City, the predominantly black neighborhood of Harlem, which became famous during the jazz music boom of the 1920s, became a unique urban cultural landscape with the support of broadcast media. Black music was originally a way for African-Americans to express their anger about and dissatisfaction with white-dominated society. However, with the rise of mass media, the ‘liberal spirit’ of black music was soon recognized and imitated by an increasing number of American artists. Since then, black culture has moved from the margins of society to the center. Black music is now a symbol of American

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culture, and music styles such as jazz and blues have crossed regional and national boundaries and become influential in other urban cultures around the world. The popularity of black music in American culture does not imply that black people have now fully integrated into American society; they remain an out-group. In the years since the 1920s, racial discrimination is still pervasive, as black music is more a feature of popular culture than an alteration of the values and racial prejudices common in American mainstream culture. The ‘black spirit’ of earlier days has gradually been worn down and mainstream cultural elements have converged in mixed-race jazz, blues, and other styles of black music. Therefore, this kind of cultural integration is not always thorough, and discordant factors will remain behind its attractive façade because very few fundamental changes have taken place in the overall status of African-Americans in American society. Large cities have become spaces for diaspora communities (environments where multiple cultures converge). Different individuals and social groups interpret this phenomenon in different ways, but in the context of globalization, cosmopolitan societies and diaspora cultures are in a constant state of flux, and urban residents must adjust their positions and attitudes accordingly.

8.4.2 Heterotopia and E-topia: Geographic Boundaries of Global Media In academic circles, there continues to be much discussion about the impact of the global media, as well as specific geographic factors, on contemporary culture. A considerable number of network media enterprises have migrated across national boundaries and have become part of a global chain of communication nodes. Together with international politics and economics, the formation of a global mass media promotes globalization and also changes the composition and appearance of urban geographic landscapes. In addition, many changes in the nature and scope of global media have come about as a result of globalization. In March 2006, Helen Coonan, Australian Federal Minister of Communications, announced an amendment to the country’s Media Law that abolished restrictions on foreign capital holdings in Australia’s media industry. This initiative by the Australian government illustrates the relationship between the globality and locality of the media—that is, while the media of a country or city may represent a given place, it also serves as a link in a global chain of media companies (Christophers, 2007, p. 156). The constant influx of immigrants into cities promotes cultural exchanges and the efforts of newcomers to assimilate into their new culture, resulting in tensions over cultural identification. Moreover, although cities may be gathering places for people of different ethnicities, mobility space, here defined as the proportion of land used by the combined modes of urban communication and transit. Mobility space will not form unless these people use similar mobility practices to communicate, simply

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because people living and working in different locations cannot remain connected without them. Due to the effects and fluidity of mobility space generated by the convergence of media and personal communication technologies, it is possible for a city to break free from its previous mode of existence. Urban media environments—characterized by the media content and the communication space that is created by media—are now essential to the way we experience cities. For example, with the emergence of electronic media and the Internet, the physical geographic features of cities have been made less relevant and, in their place, a new type of city has arisen—a global city that exists on a larger scale. Castells (2002, p. 14) applied the term ‘global city’ to populous urban centers such as London and New York. In his view, the global city does not refer to any particular city, but to ‘the global articulation of segments of many cities that are linked to the functions of a shared electronic network which covers the entire planet.’ (Castells, 2002, p.14). In other words, the global city is a scale of geographic space whose formation is a product of the global media and related media technologies. While megacities like Los Angeles, New York, and London will occupy a more important position in the global network than other cities, they are merely nodes in this network. One reason why the urban cultures of these cities are often more vital than other cities is that they have invested heavily over time in more extensive and different communication resources. The global media, and in particular the Internet, are playing a key role in the process of globalization and in forging the e-topian cities of future. Foucault (1984 [1967]) coined the term ‘heterotopia’ (literally, ‘other space’) to describe places that are somehow perceived ‘other’ (e.g., as disturbing, intense, incompatible, contradictory, or transformative places such as ships, cemeteries, bars, brothels, or prisons), and which are related to ‘utopia’ (a ‘placeless place’) but also quite distinct from it. We can therefore interpret Foucault’s concept of heterotopia as the imagined geography of a place that exists outside of all places, even though it is possible to locate it in reality. William J. Mitchell (1944–2010) used the term ‘e-topia’ to refer to a brand-new type of city that exists in a fast-changing environment where electronic communication forms such as the Internet are ubiquitous. An e-topia is a place that exists in a virtual dimension but which mirrors a material urban space (Mitchell, 1999). In an e-topia, the most important features are not the geographic elements that exist in reality, such as streets, buildings, and roads, but rather the new media geography of a place as constituted by the global network. In the era of new media, people strongly sense that, due to the virtual time–space created by the global network, the media distort one’s perception of the real world. It is also evident that our understanding of places and spaces has been changed by the virtual geography created by new media. Although cities are physical symbols that convey a distinct sense of place, the deconstruction of locality by global media is altering our spatial image of cities. In addition, this same process is making formerly well-defined boundaries between rural and urban areas irrelevant. Modern cities are no longer ancient city-states surrounded by high walls that define and protect their territory. Improved transportation infrastructures have changed the

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physical geography of rural–urban fringes in a two-way process of urban suburbanization and suburban urbanization, but this is far from sufficient to meet future needs. The changes brought by information technology and communication technology are so vast that physical boundaries between places are becoming increasingly blurred. In the geography of media, boundaries now relate more to the frequency and degree of access to and the use of new media technologies. In other words, boundaries between places are no longer determined solely by physical geographic features. The rise and prosperity of a city is frequently attributable to its advantageous geographic location and abundance of material resources; however, once these resources are depleted, the city will begin to decline. In the era of new media, it is no longer sufficient for cities to rely solely on favorable geographic conditions and material resources; they need to also develop the communication and media resources that will be essential to their long-term prosperity. On-the-spot or face-toface exchanges and transactions are costly in terms of time and other resources from an economic perspective, whereas new electronic media and global online media have fundamentally altered traditional modes of communication. With the increasing diversity of cities shaped by global media, viable alternatives can be found to support a city’s numerous activities and to strike a healthy balance between the cost of time, the cost of communication infrastructure, and the cost of media technologies. In an e-topia, the ways in which cities wish to define themselves are flexible. In fact, cities can interactively create their own images through the exchange of information via sites of computer-mediated communication (i.e., electronic media and cyberspace). An e-topia is not entirely a virtual phenomenon, but rather a flowing virtual space that requires material resources to prolong its existence. Therefore, real-world geographic layouts, social organizations, and community relations are of critical importance for urban geography as represented by mass media. It is the combination of real-world and virtual-world characteristics that transforms a city into a vivid media-geographic model. While some people will work and communicate in virtual spaces, others will conduct their daily routines by means of real-world interpersonal networks. In cities where new media are concentrated, people will be able to accumulate substantial urban experience online through their ready access to global communication networks. Media enterprises that rely on the infrastructure of large cities often cross regional or national boundaries to relocate or establish new branches and in so doing, they combine elements of localization and globalization. Metropolitan and cosmopolitan cities around the world will serve as links in the future global media chain. To describe places where the media connect a city and its culture, Krätke (2003, p. 605) proposed the term ‘world media city’. The relationship between global media and global cities is more complicated because both are products of the integration of localization and globalization. Krätke and Taylor (2004) analyzed the geography of 33 global media firms through their locations in 284 cities across the world and found that some global media centers, especially New York, Los Angeles, Munich, Berlin, London and Paris, have the highest concentrations of global media.

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The growth of large media firms complements the development of cities and, in turn, the geographic logic of cities with urban and cosmopolitan cultures and welldeveloped communication infrastructures contributes to the growth of large media firms. The global media industry’s influence on cities is comparable to or greater than that of other industries; it manufactures cultural products while carving out a global market which links a large number of international cities in a spectacular cultural–geographic network. The Australian psychologist Burton (2010) observed that the process of globalization is continually evolving along with our understanding of it. One of Europe’s top speakers on future trends in economics, business and society, Hamish McRae, divided economic globalization into ‘old globalization’ and ‘new globalization’ (ref., Burton, 2010). McRae’s division into old and new is a hypothetical scenario of the future evolution of the American and Chinese film industries. In the ‘old’ mode of media globalization, the American media produce documentaries and other films about the United States and China using their own technologies and media platforms, and the Chinese media do the same using their own tools. In the ‘new’ mode of media globalization, the media industries of these two countries will cooperate in the telling of mutually agreeable stories, in sharing the most advanced technologies, and in using the most efficient and economical media platforms. These future enhancements would be jointly funded by the United States and China as well as through foreign investments. This may come across as a bit idealistic. According to Jameson (1998), globalization has created an illusory expectation that new communication technologies will erase cultural and ideological differences all over the world, and that the homogeneity formed by the new global space will erase the heterogeneity that has long existed in the previous one. People often believe that globalization implies uniformity in terms of equal access to resources and a similar level of modernization throughout the world. Globalization, on the other hand, is a complicated synthesis of sociological practices and ideological connotations that may result in a new global order of politics, economics, culture, and media. Globalization means rebuilding cities’ urban models to include modern communication infrastructures that will meet future needs. Traditional urban planning approaches will be abandoned, and urban life will take on new forms and meaning. As the global city becomes a reality, the new global media’s reach may render irrelevant the traditional physical boundaries between places. If many of the differences between cities fade away and if boundaries disappear, the question of how to highlight and preserve the locality of a city is a problem that cannot be ignored. In the context of globalization, residents of urban areas will continue to base their identity and sense of belonging on the characteristics of local and regional culture. Historic buildings and other relics of the past will remain an important part of the new cityscapes, and the new urban media will reinforce the existing sense of locality while also reshaping cities in ways that will enable them to enjoy the benefits of locality while also fully participating in the new global order.

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8.5 A Medium-Scale Mechanism for Interactivity, Balance, and Harmony A medium-scale approach is required to preserve media consistency and to achieve high levels of quality. In this context, medium scale refers to the units and methods used to measure time and space, as well as those employed in the study and management of media signs, forms, and content. The optimal scale and requirements for media management systems, operational measures such as popularity and reputation, and the dimensions of height, width, depth, boundary, range, and scope are also indicated by a medium scale. The ultimate objective is to build a mediumscale mechanism that will support and maintain media interactivity, balance, and harmony, as well as address communication-related issues of quality and quantity, content and form, spatial and temporal scale, macroscale and microscale, and locality and globality. To accomplish this goal, media researchers and practitioners should first understand the dialectical and ecological implications of a medium-scale approach, address possible contradictions at both ends (or in the middle) of the mechanism, as well as the tipping points of their convergence, and resolve any contradictions in media management and information dissemination that may impede the realization of a balanced and harmonious state of mutual assistance and mutual promotion. A ‘tipping point’ is the point at which a series of small changes or incidents becomes significant enough to cause a larger, more important change. In the context of this discussion, tipping point refers to the limits of the range or scope of the activities of a specific medium-scale media mechanism. The recognition of tipping points is a key consideration of activities related to media and communication. Within the limits of a given range or scope, the nature of a certain communication activity remains unchanged; beyond these limits, the nature of the activity will change, along with related media-geographic boundaries and divisions. Hence, if a specific communication activity pursues opposite goals or from opposite directions, the heterogeneity of a medium-scale mechanism will increase dramatically, resulting in a change to its nature as well as the possible mutual destruction of both the original activity and the transformed activity. In contrast, when two communication activities cooperate with each other in the pursuit of common goals and move in the same direction, the homogeneity of the medium-scale mechanism will increase dramatically and the nature of the two activities will also change. These changes may, however, lead to the deviation or dissolution of media-geographic boundaries, the homogenization of media content, and the universalization of communication, thus undermining cultural diversity and heterogeneity. It is worth noting that academics are alert to the possibility of excessive heterogeneity or deviations in the relationship between locality and globality on the scale of the media. Some have argued that the emphasis on locality is a double-edged sword, and that overemphasizing locality may prove advantageous to nationalists. Also, it might evoke anxiety and tension in international society and lead to unrest and political instability in certain regions or countries. However, most academics have

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encouraged the unrestrained integration of locality and globality because it could eventually lead to the peaceful evolution of culture or even to global localization or local globalization. The concept of ‘global localization’ has been adopted by Japanese scholars specializing in the field of marketing. They hold the view that global localization can be achieved if and when the availability of global products and services can meet the consumer needs of local cultures. The British scholar Albrow (1996) agreed with Roland Robertson’s opinion that globalization involves a kind of localization, implying that a global product or service can find a ready market almost anywhere due to its all-encompassing scope. The phenomenon of global localization could result in unrestricted immigration and could exacerbate the stresses of cultural assimilation, overpopulation, and close human proximity. While the localization of a global product or service may seem desirable to marketing firms, one must think carefully about introducing this strategy into communication activities directed at localities. Once global interests begin to direct their focus on locality, it will be like a river (locality) flowing toward the sea (globality) resulting in massive cultural globalization and homogenization. The very thought of achieving globality at the expense of local and national heterogeneity implies that excessive concessions will have to be made in terms of cultural rights and communication territory. To resist the pressures of global homogeneity, we ought to stand firm on the position of cultural equality, preserve the boundaries of local cultures, and strive to liberate the disadvantaged from the inequalities that prevail in heterogeneous cultures. In so doing, a reasonable and science-based level of tension must be maintained in interactions between locality and globality. In this way, nations can freely conduct cultural exchanges, academic dialogues, and joint scientific research projects while exchanging opinions from a standpoint of mutual equality that promotes cultural diversity and a shared vision for the future evolution of human society. Over the past hundred years or so, Americans and Europeans have increased the global dominance of their cultures by developing and consolidating their economic, military, political, and technological power around the world and by promoting global cultural exchange and competition. In addition, the American and European cultures have risen to the position of global cultures that threaten and sometimes invade the territories of other heterogeneous cultures. Chinese scholars have recently discussed possible ways for China to resist and reduce the prejudice and frequent hostility of globally dominant cultures, maintain its cultural diversity, and promote cultural exchanges between China and other countries. Based on his in-depth study of the mechanisms of Chinese culture and other cultures around the world, Shi (2008, pp. 8–10) proposed a number of ideas on how to construct a contemporary system of Chinese discourse. He proposed, in particular, a paradigm for reconstructing established discourse norms, as well as practical strategies for constructing a completely new discourse paradigm. A year later, Li and Tao (2009) investigated Western modes of communication to improve Chinese methods of international communication. As a result, LI and DU advocated for China to adopt

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both elitist and people-oriented models, which would effectively counterbalance the Western media’s global hegemony. As for cross-cultural communication, Chen (2020), Guan (2016), and others have proposed a perspective of Asia-centrism based on Asian culture with Chinese culture as its core in hopes that this approach will effectively counter the current Europecentric domination of research in the field of communication studies. According to a review of international communication conducted by Shao and Yang (2010), from the 1970s until today, eminent Chinese communication scholars such as YU Yelu, SUN Xupei, and SHAO Peiren have called for the localization and sinicization of communication studies in China, suggesting that Chinese research on communication studies should be freely exchanged with Western academics with the aim to balance and integrate knowledge and methodologies from China and the West to attain an equal standing in international communication. In 2008 and 2009, two doctoral-level forums on communication were held at Zhejiang University: ‘Asian propositions: A new horizon of international communication’ and ‘China propositions: A path to the localization of communication theories.’ These forums generated many ideas and proposals related to the locality of media and communication in support of China’s desire to become a powerhouse for the locality and diversity of communication studies in Asia. In the competition between the interests of locality and the globality of communication, China’s local media will play a vital role in creating and managing mediumscale media mechanisms and thereby become a formidable presence in international cultural communication. The weaker position of local media does not mean that they must simply submit to the dominance of global media. But to successfully resist the forces of globalization and to hold true to its core mission, the Chinese media need to be motivated by a sense of impending crisis. Local Chinese media should adopt at least six strategies for constructing a balanced and harmonious relationship between locality and globality: First, China should take the initiative to participate in the globalization of communication and actively support local rights and interests. China’s media industry should continue its adherence to the policy of reform and opening up while also strengthening its ability to participate as an equal party in the globalization of communication. As a developing country, China should willingly participate in fair competition as well as in the discussion and formulation of related rules. China should also accept WTO rules and international conventions to protect the locality of Chinese media and cultural diversity, safeguard our overall rights and interests, and resist any arbitrary, unilateral, or discriminatory restrictions on locality that may arise from the processes of globalization. Second, China should be proactive in improving the design of local media systems and updating related laws or formulating new ones. Under the rules of the WTO, honoring China’s commitments to other countries and following step-by-step strategies for local development, Chinese people should promptly consolidate legal guidelines and regulations for communication management and marketing and set high standards for admittance to and management of these and other related activities. In addition, effective measures have to be taken to protect local media and local culture

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from the unregulated opening of our internal markets to the outside world (Shao, 2001). Third, China should firmly establish Chinese value systems and contemporary discourse to provide a clear and independent understanding of the possible subversive influences of certain foreign cultures, while remaining open to foreign ideas and perspectives and participating in the development of global culture. In this way, Chinese culture can avoid assimilation by foreign cultures while also revitalizing the local character of its media and combating the negative effects of global media (Shao, 2010c). Fourth, in the socio-biological process of gene-culture coevolution, cultural genes are responsible for the salience of other-regarding values, the capacity to empathize, and the ability to value character virtues such as honesty, hard work, piety, and loyalty, which facilitate social interaction and collective behavior. In this regard, we must continue fostering the vitality of our culture so that Chinese qualities and virtues are passed on genetically to future generations. Fifth, China should explore new paths for international and cross-cultural communication of local Chinese culture and adopt appropriate strategies for disseminating information in both horizontal and vertical directions. China should also create media products that promote Chinese culture and which use more flexible and creative translation methods to facilitate cross-linguistic transfers and cross-cultural understanding (Shao, 2020b). Sixth, China should make every effort to reduce the level of tension between locality and globality, to strengthen our self-confidence in the viability of Chinese local media, and to extend their range of information dissemination to expand their influence to nearby countries and around the world. Chinese people should also strive to familiarize the world with the most positive and brilliant aspects of Chinese culture. The mission of Chinese people is to rectify globality with locality, balance the forces of homogeneity and heterogeneity, and gradually elevate locality in global exchanges and through international cooperation. These actions will expand the spaces of locality and elevate Chinese culture to a central position that reflects its geographic territory, cultural traditions, and comprehensive national power. A medium-scale approach to media communication will provide researchers with a dynamic and comprehensive cultural index for consideration and investigation. Both the local and global cannot be ignored. Locality is not only emblematic of the Chinese personality, but also a prerequisite for Chinese media to go global. In the field of media geography, we advocate for locality consistent with local traditions and cultures from an international and global perspective. In other words, we must maintain the perspective of ‘other’ while also cultivating a global perspective. According to Khanna (2016), what people need is a vision of a global dimension of thought—a two-way flow of knowledge between the relatively limited perspective of the West and the East’s holism, humanism, scientific materialism, democracy, and expertise. With the goal of building a global community with a shared future for humanity, we should always support the basic principles of negotiation to arrive at solutions that promote win–win cooperation, whether such negotiations are between East and West, North and South, or between China and ‘others.’ We should connect our past to the

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present, oppose unipolar globalization, remain committed to a path of peaceful development and common prosperity, and create a new mode of international relations based on mutual respect, fairness, justice, and win–win cooperation. It will require three-dimensional thinking and extraordinary political wisdom to counter the center-periphery model of cultural imperialism and to support the coordinated and balanced development of locality, regionality, and globality. In our opinion, the shared vision of a global village can eliminate the dualistic opposition of Westcentralism and East-centralism and bring international politics into the framework of globalization under the principles of pluralistic egalitarianism. China need to develop a medium-scale media mechanism that is interactive, balanced, harmonious, future-oriented, which actively seeks common ground while respecting differences, and which opposes unilateralism to take advantage of the unprecedented number of new and historic opportunities presented by globalization. Chinese people should promote multiculturalism with the multiple objectives of developing ethical guidelines for global media communication, constructing a discourse system that integrates locality and globality, and developing a communityoriented media platform based on shared technologies and resources. The Chinese media can then collaborate with the media organizations of other countries to promote a harmonious and balanced global communication ecology and steer the governance of communication-related activities in a more reasonable direction.

References Albrow, Martine. 1996. The global age: State and society beyond modernity. Redwood City, CA: Stanford University Press. Bhabha, Homi K. 2004. The location of culture, 2nd ed. London and New York: Routledge. Burton, Graeme. 2010. Media and society: Critical perspectives, 2nd ed. New York City: Open University Press. Castell, Manuel. 2002. Urban sociology in the twenty-first century. Cidades-Comunidades e Territórios (5): 9–19. Chen, Guoming. 2020. Establishing a global network community: A perspective of inter-cultural communication. In Inter-cultural communication studies, vol. 2, ed. Bo Shan, 68–98. Beijing: Communication University of China Press. Christophers, Brett. 2007. Media geography’s dualities. Cultural Geographies 14 (1): 156–161. Crang, Mike. 1998. Cultural geography. London: Routledge. Foucault, Michel. 1984 [1967]. Of other spaces, heterotopias, trans. Miskowiec Jay. Architecture, Mouvement, Continuité (5): 46–49. Gibson-Graham, J. K. (pen name of Katherine Gibson and Julie Graham). 2008. Beyond global versus local: Economic politics outside the binary frame. In Geographies of power: Placing scale, ed. Herod Andrew, and Melissa W. Wright, 25–60. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. Giddens, Anthony, and Sutton W. Philip. 2010. Sociology: Introductory readings, 3rd ed. Cambridge: Polity Press. Guan, Shijie. 2016. An investigation into international effects of Chinese culture. Beijing: Peking University Press. He, Qun. 2010. The entanglement between man and land: Behaviors and functions of regional consciousness in the Oroqen society. Journal of Chinese Historical Geography (1): 6–14. Holloway, Sarah L., Stephen P. Rice, and Gill Valentine (eds.). 2003. Key concepts in geography. London: Sage.

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Jameson, Fredric. 1998. The cultural turn: Selected writings on the postmodern, 1983–1998. London: Verso. Khanna, Parag. 2016. Connectography: Mapping the future of global civilization. New York: Random House. Krätke, Stefan. 2003. Global media cities in a world-wide urban network. European Planning Studies 11 (6): 605–628. Krätke, Stefan, and Peter J. Taylor. 2004. A world geography of global media cities. European Planning Studies 12 (4): 459–477. Latour, Bruno. 1993. We have never been modern, trans. Porter Catherine. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Li, Xiguang, and Tao Du. 2009. Propaganda modes and resistance modes in international communication. Contemporary Communication (4): 11–13. Mitchell, William J. 1999. E-topia: ‘Urban life, jim—But not as we know it.’ Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Mumford, Lewis. 1961. The city in history: Its origins, its transformations, and its prospects. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World. Ortega, Mariana. 2016. In-between: Latina feminist phenomenology; multiplicity, and the self . New York City: State University of New York Press. Shao, Peiren. 1997. Introduction to communication. Hangzhou: Zhejiang University Press. Shao, Peiren. 2001. Media Globalization: Opportunity or challenge? Journal of Huzhou Teachers College (5): 1–6. Shao, Peiren. 2010. Some thoughts on enhancing the international competitiveness of Chinese culture. Shanghai Journalism Review (11): 14–15. Shao, Peiren. 2019. Media is global, while culture is not. Modern Audio-Video Arts (7): 86. Shao, Peiren. 2020. Cultural genes: The permanent foundation and the source of the power of Chinese culture. Modern Audio-Video Arts (3): 84–85. Shao, Peiren, and Qing Huang. 2009. Media time: A study on the conception of media time. Contemporary Communication (3): 21–24. Shao, Peiren, and Yun Wang. 2016. Methodological innovations in localization: A response from the perspective of cognitive communication. Modern Communication (5): 14–20. Shao, Peiren, and Yuan Xia. 2010. Media scale: An investigation into the locality and globality of communication. Contemporary Communication (6): 9–12. Shao, Peiren, and Yuan Xia. 2012. Features, crisis and ecological reconstruction of cultural locality: a perspective of geography of media. Contemporary Communication (2): 19–22. Shao, Peiren, and Wen Li. 2004. Problems in TV news programs broadcasted with dialects. Journal of Hangzhou Normal University (Social Sciences) (5): 27–31. Shao, Peiren, and Liping Yang. 2010. The status quo and trend of international communication at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Journal of Hangzhou Normal University (Humanities and Social Sciences) (2): 60–69. Shi, Xu. 2008. Journal of contemporary Chinese discourse studies, vol. 1. Hangzhou: Zhejiang University Press. Soja, Edward W. 1996. Thirdspace: Journeys to Los Angeles and other real-and-imagined places. Oxford: Blackwell. UNESCO. 2009. World report: Investing in cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue. Available at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000185202. Accessed December 30, 2009 Wu, Chengluo. 1937. A history of Chinese measures and weights. Shanghai: The Commercial Press. Wu, Jianguo. 2000. Landscape ecology: Pattern, process, scale, and hierarchy. Beijing: Higher Education Press. Wu, Fei, and Ying Yang. 2003. Examining the development of urban magazines from the perspective of economics. Journalism and Mass Communication Monthly (2): 43–47. Yang, Kuan. 1938. A study on the scales in different Chinese dynasties. Shanghai: The Commercial Press.

Concluding Remarks

Just as the earth endures, so does geography; it witnesses the beginning and ending of countless lives and is the physical foundation of the human life cycle. The ancient Chinese legend of the mother goddess, Nüwa, who created Man out of yellow clay, reflects the interdependencies between humans and geography. The ancient Taoist concept of the unity of Heaven, Earth, and Man conceives of a holistically connected and interdependent Universe, and implies that all academic disciplines derive from one and the same source, therefore suggesting the real possibility of interdisciplinary study on this subject moving forward. Along with the emergence of global digital media, man’s perceptions of the world have undergone major shifts from history to geography, from time to space, from oneway communication to multi-layered interactive communication, from stories and narrations to spectacles, from rational cultures to pleasure-oriented cultures, and from real-world social activities to a dependency on digital images and media representations. On the one hand, the geographic aspects of media, together with recent shifts in communication studies toward geographic considerations, have become increasingly important; on the other hand, traditional forms and long-held approaches to academic research have been thoroughly subverted and broken. Conventional, time-based theories of media and communication are no longer adequate to fully explain the nature of the communication spaces and media spectacles that are now made possible by networked digital and mobile communication technologies. Contemporary media have blurred the boundaries of physical geographic space and have created an unfathomable virtual world that differs in many respects from the real world. It is, therefore, no coincidence that the academic discipline of geography of media has emerged in the intersectional zone of media studies and geography. Incredible as it may seem, much of the research conducted in the field of media studies over the past few decades has accurately predicted contemporary trends in the development of global communication. Faced with increasingly complex geographic phenomena, as well as the many changes and problems in society that are related to the activities of mass media, our collective stance with regard to the optimal role of media in society will determine whether or not the media will continue to develop © Zhejiang University Press 2023 S. Peiren, New Perspectives on Geography of Media, Qizhen Humanities and Social Sciences Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2111-9

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along the same lines; this stance will also influence the spiritual progress of human beings living in the modern world. In accordance with ancient Chinese principles governing the interrelationships and interactions between Heaven, Earth, Man, and (most recently) the media, we should scrutinize the present role of the media and pursue new directions for research on the subject of global mass communication. To achieve the coexistence and coprosperity of these elements in harmony and in balance, academics must also endeavor to construct a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and multi-layered analytic framework that can effectively address these challenges. This monograph on geography of media expounds upon the objects of this field of study, the theoretical system upon which it is based, and its scope of research. In addition, it reviews the history of geography of media in the West and in China, examines the present status of research in this field, and looks to future studies. In so doing, it introduces readers to new dimensions of theory and methodology, expands the scope of journalism and communication studies, and gains influence through its presentation of useful insights and innovative thoughts. With humanism as its core value, the geography of media advocates low carbon Information and Communications Technology (ICT) solutions, ecological balance, and spatial coordination. With a deeper understanding of the five key elements of time, space, place, scale, and landscape, scholars in this field are committed to furthering harmonious relations between man, society, media, and geography from the long-term perspective of a sustainable global information society. The timely, relevant, and far-reaching visions of the geography of media lead us to pay closer attention to an academic field that has long been ignored. Current and future research will help us scientifically explore and better understand the geographic factors underlying the development of mass media. Using geographic concepts and methodologies, we must strive to maintain and enhance the vitality and influence of local media as well as advance the scope and effectiveness of global communication and cooperation. Our overarching goals include building a symbiotic win–win mechanism of mutually beneficial interaction and helping to achieve balance and harmony between locality and globality. Based on the Marxist concept of dialectical materialism and the principle of universal connection and development, the study of geography of media integrates theories and methods from various disciplines such as political science, economics, history, sociology, cultural studies, and media studies. No matter what the focus of scholars in these diverse fields may be in the future, they need to give close attention to the functions of space and geography when discussing subjects such as time and history. We consider it of vital importance that scholars be more cognizant of Asian culture as well as the emerging global culture while also recognizing the important contributions of Chinese culture and local culture. Adhering to principles and policies of the new media, we respect and accept all political, economic, and religious mechanisms and rules. As Chinese scholars, we must above all seek to foster Asian awareness and a global vision while holding true to the tenets of Chinese thinking and supporting China’s position in the world. In addition, we must avoid regionalism, protectionism,

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ethnic discrimination, and xenophobia while remaining committed to peaceful development and common prosperity, and strive to establish a new pattern of international relations and global communication based on mutual respect, fairness, justice, mutual assistance, and win–win cooperation. Scholars in the field of geography of media embrace a worldview that is both holistic and interactive. The world has never been so interconnected and interdependent as it is today. Against this backdrop, the world of media is not only an integral, open, and substantial geographic existence, but also an interactive and relational spiritual noumenon. With the imminent opening of the Transpolar Sea Route (TSR), a direct shipping route via the North Pole will connect markets in Asia, North America, and Europe. The TSR will undoubtedly become symbolic of how the world is steadily becoming more connected to form a geographic whole. The emergence of electronic media and the Internet also lays a solid foundation for connecting the world into a communicative whole characterized by the processes of interaction and integration. In today’s world, no one country or organization can hope to meet the many challenges of establishing a truly global system of communication, much less the problems that may arise involving security, natural catastrophes, and other types of large-scale crises. In accordance with a holistic and interactive worldview that is supported by the global mass media, we envision the world becoming an interactive and interdependent community that shares a common destiny. The countries of the world are expected to join together to create a new world order that is supported by efficient mechanisms for global economic and security governance. In addition, we should build a global interactive communication system that embodies the characteristics of accountability, dignity, dialogue, equity, freedom, inclusiveness, openness, security, self-determination, reward, and responsibility, and which will meet the basic requirements of our future society and be recognized and accepted by the people of every country. Communication is destined to become an extremely vigorous and vital system of worldwide knowledge. ‘The basic task of the research on communication is to consciously integrate discrete elements into a whole system and to jointly define the internal structures and external connections of this communication system rather than simply ignore the need for such a system, or to continue working in relative isolation in an attempt to solve complex problems on one’s own.’ (Shao 1991, p. 377). Thus far, the majority of research in the field of communication studies has been conducted in Western counties, resulting in the West-centralism and overWesternization of findings and the introduction of geographic bias and regional discrimination into the analysis and interpretation of the meaning and implications of global media. We should now stand firm on the principle of equal dialogue between China and the West, and actively seek a third path or paradigm (i.e., ‘Neither the East nor the West, but both together’) that will facilitate the joint development of a workable model for global communication (Shao 2018). Although this approach may result in a superficial loss of Chineseness, this paradigm will occupy a central position in our ongoing research. We intend to hold fast to our cultural genes while

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also strengthening and promoting local culture, here defined as the life of a nation in the form of attitudes, values, traditions, and customs that arise over time. References Shao, Peiren. 1991. Political communication. Nanjing: Jiangsu People’s Publishing House. Shao, Peiren. 2018. Working together to build the model of whole-mankind communication. Chinese Journal of Journalism & Communication (2): 62–65.

Epilogue

For 36 years, I have been engaged in media and communication research, and for over 30 of these years, I focused on interdisciplinary research in media and communication. In 1988, in cooperation with DAI Yuanguang and GONG Wei, I published the first monograph on communication research in China’s mainland, Principles and Applications of Communication Science (Lanzhou University Press, 1988), which received much applause in China’s academic circles. At that time, I predicted that general research in the field of communication, and in its subfields such as mass communication, organizational communication, and interpersonal communication, might soon become trending subjects of interest. And although the need for interdisciplinary research in these areas might be ignored for some time, I was certain that this field would eventually come into its own and emerge as a powerhouse in the future. With this in mind, I began the long journey toward the interdisciplinary study of communication. Starting in 1990, as an author and editor for the Jiangsu People’s Publishing House and the Nanjing University Publishing House, I published Economic Communication (1990), Political Communication (1991), Educational Communication (1992), Art Communication (1992), Sociology of Communication (1994), and Journalism and Communication (1995). Following this period, I switched to the subfield of media management and published Media Management (1998), Media Strategic Management (2003), Movies Management (2005), and Advanced Research on Media Theory (2009). I also published Communication Studies (Textbook Series for the TwentyFirst Century; the National Key Textbook), Media Management (2002), Classic Cases of Media Management (2003), and Introduction to Media Management (2010) through the Higher Education Press. I originally intended to focus on research in the fields of communications and media management. To my great surprise and delight, I learned that several of my academic papers on media ecology and geography of media had attracted the attention of media researchers and professionals in China. A short time later, an interdisciplinary research center, supported by the Zhejiang University Interdisciplinary Pilot Study Fund, was established by the School of Media and International Culture and the School of Computer Science and Technology, under the direction of Professor GENG © Zhejiang University Press 2023 S. Peiren, New Perspectives on Geography of Media, Qizhen Humanities and Social Sciences Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2111-9

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Weidong and myself. I soon became very busy with a new project named ‘Research on Geography of Media and Media Ecology,’ which was funded by the ‘985 Project’ and conducted under the auspices of the Christian and Cross-cultural Research Center, Zhejiang University (Key Research Base of Liberal Arts of the Ministry of Education) as well as the Major Project of Zhejiang Philosophy and Social Science Fund. In 2008, as my concluding report on this interdisciplinary project, I published the monograph Media Ecology: Media as a Green Ecology through the Communication University of China Press. In 2008, my manuscript for the monograph, Geography of Media: Media as Cultural Landscape (260,000 Chinese characters), received support from the Zhejiang Philosophy and Social Science Fund (No. 08CBB23). After two years of revision, the book was published in 2010 by the Communication University of China Press. Together with more than 20 related papers published in various academic journals, this monograph received enthusiastic responses and high praise from colleagues and scholars, and was also well-received by the academic book market. In 2011 and 2012, Geography of Media: Media as Cultural Landscape won a series of awards, which included first prize of the Sixteenth Zhejiang Philosophy and Social Science Outstanding Achievement Award; third prize of the Sixth Higher Education Scientific Research Outstanding Achievement Award (Humanities and Social Sciences, Journalism, and Communication); and first prize of the Excellent Textbook Award of the Book Award of Chinese Colleges and University Presses. Ten years after its publication in 2010, Geography of Media: Media as Cultural Landscape was officially listed as a recommended book for the Chinese Academic Translation Project of the National Social Science Fund of China after being recommended by translation scholars and being evaluated by experts. In 2021, Professor WANG Guofeng at Shanghai Normal University completed a 110,000-word condensed version of this book and signed a contract with Zhejiang University Press and Springer Nature Group. In the meantime, through the joint efforts of Professor WANG Guofeng and the Zhejiang University Press, this translation project was approved by the National Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences after being reviewed by experts and funded by the Academic Translation Project under the National Social Science Fund of China. In accordance with the requirements of the Academic Translation Project and the advice of expert reviewers and translation specialists, I revised the original monograph in the following manner: First, considering the word limit and conciseness of English-language works, I deleted chapters that contained out-of-date information, as well as chapters written by YANG Liping, with her consent and approval. In addition, I crossed out the chapters in which Ms. YANG contributed to data collection and data processing. I then proceeded to revise Chaps. 1–8, adding approximately 70,000 characters, making numerous revisions by adding and removing sentences, and polishing a few expressions. Second, based on related papers I had written over the past decade or so, I enriched the monograph with ancient Chinese ideas pertinent to communication and media geography, as well as perspectives, expositions, and historical facts pertaining to key geographic elements. Third, based on my research and understanding of Chinese communication, Asian communication, and

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global communication, I enhanced and expanded the monograph’s original theoretical system, scope, structure, and content (Shao et al. 2017; Shao and Yao 2020). Fourth, I incorporated some of the most recent findings from Chinese and Western communication studies circles in the areas of media studies and geography of media in the revised edition. Fifth, I reexamined and revised the primary concepts and case studies from the original work. Briefly, the present monograph, New Perspectives on Geography of Media, has been significantly strengthened in terms of its theories and analyses, and its innovativeness has been increased through a thorough examination of the practical application of ancient Chinese wisdom, Western theories on communication and geography, and relevant findings from Chinese scholars. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, PENG Fengyi, former Deputy Director of the Publicity Department of Zhejiang University, for her valuable contributions of wisdom and useful suggestions as the book’s first reader. I would also like to thank my son, Professor SHAO Peng, Associate Dean of School of Humanities, Zhejiang University of Technology, and postdoctoral fellow of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University, who provided me with information about the latest achievements in geography of media, as well as offering insightful criticisms. I would like to thank my students YANG Liping, ZHOU Ying, YAO Jinyun, who have given me much assistance. I would like to thank the expert reviewers of this translation project and the main translator of this monograph, Professor WANG Guofeng, and the editor of the book, Stephen Johnson, as well as Mrs. HUANG Jingfen and my friends at the Zhejiang University Press and Springer Nature Group. Without your cooperation and support, this monograph could not have been published. Thank you! SHAO Peiren June 28, 2021 At my apartment near Qingshan Lake, Hangzhou References Shao, Peiren, and Jinyun Yao. 2020. Huaxia communication theory. Hangzhou: Zhejiang University Press. Shao, Peiren, et al. 2017. Asian communication theory: Asian perspective in international communication studies. Hangzhou: Zhejiang University Press.