The "Technical Platform Specification Requirements for County-Level Media Convergence Centers" and "Construction Standards for County-Level Media Convergence Centers," issued by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and the National Radio and Television Administration on January 15, 2019, set forth requirements for the overall architecture and various functions of the technical systems of county-level media convergence centers. They also standardized aspects such as information security, operation and maintenance monitoring, infrastructure support requirements, key performance indicators, testing, and acceptance criteria involved in the construction process. The introduction of these standards provides substantive guidance for the development of county-level media convergence centers.
On April 11, 2019, the National Radio and Television Administration issued and implemented the "Cybersecurity Standards for County-Level Media Convergence Centers," "Operation and Maintenance Standards for County-Level Media Convergence Centers," and "Monitoring and Supervision Standards for County-Level Media Convergence Centers.".
1. Build a converged media platform strictly in accordance with the standards
Chengdu Weitong Information Technology Co., Ltd.'s "Weitong Converged Media V2.0" version is a robust and highly extensible converged media system designed fully in compliance with regulatory standards. It assists county-level converged media centers in effectively integrating local media resources, optimizing their utilization, and centralizing the aggregation of county-level media outlets. This approach avoids fragmented efforts and dispersed resources, fostering strong cohesion and influence. The development of converged media centers not only enhances media's ability to guide public opinion, boosts the guidance and credibility of county-level media, and delivers social benefits but also helps media establish a positive image, win audience trust, and strengthen competitiveness.
II. Objectives of Converged Media Development
Under the unified leadership of the County Party Committee's Propaganda Department, a media convergence center was established with the core principle of "guiding the public and serving the public." By effectively integrating resources from existing functional departments such as the television station, newspaper industry, Party Committee Propaganda Department news center, government Weibo, and government WeChat official accounts, the center unified team formation, resource allocation, and operational coordination. Comprehensive reforms and innovations were implemented in institutional mechanisms, personnel systems, talent development, and performance evaluations, establishing a new institutional framework for the media convergence center.
Relying on the existing network and technical facilities of television stations (or county-level converged media centers already established), and building upon the broadcasting platforms, distribution platforms, transmission networks, and technical infrastructure of institutions such as television and press, a converged media command and dispatch center as well as a content production center will be established. This will create a fully integrated all-media production platform, reconstruct the intelligent and unified all-media workflow encompassing "planning, gathering, editing, distribution, follow-up, and evaluation," and establish a working framework of "one-time collection, multi-format generation, and all-media coverage." This approach promotes the deep integration of various news elements, the full sharing of reporting resources, and the interconnection of diverse media platforms, forming a business system that meets modern communication needs and driving the implementation of convergence mechanisms.
Strengthen the development of new media platforms, adhere to the mobile-first principle, and build a county-wide (district-wide) integrated media dissemination matrix. Prioritize the creation of a county-level App platform, transforming it into a mainstream opinion hub, comprehensive information service platform, and community information hub. This enables unified management, operation, and communication of news from all county departments, offices, townships, and communities, forming a fully functional and widely covered modern all-media ecosystem. This further consolidates and strengthens the guiding role of mainstream media in public discourse.
Adhering to the "News+" concept, we focus on comprehensiveness and service orientation, integrating the media convergence center with public services to expand diversified operational offerings, enhance service efficiency, and innovate profit models. Leveraging the strengths of county-level media convergence in content and talent, we utilize our platform advantages to collaborate with relevant departments on public cultural services, smart governance, and smart city livelihood initiatives, jointly advancing construction and operation while gradually exploring feasible development models.
3. Business Process and Overall Architectur
The overall business process of full media integration mainly consists of strategy, procurement, editing, publishing, tracking, and evaluation. The production business of full media integration news first captures hot news on the Internet, and there are various ways to obtain clues, such as government instructions, editor recommendations, journalist contributions, network hotspot monitoring, and so on. After obtaining clues, the editor in chief or editor in chief will screen, query, and browse various clues to determine the topic of the news. After determining the news to be reported or deeply explored, the editor in chief or editor in chief will create and determine the topic of the news, and hold a pre production meeting or editor in chief meeting for the determined topic or activity to determine the key elements required for the report.
After the topic selection is confirmed, reporters and correspondents will use all media journalist interview tools to conduct interviews and write articles on the news topic. After the articles are completed, they will be reviewed and stored in the database. The on-site personnel use multimedia production tools to produce various products from the collected materials, and all editing work is carried out in the editing center and multimedia resource library. After the completion of the film materials, they will be pushed to the multimedia publishing and operation platform through the process engine, and the platform will connect with various publishing channels such as traditional TV channels and new media distribution channels. The above process design truly achieves one-time news collection, multiple products, and multi-channel dissemination.
At the same time as each business operation, key information data and business process information will also be pushed to the data visualization platform of the chief editor scheduling center. This module can be used to unify the display of various business nodes in the news production process.
So if the all media integration business process is designed through the above methods, it can truly achieve a closed-loop operation of unified planning, one-time collection, multiple products, and multi-channel dissemination.
