“Making” Rural Elites: Empowerment of Chinese Rural “Public Affairs Live Streamers” on Short Video Platforms
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. From Gentry to New Village Sages: The Role of Rural Elites in China
1.2. “Public Affairs Live Streamers” on Short Video Platforms as Rural Knowledge Elites
1.3. Empowering Mechanism Through Digital Media Under Social Capital Theory
2. Methods
3. Results
3.1. Descriptive Results from Content Analysis
3.2. Capital Conversion Mechanisms in the Empowerment of Rural “Public Affairs Live Streamers”
3.2.1. Cultural Capital Converted into Online Social Capital
3.2.2. Online Social Capital Converted into Economic Capital
3.2.3. Online Social Capital Converted into Offline Social Capital
4. Discussion
4.1. Online Social Capital as a Medium of Dual Dimensions of Empowerment
4.2. Limitations of Empowerment
4.3. Recommendations
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A. Detailed Profile and Metrics of Sample of “Public Affairs Live Streamers” on Short Video Platforms
Account Name | Occupation—Identity Description | Followers | Likes | Live Sessions | Number of Works |
Xiaochao (Good Karma) | Business and Service Providers—Kiwi Fruit Salesman | 1.01 M | 1.34 M | 151 | 92 |
Brother Y Talks and Serves | Business and Service Providers—Seed Shop Owner | 927 K | 807 K | 119 | 51 |
Rural Affairs Streamer~~Yu Meier | Business and Service Providers—Seed Shop Owner | 554 K | 1.27 M | Not Displayed | 132 |
Mate Zhang from Hulin Talks Rural Affairs | Village Official—Representative, Party Secretary of Dongfanghong Town | 383 K | 810 K | 5 | 128 |
Village Chief Wang Xiaoer | Village Official—Party Secretary of Torch Village | 230 K | 451 K | 86 | 160 |
Ruo Xi Speaks the Truth, Butterfly Fairy | Not Detailed—Rural Post-80s Mother | 39 K | 77 K | Not Displayed | 68 |
Agriculture and Rural Areas—Big Liu Talks | Not Detailed | 36 K | 91 K | 122 | 159 |
Sister Wang Talks Rural Affairs | Village Official—Land Rights Coordinator in Civil Service | 30 K | 51 K | 54 | 113 |
Rural Land and Housing Policy Legal Education Broadcaster | Agricultural Producer—Greenhouse Vegetable Producer | 22 K | 27 K | 3 | 638 |
Xiangzi: Talking Rural Affairs | Agricultural Producer—Rice Farmer | 6201 | 18 K | 87 | 82 |
Note. “Number of Live Sessions” refers to the count of live streams showcased by the platform over the past three months. “K” denotes thousand, and “M” denotes million. |
Appendix B. Thematic Overview of Video Content by “Public Affairs Live Streamers” on Short Video Platforms
Theme | Specific Theme | Sample Video Title | Likes |
Land and Property Issues | Village consolidation | “Village and Town Mergers: Free Apartments for Farmers” | 51 K |
Illegal constructions | “Which Rural Illegal Constructions Can Stay?” | 146 K | |
Land distribution | “Land Allocation for Those Born After Second Land Contracting” | 1.8 K | |
Financial Aid and Subsidies | Pension | “Rural Seniors’ Pension Increased: Have You Received It?” | 82 K |
Subsidies | “2020 Military Service Economic Aid” | 111 K | |
Social security | “No Need for Unfounded Worries: Social Security” | 11 K | |
Policy and Governance | Public guidance | “Do Not Return Home for New Year” | 12 K |
Interpretation of agricultural policy | “2022 Brings Favorable Policies to Rural Areas” | 57 K | |
Advocacy for the Public | Advocating for rights | “The Plight of Farmers: A Call for Early Solutions” | 247 K |
Highlighting issues | “The Inner Thoughts of Rural Elders” | 12 K | |
Educational Outreach | Legal education | “Essential Petition Procedures for Farmers” | 1.5 K |
Agricultural techniques | “DIY Yield-Boosting Package: Increase Your Harvest by 20%” | 58 K | |
Market information | “How to Sell Grain, and When to Sell?” | 30 K | |
Historical insights | “Old Farmers Discuss Grain Taxes: Origins” | 32 K | |
Customs | Marriage | “Taking the Money and Running: Is It Marriage Fraud?” | 141 K |
Funeral customs | “New Funeral Regulations Now Effective in Rural Areas” | 24 K | |
Note. “Likes” are presented as abbreviated figures in accordance with platform conventions. “K” denotes thousand. |
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Tong, Y.; Zhang, Z.; Wang, Y. “Making” Rural Elites: Empowerment of Chinese Rural “Public Affairs Live Streamers” on Short Video Platforms. Journal. Media 2025, 6, 58. https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia6020058
Tong Y, Zhang Z, Wang Y. “Making” Rural Elites: Empowerment of Chinese Rural “Public Affairs Live Streamers” on Short Video Platforms. Journalism and Media. 2025; 6(2):58. https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia6020058
Chicago/Turabian StyleTong, Yayun, Zhenghua Zhang, and Yuxiao Wang. 2025. "“Making” Rural Elites: Empowerment of Chinese Rural “Public Affairs Live Streamers” on Short Video Platforms" Journalism and Media 6, no. 2: 58. https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia6020058
APA StyleTong, Y., Zhang, Z., & Wang, Y. (2025). “Making” Rural Elites: Empowerment of Chinese Rural “Public Affairs Live Streamers” on Short Video Platforms. Journalism and Media, 6(2), 58. https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia6020058