News headline reframing and tabloidization in Chinese social media

A case study of Reference News on the WeChat official account

Datos Bibliográficos

ID16675721
AutoresBinjian Qin (0000-0001-8199-5748, Minzu University of China, autor de correspondencia)
Año2026
Páginas1-22
Fecha de publicación2026-04-16
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPerspectives (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0907-676X • E-ISSN: 1747-6623
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0907676x.2026.2657833
OpenAlexW7154593978
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas44

Drawing on the narrative theory proposed by Baker (2006), this paper investigates how news headlines of Reference News (RN) on the WeChat official account are reframed to create a specific tabloid effect. By employing a mixed-method approach, the study analyzes a corpus of 156 pairs of headlines translated from English to Chinese. The findings reveal that in terms of content, RN balances a majority of serious news topics with a proportion of tabloid-style ones. With regards to style, three adapted reframing strategies are used to realize the tabloidization of news headlines. Moreover, the paper argues that this practice is driven by an interplay of three possible factors: the ideological foundation for China’s journalism, the principle of converging Party-state news outlets with new media platforms, and tactical need to engage young target readership.

China · Cognitive reframing · Context (archaeology · Headline · Social media · Media Studies and Communication · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Social Media and Politics