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Media type:
E-Article
Title:
Media dependencies in a changing media environment: the case of the 2003 SARS epidemic in China
Contributor:
Tai, Zixue;
Sun, Tao
imprint:
SAGE Publications, 2007
Published in:New Media & Society
Language:
English
DOI:
10.1177/1461444807082691
ISSN:
1461-4448;
1461-7315
Origination:
Footnote:
Description:
<jats:p>This article investigates media dependency among Chinese individuals during the SARS epidemic of 2003. While most media dependency research has examined dependency relations under circumstances when information was readily available, this study looks at a situation in which information was highly controlled and thus was not easily available from the mainstream media. As the socio-structural environment was not conducive to the free flow of information during a major public health crisis, audience members were not only actively engaged in information seeking from alternative resources such as short message services (SMS) and the internet, but they were also involved in creating alternative information channels by being information producers and disseminators. The internet was a particularly empowering tool to allow individuals to bypass official control and to challenge official claims during the crisis.</jats:p>