The Study On The Effects Of Media Use On Netizens' "Central-Local" Government Trust

Netizens refer to network users who participate in the production and dissemination of network information.They are younger overall,have more diversified values,and can directly demonstrate their social and political attitudes through more diverse media channels.Gaining the trust of netizens is an important resource for the government to govern the society,the basis for the effective operation of the political system,and also the guarantee of the effectiveness of policies and the legitimacy of the regime.Netizens' government trust is shaped by political cognition which is affected by the political information disseminated by domestic and foreign media.Therefore,it is necessary to discuss the differences in the effects of different media use on the netizens' “central-local” government trust,which can promote the government to use different media more targeted for government trust construction,and then promote the effective operation of our political system and the orderly operation of a harmonious society.Based on the data from the three surveys of netizens' social awareness from 2014 to 2017(no investigation conducted in 2016),this paper uses research methods of multiple regression analysis and interaction test to explore the effects of media use on netizens' “central-local” government trust.The study finds that,on the one hand,the official media(such as CCTV,People's Daily,Xinhua News Agency and their online platforms etc.)have caused netizens to have a large gap between their high expectations of the government and their political cognition,and thus have been somewhat rejected by netizens.Therefore,the positive effect of official media on netizens' “central-local” government has weakened trend.On the other hand,there is a difference in the effects of unofficial media(such as WeChat,Weibo and foreign media,etc.)on the netizens' “central-local” government trust.Specifically,under the dual role of increased government supervision and the rapid development of government affairs WeChat,WeChat can reduce the negative impact of unofficialnews,thereby strengthening netizens' positive perception of the government.This is contrary to the influence of more open Weibo on the netizens' “central-local”government trust.At the same time,due to the gradually improved information discrimination of netizens and the relatively objective and neutral reports by foreign media,the positive influence of foreign media on the netizens' “central-local”government trust is becoming increasingly prominent.But what cannot be ignored is that foreign media often tend to nationalize our local problems.Therefore,the negative impact of foreign media on netizens' central government trust will exist for a long time in our country.To sum up,fully grasping the differential effects of different media channels on the Chinese netizens' government trust will help governments at all levels to have a more comprehensive and clear understanding of the importance and management methods of different media,and make corresponding guidance measures of different media,then comprehensively enhance government trust and consolidate the party's ruling foundation.