A Study On The Changes Of Farmers’ Media Image In People’s Daily Since The Reform And Opening Up

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China attaches great importance to the work of the "three issues of agriculture,the countryside and farmers".As the fundamental issue of the "three issues of agriculture,the countryside and farmers",farmers’ practices will have an important impact on China’s food security,production development,economic transformation and social stability.As the main body of agriculture and rural areas,farmers should receive sufficient attention and focus.This paper selects 2902 reports of farmers in People’s Daily between 1978 and 2022 as research samples,and divides them into after the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee(1978-2002),after the Sixteenth National Congress(2003),and since the Eighteenth National Congress(2003-2012)based on factors such as changes in urban-rural relations and policy changes,using major conferences as nodes.-2012),and since the 18th National Congress(2013-2022).We also adopt content analysis and textual analysis to analyze the development of farmers’ media images in different periods and summarize the trajectory of changes on this basis.Through the analysis of 2,902 reports over time,we found that the media image of farmers in People’s Daily has changed through three stages since the reform and opening up,from the pursuer of affluent life under the center of economic construction,to the beneficiary of policies under the integrated development of urban and rural areas,to the builder of modernized rural areas in the new era.The first stage is the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee.After the reform and opening up,under the basic line of "economic construction as the center",People’s Daily portrayed a large number of "wealthy leaders who responded to the call".As the peasants accumulated wealth,their thoughts were also liberated,so the "liberators of thoughts under the accumulation of wealth" were also typical images of this period.Among the peasants seeking wealth,the image of peasant workers has some special characteristics,showing the image of "those who struggle to survive in other places".In addition,the image of the "bearer of taxes and human burdens" also reflects the peasants’ pursuit of reducing their burdens and gaining a rich life.In the second stage,with the 16th National Congress as the nodal point,against the background of longterm agricultural support for industry and the widening gap between urban and rural areas,and with the introduction of the scientific concept of development,the main task of rural development changed to solving the excessive burden of peasants and promoting the coordinated development of urban and rural areas,and as a special existence in the process of urbanization,the problems of migrant workers and landless peasants also received special attention in this period.Generally speaking,in the reports of People’s Daily during this period,the image of farmers living in the countryside as "those who live happily under the policy of benefiting farmers",the image of migrant workers struggling in the city as "those who build the city under the protection of rights and interests",and the image of landless farmers as "those who have been destroyed under the construction of urbanization" are all given special attention.The image of "passive integrators under urbanization" can be categorized as "policy beneficiaries under urban-rural integrated development".The third stage is the 18th National Congress,during which socialism with Chinese characteristics enters a new era,urban-rural integrated development continues to advance,and the Party and the state actively explore the road of socialist rural modernization with Chinese characteristics,and "modernization" is a typical feature of the image of farmers during this period.Therefore,the images of "new agricultural operators with innovative models","new farmers under the development of agricultural modernization" and "co-builders of beautiful countryside" in this period are summarized as "modern rural builders in the new era".The image of "modern rural builders in the new era" is summarized as the image of "modern rural builders in the new era".By vertically comparing the images of farmers in different periods,the characteristics of the changes in the media images of farmers in People’s Daily since the reform and opening up are derived,and then the reasons for the changes in the images of farmers are analyzed from both macroscopic and microscopic aspects.It is undeniable that when shaping the media image of farmers,People’s Daily suffers from a lower share of farmers’ reports and a lack of farmers’ discourse;insufficient depth and serious templatization;too much positive image and deviation from social reality,etc.In the future,People’s Daily should insist on being people-oriented,close to farmers’ groups,objective and truthful,enhance farmers’ discourse,provide in-depth reports on farmers,and reflect the true image of farmers through shaping their image.In the future,People’s Daily should insist on being people-oriented,close to the farmers,and objective and truthful,so as to improve the voice of farmers and reflect the real face of rural society through the image of farmers and help solve the real problems in rural areas.