On April 11, Media Development Research Center and School of Journalism and Communication hosted the "Epidemic Communication in the Historical Context: Problems and Methods" online dialogue in Wuhan University. Professor Wang Runze and Professor Liu Hailong, executive directors of the Research Center of Journalism and Social Development, Renmin University of China, were invited to gather together with news communication researchers from many domestic universities in the virtual conference room to discuss the epidemic communication in the historical scene. Scholars have conducted four and a half hours of communication from the perspectives of news history, mass communication, mobile communication, community of human destiny, virus communication, cultural research, political communication, health communication, etc.

Photo: forum guests

First row: Wang Runze, Sui Yan, Sun Wei, Cheng Manli, Liu Hailong (from left to right)

Second row: Liu Tao, Qiang Yuexin, Wu Shiwen, Shan Bo, Xiao Jun (from left to right)

Professor Wang Runze analyzed the plague in the late Qing Dynasty and the narration of Shenbao. She analyzed Shenbao's report on the plague in Shanghai in 1911 from the perspective of news history. She pointed out that the epidemic situation report at that time was carried out from the aspects of fact report, knowledge popularization, system construction and concept renewal. She found that the intervention of mass media had an important impact on the overall cognition of the society at that time, and had a close relationship with public health modernization is closely related. Wang Runze pointed out that the study of medical social history from the perspective of journalism and communication will help us understand the modern transformation of China's public health.

Professor Liu Hailong shared the latest thinking on "The spread of virus". He believes that the coronavirus has cast a shadow on human civilization, such as the threat of exceptional state to democracy, freedom, privacy protection and other values. The metaphor of virus leads to the "Otherization" and "new Orientalism" of China. It is of great academic value to look at communication from the perspective of virus. We should restore the material tradition of communication research. From the perspective of "new communication research", Liu Hailong provides two perspectives to observe the spread of epidemic situation, one is "human mediated" and the other is "virus mediated". Researchers can expand our understanding of "media" through continuous switching of perspectives.

2020 China Communication Innovation Forum · online dialogue is the first seminar focusing on the spread of epidemic since the outbreak of covid-19. It attracted nearly 300 listeners from universities, research institutes and news media. Scholars' reflection and theoretical discussion from the perspective of Humanities and social sciences will provide a very important theoretical reference for the follow-up research and practice.