新媒介与乡村:从科技兴农、媒介赋权到公共性重建

New Media and Countryside:From Promoting Agriculture by Applying Scientific and Technological Advances,and Empowering the Media,to the Reconstruction of Publicity

通过回顾和概括20世纪末以来乡村传播领域中的三种主流分析框架:科技兴农、媒介赋权与公共性重建,研究发现:ICT技术的创新扩散和科技兴农并不能解决农村的发展问题,只有为农民赋权,以人为中心的发展才能带动村庄的发展,然而遗憾的是,在数字鸿沟、城市话语霸权和技术/平台资本主义等多重压力之下,代表赋权希望的新媒介很难突破现有的社会结构和权力格局。但是在媒介赋权还是减权的辩论中,却浮现出了新的线索,即公共性重建,村民们通过新媒体平台关注和参与村庄的政治生活,展开关于村庄公共事务和未来发展方向的讨论。这不仅彰显了农民的主体性和乡村的内生动力,体现了在巨大社会转型变迁面前,乡村社会的一种“压力-回应”能力,更是一种社会的重建与释放,当社会关系和结构变得破碎而脆弱的时候,需要以公共性为中介实现社会重新联结。

By reviewing and summarizing the three main analytical frameworks in the field of rural communication since the end of the 20th centurypromoting agriculture by applying scientific and technological advances,empowering the media and the reconstruction of publicity,the research found that the innovation and diffusion of ICT technology and promoting agriculture by applying scientific and technological advances could not solve the problem of rural development.Only by empowering the farmers can the development of our villages be driven by people-centered development.Unfortunately,under the multiple pressures of the digital divide,urban discourse hegemony,and technology/platform capitalism,it is difficult for the new media representing the hope of empowerment to break through the existing social structure and power pattern.But in the debate between media empowerment and empowerment,a new clue has emerged,namely,reconstruction of the publicity.The villagers follow and participate in the political life of the village through the new media platform,and discuss about the public affairs and future development direction of the village,which not only demonstrates the subjectivity of farmers and the endogenous power of the countryside,but also reflects the“pressure-response”ability of the rural society in the face of huge social transformation and changes,and is even a kind of social reconstruction and release.When social relations and structures become broken and fragile,it is necessary to realize social re-connection through the intermediary of publicity.