The School of Media and Communication hosted a research talk titled “Consumptive News Feed Curation in the Age of Intelligent Communication”. The talk was delivered by Dr. Shuning Lu, Assistant Professor of Communication at North Dakota State University, and moderated by Professor Guang Yang, Associate Dean of the School of Media and Communication, with young faculty members Yi Wu and Tongchen Wang leading the discussion.
Dr. Lu’s research focuses on journalism, digital media, and intelligent communication. She presented comprehensive case studies illustrating how news consumers are transforming into news curators in the era of intelligent communication, as well as the implications of this shift for information behavior. The talk began with an introduction to the concept of “curated information flow.” Dr. Lu explained that the production, selection, filtering, annotation, and framing of information in the media environment are undergoing profound changes. Compared to traditional media gatekeeping, the curation process has become more diverse, complex, and fluid, reflecting a shift from top-down to omnidirectional approaches, and from one-size-fits-all to personalized trends.
Dr. Lu delved into the concept of consumptive news feed curation, explaining how social media users actively shape the news appearing on their feeds through platform-specific tools. She emphasized that this process differs significantly from personalized news and selective exposure, with the key distinction being the proactive interaction between users and algorithms. Using two research examples, she demonstrated the psychological mechanisms behind consumptive news feed curation from a social-cognitive theoretical perspective, revealing the significant impact of news feed quality and emotions on users’ curation behaviors. Looking ahead, Dr. Lu outlined future research directions, including cross-platform news feed curation, factors influencing consumptive information flow curation, personal motivations and interests, and digital media skills. She also discussed methodological innovations and the value of qualitative research methods in driving theoretical innovation.
The talk provided valuable insights into information behavior in the age of intelligent communication and sparked thoughtful discussions among attendees about news practices and audience behavior in the new media environment. The event concluded with an engaging conversation between Dr. Lu and the attending faculty and students.
