This study employs content analysis to compare and examine the selection of news sources in the micro-platforms of mainstream media, People’s Daily, and urban media, Southern Weekly. It attempts to interpret the impact of the digitalization process on the content production practices of different news media in China. The research reveals that in the digital era, media attributes and platform regulations are direct factors influencing the selection of news sources in news production. This transformation has significantly altered traditional news content production. Official news sources remain the primary choice for news media in producing content in the digital age. Additionally, grassroots news sources, representing the general public, are gradually incorporated into various types of reporting, demonstrating a trend towards democratization.
Zhang et al. (2024) studied this question.