In the current climate of "regional revitalization" worldwide, the government of Taiwan has implemented a national plan to achieve the balanced development throughout the country since 2019. Under the "Accelerating Promotion of the Regional Revitalization Plan", young people are encouraged to retain or return to their home areas and start local revitalization projects with the assistance from regional government and civic sectors. Among the various projects unfolded, we have witnessed the thriving development of community media as the vehicle for promoting regional revitalization in many local communities of Taiwan.
Departing from the theoretical perspectives of social capital and participatory communication, this study explores the types of capital accumulation and network construction in community media under the backdrop of regional revitalization. The study chose five local magazines published in different areas of Taiwan as the cases for observation. In-depth interviews were conducted with young practitioners who participate in the content production and business administration in these local magazines. In addition, a sample of ten magazine volumes was collected for text analysis to understand the unique editorial and story-telling strategies in these community media.
The findings demonstrate that local magazine, as a form of community media, plays an important role in consolidating local identity and creating civic dialogue within the community. The content of the magazines delineates life texture and cultural memory of the community. The study further identified three major factors that significantly influence the network structure and capital accumulation of community media – geographic affinity, technological affordance and educational application.

Authors:
Li-Hsuan Wang, Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan
Chun-Fu Chen, Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan

About the Presenter(s)
Li-Hsuan Wang is currently a graduate student in the Graduate Institute of Mass Communication at Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan.She had her internship at Ogilvy Taiwan. Her research interests include community media studies.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lihsuanwang/

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