流言的流变:SARS舆情的传播学分析

无论是对于传媒管理、还是对于社会与政治变革而言,SARS危机事件中的流言传播现象都是一个难得的研究样本。舆论的进程及相关的跨学科调查表明:流言生成于主流传媒的缺位,平息于民众信息权力的恢复;在流言的最初阶段,存在着属于中产阶层的敏感人群,这意味着传播管理有可能采取更有针对性的对策;流言传播对于“道听途说”的明显的信道依赖,表明了流言在信息封锁之中更可能演变为谣言和谎言,更为重要的趋势是,新媒介在流言传播中的作用已日益显著。

The Spread of Gossip: A Mass Media Analysis of the Spread of SARS-related News

The transmission of gossip in the foregoing SARS crisis constitute a rare specimen in terms of both mass media management and social and political reforms. The process of public opinion and related interdisciplinary surveys show that gossip originates from a vacuum in the mainstream media, and is appeased by the restoration of public power over information. At the initial stage of the spread of gossip, there exist sensitive groups in the middle class, and so more relevant strategies may be adopted by transmission management. The obvious dependence of gossip transmission on hearsay shows that gossip may well change to rumor and lies. A more important trend is the increasingly significant role of new media in gossip transmission.