IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v12y2025i1d10.1057_s41599-025-04946-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Embracing fast-food culture: Lianhuanhua as a paradigm of visual narrative news

Author

Listed:
  • Ping Gao

    (Hangzhou Normal University)

  • Debing Feng

    (Hangzhou Normal University)

Abstract

Lianhuanhua, a subgenre of visual narrative news (VNN), has recently gained popularity on Chinese media platforms for its distinctive visual storytelling format. This study, grounded in theories of visual modality and language style, analyzes 101 lianhuanhua articles collected from Chinese media platforms. The analysis shows that lianhuanhua employs abstract images to merge symbolic meaning with amusement, technological images to visualize complex information while adding playful elements, and naturalistic images to enhance the authenticity of news. Verbal text complements these visuals through strategies like explanatory discourse, question-and-answer formats, conversational and fashionable language, and visually-driven commentaries. These stylistic choices cater to the fast-paced, visually oriented nature of modern media consumption, effectively reshaping hard news narratives into compelling visual stories that prioritize brevity and sensory engagement for audiences. These findings not only highlight the pervasive influence of fast-food culture on news consumption and production but also demonstrate the transformative power of visual storytelling in shaping contemporary digital media discourse.

Suggested Citation

  • Ping Gao & Debing Feng, 2025. "Embracing fast-food culture: Lianhuanhua as a paradigm of visual narrative news," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-04946-1
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-025-04946-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-025-04946-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-025-04946-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-04946-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.