Staying Connected Under Dual Regulation: How Chinese Journalists and Journalism-Adjacent Media Workers Recalibrate Platform Use

Social media has become deeply embedded in journalism and journalism-adjacent media work, yet its occupational value intensifies platform dependence, strain, and political-organizational exposure. This study examines how journalists and journalism-adjacent media workers in China sustain platform participation when withdrawal carries occupational costs. Using theory-informed constructivist grounded theory, we analyzed 40 initial interviews with a purposive, early-career-weighted sample comprising 21 participants in functionally defined journalist roles and 19 journalism-adjacent media workers. A standardized two-question follow-up with all 40 participants in July 2026 provided self-reported information on press-card status, while publicly available documents provided contextual triangulation. Platform logic—expressed through algorithmic visibility and metricized performance—and political-organizational discipline jointly shaped platform use. Participants used boundary practices to preserve work-related access while reducing exposure by reorganizing accounts and devices, narrowing public expression, and limiting availability. Participants’ accounts did not support a single exit-and-return sequence; instead, adjustments varied in direction and durability as occupational demands and risks shifted. We conceptualize this variation as recurring recalibration under dual regulation. The model connects organizational control with boundary practices, reorganized platform possibilities, and changing patterns of participation. Participants’ agency was constrained but not absent: it involved maintaining occupational access and limiting the risks of continued participation.