Cultural role and innovative development of broadcasting and hosting in news communication

Existing research often focuses on the expressive style or individual image of broadcasters and hosts, but lacks a systematic theoretical integration of the mechanisms of cultural communication. In particular, it neglects the synergistic interaction between ability, expression, literacy, and role, as well as their psychological and contextual mechanisms. To deeply analyze the internal mechanisms of the cultural function of broadcasters and hosts, this paper constructs an integrative theoretical framework of “hosts as cultural mediators,” integrating encoding/decoding theory, the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model, and cross-cultural communication theory to reveal their multiple mechanisms of action in cultural communication. Based on a questionnaire survey and data from the news media industry, this paper employs partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) for empirical analysis. The results showed that cultural communication ability significantly and positively influenced cultural identity (β = 0.583, p < 0.001), and this effect was significantly enhanced on new media platforms (β = 0.174, p < 0.01). Innovative expression significantly enhanced information acceptance through the mediation of emotional resonance (indirect effect = 0.326, 95% CI (Confidence interval) [0.241, 0.418]). The positive effect of professionalism on social influence was moderated by age group (β = 0.137, p < 0.05). Role positioning significantly enhanced the effectiveness of external communication, and cultural distance positively moderated this path (β = 0.156, p < 0.05). This study not only validated the emotional mediation and contextual moderation mechanisms but also provided differentiated strategic recommendations for broadcasting organizations, journalism education, and international communication practice, potentially promoting the transformation of broadcasters and hosts from “information transmitters” to “cultural translators”.