Online Discussion of Sharon Stone's Karma Comment on China Earthquake: The Intercultural Communication of Media Events in the Age of Media Convergence (Report‪)‬

Introduction Impelled by both the communication globalization and new-tech application, media convergence has become an inevitable trend for the media development of countries around the world. In China, the platform for public opinion based on the convergence of traditional and new media has turned into an important public domain, where the public come to participate in the significant and emergent news events when they happen. The public appeals under the media convergence show the new features of diversity, open and compatibility. The multi-media field brought by convergence has also become a brand new approach for the Chinese public to form cultural relations with others. The public participate in the national public affairs in a large and in-depth scale, and at the same time actively access, learn and take part in the international discussions, especially the cross-cultural events that are relevant to Chinese benefits, with the technology of media convergence. One typical case is the large-scale disputation about American movie star Sharon Stone's Karma remarks on the Chinese earthquake in 2008. This article tries to probe the meaning of media convergence for the cross-cultural communication of media events through Sharon Stone's case, viz. whether the media convergence reduces the cultural conflicts, or intensifies the cultural prejudice?