When Intellectuals Encounter Media

In the history of intellectuals' development, the media plays an important role. The relationship between them needs to be explored carefully and scholarly. Especially at here and now, the relationship has been changed hugely. We can find that the mediated intellectuals have occurred.After analyzing the other's definitions about intellectual which are lack of concrete background of space-time, I give mine to "intellectual": the people who frequently use abstract symbol and occupy some cultural capital in concrete society. Based on the definition, the paper gives a brief description on the history of intellectuals in China. Then I define the mediated intellectuals diachronically and synchronically. The paper thinks that intellectuals gradually become media's subordinate. In the other hand, the paper thinks that intellectuals are recruited into the media's room and logic in the mediated society. The intellectual's being media has come true.Following the definition, I analyze "communication" and "media" which are the background of the paper and discriminate media's influence on intellectuals. The paper then describes the media's history and points out the relevant culture style: noble culture, elite culture, mass culture and person culture. On this basis, I analyze the diachronic signs of mediated intellectuals taking Liang Qichao and Yi Zhongtian as examples. Then I emphasis the synchronic signs: the intellectual has been a signify; the intellectual as news has been a hype frequently; TV intellectuals are rapid to the top; the intellectual's being blog has rised.In the third part of the paper, I analyze reasons on the mediated intellectuals. There are three social elements: mediated society, the rapidly developed mass culture, the capital infiltrating into academic. There are also three media factors: media power, media occupying the produce of meanings, the decrease of audience. Also we can know that the reliability and marginalization of intellectuals make them mediated. At the last part, I think people should actively comprehend and carefully support the mediated intellectuals. At the other hand, intellectuals should say good-bye to instrumental and rebuild intellectuals' spiritual traditions. We also hope for the harmonious relationship between media and intellectuals.