Platform Politics: Commonwealth Magazine and the Mediatization of ESG in Taiwan

Abstract

This study explores how CommonWealth Magazine has adapted to platformization and data integration through evolving partnerships with corporate stakeholders. Drawing on insider access and interviews with journalists, data strategists, and CSR professionals, the analysis highlights three key dynamics: (1) the central role of data visualization in editorial coordination and stakeholder communication; (2) the incorporation of partner-generated CSR data into the magazine’s visualization systems; and (3) the ambivalent place of AI, which offers new content curation tools but raises concerns about audience displacement and copyright. While CommonWealth Magazine maintains a critical editorial stance, its engagement with CSR and ESG primarily serves to distinguish itself within an increasingly saturated financial media landscape. This case study shows that the platformization of legacy media extends well beyond content digitization or visualization as a communicative device. Rather, it involves the integration of external data infrastructures and the formation of long-term, system-level partnerships with corporate and governmental actors—initiatives that raise complex legal, financial, and reputational questions. As corporate subscribers take on greater strategic significance, CommonWealth Magazine exemplifies how legacy media institutions in non-Western contexts are redefining journalistic roles while navigating tensions between credibility, infrastructure, and the uncertain terrain of the platform economy.