This study investigates Chinese college students’ perceptions of Anchor Says, a state-backed short-video news program, with a focus on how credibility, relevance, accessibility, and media literacy shape their overall evaluations. It addresses the growing shift of youth audiences toward digital short-video platforms for news consumption and the challenges faced by traditional media in maintaining engagement. A mixed-methods design was employed, combining a quantitative survey of 145 college students in Henan Province with qualitative semi-structured interviews with seven participants. Stratified random sampling was used for the survey, while purposive sampling guided interview selection. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation, regression, and mediation analysis, while qualitative data were examined through thematic analysis. Results indicate that credibility, relevance, accessibility, and media literacy all significantly predict students’ perceptions, with relevance and credibility emerging as the strongest factors. Media literacy partially mediated the relationships, suggesting that students’ critical evaluation skills shape how they interpret and value short-video news. Qualitative findings reinforced these results, showing that while students appreciate accessibility and engaging presentation, they remain cautious about bias and oversimplification. The study contributes to understanding digital news consumption among Chinese youth and provides practical recommendations for media producers, educators, and policymakers in designing credible, relevant, and youth-friendly short-video news.