The Research About News Ombudsmanship In America

As a moral control and typical self-discipline, news ombudsmanship was firstly occurred in The Courier-Journal and The Louisville Times in 1967. It has been adopted by media of 17countries until now. Although there were a flood of research about it, there had never a unified opinion and legible research stages, especially the big divergence about its role position function and power. Furthermore, its development was not smooth in American and expired by April 2005, only 40 media adopted this system in more than 9000 newspapers and 1500 radio and TV stations in America.This article starts with its origin, and analyzes the historical background in America which was the source and head center of the world news ombudsmanship, including the typical self-discipline ways helpless in the earlier period the public faith for media declined continually and so on. Being afraid of heteronomy and beneficial to commercial profits are basic motive power factors for its development in America. Although it could raise media's reputation and respect the public's opinion unprecedentedly, many media opposed it continuingly for the seriously complacent attitude in media ignorance of the public's request and the pursuit for commercial profits persistently. The present condition leaded to the fact that the news ombudsmanship could not undertake the task of restoring the media responsibility.Aimed at this historical backward and present condition, this article discloses the various self-contradict of news ombudsmanship in the aspects of the role definition direction and career value, and tries to find an exit for the news ombudsmanship's development on the basis of the research achievement of scholars in the past. At fact while this is the biggest aim of this article, it is very difficult to find a concrete and feasible ways for it from the practical angle, so this article has to try to do so just from the theories. However, no mater what change of its development, it is meaningful to pay close attention to it affirm the respective attitude and expression of public opinion which it is always trying to do and affirm its value as the most typical self-discipline.