On Freedom Of The Press

Freedom of the press is an ideal that has not been fully realized by the human society. It remains a "should be" in the research on Chinese press law and regulations under the backdrop of true constitutionalism and remains, according to global vision, a fundamental human right that needs further guarantee and promotion. Nowadays, with the proliferation of so-called new media, new technologies and new ways of distributing content, mainstream media reporting is being supplemented by"participatory media"such as Blogs. The development of information age requires us to retrospect on the freedom of the press which is a research proposition that has been developing with the times. With the purpose to change the status quo that researches on freedom of press lack comprehensiveness, depth and times nature, to speed up the legislation process of the Press Law and to enhance the protection of freedom of the press by constitution, the dissertation, using scientific methods such as value analysis, empirical analysis, case analysis, comparison and interdisciplinary research, states and digs into the concepts, nature, actualization, function and restrictions of freedom of the press in a multi-dimensional and multi-angle way.Firstly, in approaching the concept of freedom of the press, the dissertation directly responds to the academic arguments whether freedom of the press is a scientific concept, confirms that freedom of the press is a scientific concept and then provides the definition of freedom of the press, and identifies the three elements it consists: subject, object and content. The dissertation holds that freedom of the press is the right enjoyed by both natural person and juristische person in media activities without interference from anyone or the government. The subjects of freedom of the press are natural person and juristische person. The object is news. The content of freedom of the press includes the freedom to establish news media, approach sources of news, transfer news, publish or broadcast news, comment on news, sell news products, obtain and get to know news as well we utilize news media.Secondly, in discussing the nature of freedom of the press, the dissertation brings on the three questions concerning the essential nature of freedom of the press that has aroused continuous arguments in the jurisprudential circle. Is it politically free or socially free Is it individual rights or institutional rights Is it absolute freedom or relative freedom The dissertation, through summary of the argumentation, reviews the three periods in the history of freedom of the press, digs its theoretical foundation, argues and proves the freedom of the press should be socially free, individual rights and relative freedom.Thirdly, in exploring the function of freedom of the press, the dissertation clears the implication of freedom of the press and how it is different from the function of news and news media and then summarizes and comments on the eight views concerning the function of freedom of the press. Standing on the shoulders of predecessors , the dissertation positively dissertates seven pieces of function of freedom of the press: perfecting personality;approching the truth, promoting constitutionalism;developing the economy, stabilizing the society, prospering culture and educating the public.Fourthly, in examining the actualization of freedom of the press, the dissertaion, taking historical experience as logical standing, draws the conclusion that freedom of the press can come true under three premises including economic freedom, constitutional mechanism and legal guarantee. Only with the above-mentioned premises, can freedom of the press be realized in seven ways: freely establishing news media, freely approaching sources of news, freely transferring news, freely publishing or broadcasting news, freely commenting on news, freely operating news products and freely utilizing news media.Finally, in revealing the restrictions of freedom of the press, the dissertation, based on the relative nature of freedom of the press, social responsibility theory and law practices in history, restructures six principles that restricts the freedom of the press: the principle of common interests, the principle of ex post facto, the principle of clear and present danger, the principle of law reservation, the principle of proportionality and the principle of equality. In the end, the dissertation, based on the law practices in countries adopting Continental Law and Common Law, summarizes and concludes the implication, content and methods in terms of the restrictions on freedom of the press layed by public power and private rights.