Equilibrium Thought, Doctrine Of The Mean And Freedom Of The Press: Comparison Between Two Ways Of News Reporting

Equilibrium Thought, which equals"tolerance"and"gradual advancement"in theoretical meaning,"inarbitrary decision"at cognitive level and"critical"for ideology, is the distinctive embodiment of modern Liberalism. Based on the Theory of Social Responsibility, Equilibrium Thought calls for more positive freedom of the press and prepares the ground for the freedom of the press.The Doctrine of the Mean, which equals"forgiveness"and"harmony"in news-reporting style,"arbitrary decision"at cognitive level and lacks"Linguistics","logical spirit"and"criticism"for ideology, is the quintessence of traditional Chinese culture. It has greatly influenced Chinese intelligentsia and helped them establish such new traditions as Loyalty-First-Profit-Second media, Newspaperman-as-Statesman policy, political editorial and etc. in Journalism and Communication areas and safeguard monistical communication system. Its basic attitude toward freedom of the press is to passively resist and to prepare no ground.As the core of Confucian culture, the Doctrine of the Mean has a strong sense of absolutism and has been tenaciously resisting Liberalism. Its all-embracing feature as Confucian culture and similarity to"tolerance"and"gradual advancement"lead to its fraudulence to Liberalism and hence confusion and comparability with Equilibrium Thought.Equilibrious Reporting has been introduced to China since 1990s, and its use can be seen as the epitome of journalistic revolution in China. Although the successful use of Equilibrious Reporting is a breakthrough in China's journalistic revolution, its full realization can not be reached because of the Doctrine of the Mean, an obstacle in Chinese culture. As for treating freedom of the press, Equilibrium and the Mean go in opposite direction as two extremes.