Free Speech--Study On Public Opinion Of The Observer Weekly

In the late 1940s, the liberalism intellectuals were indulged in politics. In behalf of the liberalism intellectuals, Anping Chu, as a folk culture elite, discussed the national affairs and criticized the politics in the Observer Weekly (the Observer for short, a magazine founded by Anping Chu), which formed a climax of the participation in the administration and discussion of state affairs.The formation of the Observer's public opinion results from the following aspects:the distinctive news, the penetrating speech, the nuanced services and the multifaceted interaction. This paper, divided into five chapters, strives to analyze and explore the constructing manner and the inner qualities in an all-round way.In the first chapter, the writer has combed three forms of the liberalism intellectuals'participation in politics after World WarⅡ,analyzed the orientation for the elite and the consciousness of the state, examined the reading community which is contributed to the discourse by the writing of the liberalism intellectuals in a macroscopic perspective. At the end, the writer made a conclusion that the liberalism intellectuals influenced the political process mainly through the shape of the powerful public opinion in order to realize their political ideal.In the second chapter, based on the examination of the three columns—Observers'Communication, Readers'Letter, Editor's Report, the writer has found that the Observer guided the attention and the discussion by the unique reports, which is one of the constructing forms of the Observer's public opinion, meanwhile, the intercourse among the editor, the writer and the reader made an atmosphere in which they could discuss the important affairs that are concerned by all of them.The third chapter emphasizes on the investigation of some important debates and the comment on the domestic and international current political situation. These debates, which were on national future, their own status and momentous events, largely showed the value and characteristics of the public opinion of the Observer. In addition, the Observer had a set of fixed mechanism in the observation and evaluation of international and domestic affairs. The evaluation mechanism wasn't only the manifestation of the liberalism intellectuals' spiritual claims but also was the reflection of the essence of the Observer's public opinion from a side aspect.In the fourth chapter, the people's element of shaping the public opinion of the Observer and its interaction with other journals are analyzed profoundly. Anping Chu and the guest writer, the readers of the Observer played the roles of the commanders, the advocators and the responders respectively. The public opinion of the Observer mainly came from the inside, meanwhile, the strong efforts constructed sound public opinion, were shown in the process of its interaction with other journals.In the fifth chapter, the analysis of characteristics, value and influence of the Observer's public opinion are revealed by the writer. The Observer's public opinion was rational and tolerant, which advocated public statement and criticism. In the meantime, the Observer's opinion had ever played an important role both in cultivating the ideas of freedom and in promoting the democratic politics, and there is also considerable significance for today's media management and practitioners.The conclusion sums up the whole paper:the main cause of the Observer's success lies in the persistent efforts for constructing the sound public opinion.