| The watchdog role of media is beneficial to social development and progress. In the era of political open and economic globalization, the benefit of mass media has been the common sense to both the governments and the public all over the world. American news reports all along have the"muckraking"tradition based on negative reports. At the turn of the 19th Century into the 20th Century with the escalation of various social conflicts, the first wide wave of recrimination appeared in America. In order to safeguard social justice, the journalism muckrakers developed a social movement, using masses'media—magazine, intensively and critically exposed various kinds of injustice and corruption resulting from the social transition, which was known as"the Muckraking Movement".Based on the new research achievements in journalism and public opinion, this dissertation undertakes to analyze the American journalism at that time and its impact on American society in terms of mass media, supervision by public opinion, mass culture and elite culture awareness conveyed by media. Considering China is currently in the social transformation period from traditional agriculture society into modern industry society, facing kinds of social problems similar to those of America at the turn of century, analysis of this dissertation would provide an illuminating insight into Chinese social reform.The dissertation is composed of the preface and the main body. The preface summarizes the history and present research achievements home and abroad, clarifies the research significance and its originality. The explanation of references is included as well. The main body is divided into 4 chapters.Chapter one illuminates the development history of American news media in terms of newspaper and magazine before and during the muckraking movement. The evolution process of news terms goes like this, from the appearance of the new news in the 1880s, yellow journalism era famous for sentimentalism in the 1890s to the flourish of muckraking journalism in popular magazines in late 19th Century and early 20th Century. The popularization of news media promoted the muckraking movement as the exterior factor. Working as the muckrakers'self-publicity base, the muckraking magazines were the mouthpiece of the muckraking movement.Chapter two lays emphasis on the muckrakers'watch dog role in the news media. The muckraking movement provided the fourth branch of government theory shaped in the late 20th Century with historical foundation, in respect that the movement promoted the legislation course during the late 19th and early 20th century when America was undergoing great social transformation. As the soul of the muckraking movement, the muckrakers including journalists and writers exposed the society darkness in their muckraking works, such as political corruption, economic corruption, medical and health issues and worker issues. By way of awaking the mass and supporting legislation, the muckrakers stimulated the progressivism movement. Under the pressure from the public opinion, the authority had to strengthen the legislation, establish institutions, standardize the justice and the law, which helped avoid possible social disorders and strengthen the effects of productive development.Chapter three looks into the function of American news media from the angle of elite culture awareness conveyed by the muckraking journalism. The exposure done by the media is sort of criticism. As far as some western professors are concerned, elite culture, whose main function is denial and criticism, is a kind of critical discourse culture. The news media should at anytime undertake such responsibility to maintain and insist sort of elite culture awareness. The excellent muckrakers should not only take on the responsibility to uncover the public the national situation, but also know well how to intensively and critically expose national issues in order to aware the public. They can influence much more social elites such as policy-makers, highly qualified intellectuals, administers in enterprises and public opinion leaders from different class. In such way decisive effects would be made. However, when the reason why muckraker movement failed is concerned, the author holds that the American media criticism to the government is fundamentally made to safeguard the bourgeois value standard. The elite culture awareness disseminated by the American media during the muckraking movement at the turn of the 19th Century into the 20th Century then undoubtedly is imprinted by the time and class.Based on the analysis of the three Chapters above, Chapter four comes to the final evaluation of the American news media during the muckraking movement. Though the Muckraking movement lasted only a dozen of years or so, its effect on American news media at the turn of the 19th Century into the 20th Century was obviously great. Firstly, the magazine enterprises extraordinarily flourished. Secondly, Investigative Reports sprang up. Thirdly, the watch dog role of the media was outstanding, which insisted elite culture awareness and undertook social responsibilities. The American muckraking movement manifested the function of news reports by way of arousing society conscience and carrying out social reform. Last but not the least, the watch dog role of American bourgeoisie news media is the product of private ownership of the means of production, production socialization and bourgeois democracy, however, it first midst and last protected the interests of the bourgeoisie. |
