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大众传播与媒介批评（首届两岸三地媒介批评学术研讨会论文集） [:1704863504]
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The Effectiveness of Media Criticism
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Dr.Joyce Y.M.Nip聂依文[17]
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Scope of Media Critique
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The term“pi ping”（批评）in Chinese encompasses an element of disapproval in its meaning.The term“critique”used in this paper,however,embraces a broader meaning,and refers to“a detailed analysis and assessment”（Concise Oxford English Dictionary,2008）.Hence,both approving and disapproving assessments are included.The dimension of“assessment,”meaning the“evaluation…of the nature,quality,or ability”（The New Oxford American Dictionary,2006）marks critique from mere analysis or interpretation.The media,as the object of critique,include the content produced,its personnel,its work processes,and its institutions that influence the public.In other words,the work processes and relationships within media organizations are considered outside the arena of media criticism unless they have implications on public well being.
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News critique forms a strong tradition of media critique.Many of the examples given in this paper relate to news,but the objects of media critique obviously extend to all genres and technologies of media.
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Feedback Loop of Media Critique
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One major goal of media critique is change.The effectiveness of media critique in achieving change depends heavily on the relative power of the regulators.The regulators are connected to the critic and producer of media in a feedback loop（Figure one）,in which the regulators selectively respond to media critique（produced by critics）and takes action on the object of critique（produced by producers）.
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Figure one.Feedback Loop of Media Critique
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Regulator
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In this paper,the regulator is conceptualized as an entity that has the power to make the media work in a particular way.It could be a formal regulator vested with institutional power of applying sanctions,or an informal regulator that relies on un-institutional power.Among the formal regulators are the government,work organization,and conceivably in some countries,professional body and industry association,as well as the potential consumers.The formal sanctions that they could enforce could include imprisonment for violators of law,withdrawal of license from media operators,financial penalty on a media organization,recording an offence for the license holder of a media operation,professional disqualification of the media worker,or censure by the professional or industry body.Potential consumers are included here as formal regulators as they hold the power to consumer or not consumer the media in the market institutions.
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Informal regulators include the individual producers themselves,peers in the profession and industry,as well as society at large.The informal sanctions could be guilt and shame,or sense of achievement on the part of the individuals,disapproval/approval by other practitioners or organizations,or disapproval/approval by members of the public.
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In any case of media critique,more than one regulator is relevant.This means individuals and organizations are susceptible to formal and informal sanctions from multiple regulators at the same time.Media critique is the most effective when both formal and informal regulators respond,and act consistently with each other.
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Critic
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The role of the critic lies in providing the evaluation on which regulators could act.Whether the regulators would respond to the critique depends on the power of the critic in relation to that of the regulators,and access of the critique by the regulators.
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The media critic could be an individual or an organization.Individual critics could be professional critics or citizens who perform acts of critiquing from time to time.Professional critics who form part of a media organization,such as ombudsmen and public editors in news organizations,are more likely to command response from the regulators,such as the chief editor,due to the power built into their positions.Other professional critics could be affiliated with professional magazines,or media concern groups.
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Ordinary citizens express views about various aspects of the media from time to time,but these views count as critique only when they are evaluative in nature,and are communicated publicly.Usually this public communication is directed towards formal media regulators or members of the public,for example,as complaints,or letters to the editors.Experts,such as university professors,when acting as critics,may enjoy greater attention from media regulators than other citizens.
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Organizational critics could be professional bodies or industry associations,such as journalist associations and press councils.Like ombudsmen,they act as critics when they initiate assess of performance,and as regulators when they respond to critiques made by others.
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Producer
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The producers of media involve multiple levels of personnel situated in institutions:Individual producers are likely to form part of a team,which constitutes part of a section under a department in a work organization.The work organization could be a commercial company that is privately-run or publicly listed,or it could be a public service organization or simply a part of the government.The nature of the organization sets the constraints and capabilities within which the multiple levels of producers could respond to the regulators.At the same time,individual producers are members of a profession,and work organizations are part of the relevant media industry.
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If the producer or organization responds to the regulators,change could be made to the object being critiqued,which could take the form of retrospective apology,modification or suspension of the product.
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Three Levels of Media Critique
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Recently,scholars in China have made efforts to map the field of media critique/criticism（e.g.Huang Hsinsheng,1991;Lei Yuejie,2007;Wang Junchao,2001）.This paper attempts to contribute to such effort by proposing a typology of media critique composed of three levels:（1）media review,（2）media watch,and（3）media criticism（Table one）.The typology is a development that takes into account,but goes beyond,the distinction usually made between media critique and radical media critique.