什麼樣的民主？什麼樣的新聞自由？ ——從民主理論視野分析美國新聞自由法制

Abstract

本文以三種民主理論：菁英民主論、多元民主論、共和民主論作為分析框架，用以分析美國新聞自由法制的發展，並嘗試賦予結構性的解釋，輔以歷史的解釋。本文主張：壹、第四權理論固然重要，只能用來理解一部分的美國新聞自由法制。必須引入其他民主理論的視野，才能完整地掌握全貌，開啟深入的比較法研究視野，以利創造性地比較參考外國法制。貳、美國聯邦最高法院的判決，不論個別的法官是否意識到，但其整體面貌，有高度策略性的理由可以解釋。參、沒有一種民主理論可以完整地說明美國新聞自由法制發展的思考框架或發展理路。不同的民主理論可以用來說明法制的不同部門。而不同的法制部門，對應著不同的新聞媒體發展階段，新聞專業程度、政黨體系、媒體市場結構等等。政府管制鬆弛的地方，乃是由其他的社會部門（市場、專業、文化）進行管制或調控。瞭解這些機制的互動，乃是創造性地參考他國法制的基礎。

This article uses three theories of democracy—democratic elitism, liberal pluralism, and republicanism—as analytic frames to analyze the main features of the U.S. constitutional regime of freedom of the press, which includes strict judicial review against censorship, differential treatment of print and electronic media, and rejection of reporter privilege. This article argues the following. First, despite the prominence of the fourth estate theory of the press, it can only explain part of the American free press regime. Other theories of the press are needed to make sense of the overall features of the regime. Second, the differential treatment of print and electronic media can be explained with highly strategic reasons. Simplistic right rhetoric does not control in this field.Third, different theories of democracy can be used to explain different parts of the free press regime. They can also be used to understand the division of labor between the legal regime and other social mechanisms, which complement one another in regulating the press behaviors. This broadened perspective is necessary for an in-depth undertaking of comparative law, which compares not only the legal doctrines but their social foundations.