Viewpoint... The legal responsibility of the protection of minors by audio-visual media organizations-an analysis of the principles of juvenile news reporting under the background of the new uninsured law.

Published:

2021-11-15

As we all know, the media has the social function of educating the masses. For minors who are still in the stage of mental development, compared with other media and content forms, the mimicry environment created by audio-visual news programs produced or reproduced by audio-visual media has a more significant impact on minors' understanding of the world and the formation of their own values. As a result, audio-visual media organizations shoulder the important social responsibility of protecting minors, and should abide by the principles and provisions of laws and regulations such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Law on the Protection of minors, and regulate their own news reporting behavior. On October 17, 2020, China's Law on the Protection of Minors completed its third revision since its enactment in 1991, and the revised "New Uninsured Law" came into effect on June 1, 2021. Article 49 of the new uninsured law provides for the first time the principle of news media reporting incidents involving minors. The "Opinions of the Leading Group for the Protection of Minors of the State Council on Strengthening the Protection of Minors" issued on June 8, 2021 also proposed to further regulate the news media's publicity and reporting of hot events involving minors. Based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the relevant provisions of the new uninsured law, this paper analyzes the reporting principles established in Article 49, and analyzes the problems existing in the previous news reports of audio-visual media organizations in the light of relevant examples that have occurred in recent years, and discusses the path of implementing these principles in the future. An understanding of the principle of "objectivity", "prudence" and "moderation" in news media reports involving minors. 1. Definition of news reports of "incidents involving minors" Article 49 of the new uninsured law uses the expression "news media interviews and reports involving minors", but does not specify its specific scope. According to the interpretation of the text, it should belong to the narrow sense of minor news reports, that is, news reports with minors as the main characters (or directly related to minors). However, if interpreted in accordance with the purpose most conducive to the protection of minors, the use of generalized juvenile news reporting can also be established or at least as a future goal. The so-called general news reports of minors refer to the news reports directly or indirectly related to minors made by the media. The so-called "indirect connection" refers to the fact that although there are no direct minors or topics directly related to minors in news reports, they are related or potentially related to the rights and interests of minors. 2. The basic meaning of the principle of "objectivity", "prudence" and "moderation" According to the interpretation of the Social Law Office of the Legal Work Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, "objectivity" in Article 49 of the new uninsured law means that when reporting incidents involving minors, it should be fully investigated and understood to ensure the authenticity of the reported incidents., Objectivity, avoid adding subjective inferences to the report. The so-called "prudence" means that the topic, conception, publication or push of news should be carefully and carefully demonstrated to analyze the social concern that the report may cause and its impact on the minors involved. The so-called "moderate" means that the media should not excessively pursue comprehensive truth when reporting incidents involving minors, but should have certain scales and boundaries to prevent the reputation, privacy and privacy of minors due to the excessive excavation of event information by the news media. Other legitimate rights and interests have been violated. On the whole, the principle of "prudence" and the principle of "moderation" are the special requirements of the new uninsured law for the news reports of minors, especially the requirements of the principle of "moderation" are more specific, which are related to other parts of the new uninsured law. The special protection of adults echoes each other. 3. The factual basis of the principles of "objectivity", "prudence" and "moderation" Article 49 of the new uninsured law is a new provision in this amendment. The reason for the addition of this clause, as stated by the Social Law Office of the Legal Work Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, an important practical reason is that in recent years, news media have violated the rights of minors due to reporting behaviors. According to the author's observation, the problems existing in the general news reports of minors before the amendment of the law can be roughly divided into three types according to the specific performance: First, in news reports directly involving minors, they have repeatedly broken through the bottom line of reporting set by law. A typical example is that in the report of Li's rape case in 2013, audio-visual media flocked to report his real name, photo, growth experience and other personal information, which seriously violated the provisions of the law on uninsured and the law on the prevention of juvenile delinquency at that time, which prohibited the disclosure of juvenile related personal information in juvenile delinquency cases. Second, there is often a lack of necessary restrictions and treatment when carrying out news reports involving violence, sex, terror and other news reports that may have adverse effects on minors. For example, also in 2013, online big V Xue Manzi was arrested by the police on suspicion of whoring and gathering people for fornication. When a TV station reported the news incident, it lacked awareness of the protection of minors and reported the details of the police's interrogation of Xue Manzi and prostitutes without necessary treatment. Third, the lack of recognition and respect for the independent personality of minors. In 2011, many audio-visual media reported on the 13-year-old "five bars" teenager Huang Moumou, describing him as a "gifted child" with great political literacy ". This kind of report obviously does not respect the main personality that minors should have, and alienates them into so-called "gifted" officials "children, which leads to subsequent online accusations, abuse and human flesh searches. Even his graduation from Wuhan University in 2020 is still pursued and reported by many media. 4. International convention basis for the principle of "objectivity", "prudence" and "moderation" The Convention on the Rights of the Child, which my country has joined and ratified, also has some requirements for the status and behavioral norms of the news media in the protection of minors. For example, article 17 (Access to information; mass media) of the Convention states: "States Parties recognize the important role of the mass media and shall ensure that children have access to information and material from a variety of national and international sources, in particular those aimed at the promotion of their social, spiritual and moral well-being and physical and mental health, and to this end, states parties should:(A) encourage the mass media to disseminate information and material of social and cultural benefit to the child in the spirit of article 29; ...... (E) encourage the development of appropriate guidelines, in accordance with articles 13 and 18, to protect the child from information and material that may be detrimental to his or her well-being." It can be seen that the Convention clearly stipulates the social responsibility of the media to protect minors, and there are corresponding requirements in the provision of content and the formulation of codes of conduct, which are the basis of the international convention of Article 49 of China's uninsured law. The principle of "objectivity", "prudence" and "moderation" should be based on the basic principle of "most beneficial to minors" Article 4 of the new uninsured law supplements the principle of "most beneficial to minors" on the basis of Article 5 of the original uninsured law, that is, in the process of protecting the personal rights, property rights and other legitimate rights and interests of minors, it is necessary to weigh various factors, choose the plan that is most beneficial to minors, and take the measures that are most beneficial to minors, To maximize the interests of minors. The Social Law Office of the Legal Work Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress also pointed out that the principle of being most beneficial to minors is consistent with the inherent spirit of the "principle of maximizing children's interests" stipulated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The "best interests of the child" in the Convention on the Rights of the Child is regarded as the basic theoretical premise of all conventions, the first principle of the convention to protect minors, the programmatic basis of children's legislation, administration and justice in all countries of the world, and the highest rule of behavior for people to deal with children's affairs. The principle of the best interests of the child is embodied in article 3, paragraph 1, of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states: "The best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration in all acts concerning children, whether committed by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies (primary consideration)." The new uninsured law clearly establishes the principle of "the most beneficial to minors", which is equivalent to the "principle of the best interests of children" in the Convention, as the basic principle, which reflects the responsible attitude of China to actively fulfill the obligations of international conventions. The whole new uninsured law (including Article 49, of course) should abide by this basic principle and play its commanding and guiding function. When the audio-visual media reports on incidents involving minors, they should always put the most beneficial to minors above the principles of "objectivity", "prudence" and "moderation". They should not only respect their status of "one vote veto", but also pay attention to the original interpretation function of their "first principle". When the specific principles conflict with each other or are difficult to choose, the basic principles most beneficial to minors should be taken as the understanding and application standard. For example, on April 13, 2021, an appalling incident in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, in which a minor man and a woman were beaten and forced to have sex, was reported by the audio-visual media. When reporting, some media not only quoted the Shenyang police's "Police Information Bulletin", but also described some "heinous" plots in detail, and some even added videos circulated on the Internet to the report. These reports are generally "objective and true", and some of them basically meet the requirements of "prudence", but most reports are difficult to meet the requirements of "moderation", and even more difficult to meet the basic principle of "most beneficial to minors. Such a report is not only not conducive to the protection of the injured minors, but also detrimental to the necessary protection of the injured minors, which should be corrected. The principles of "objectivity", "prudence" and "moderation" should be implemented through the guidelines for audio-visual media news reporting. In addition to the basic principle of "most beneficial to minors", the principles of "objectivity", "prudence" and "moderation" in Article 49 of the new uninsured law should be further refined in practice to promote its use in audio-visual media. Effective application in news reporting work. One of the feasible ways is to formulate unified news reporting guidelines for minors in audio-visual media by relevant audio-visual media industry associations. At present, my country's relatively specific guidelines for news reports on minors in the audio-visual media are the "Convention on Self-Discipline in TV Propaganda Work for Minors" drafted and formulated by the China Radio and Television Association. The self-regulatory convention, which entered into force on 1 June 2007, has demonstrated a high standard and is relatively specific and enforceable. In the current era of media integration and for a period of time in the future, in response to the dramatic changes in the audio-visual media landscape, it is necessary to follow the principles established by the new uninsured law, compare the successful experience of Western developed countries and my country's Hong Kong and Taiwan, and combine the characteristics of my country's news management. Referring to the research results of scholars, starting from the positive (goal to be achieved) and negative (problem to be overcome), develop a new era of specific and enforceable guidelines for news reporting by minors in audio-visual media. As the theoretical basis for the construction of news reporting guidelines, in addition to the basic principle of "most beneficial to minors" emphasized in this article, there are several issues that need to be clarified. First, the adult audience's right to know news should be appropriately restricted due to the protection of minors' rights and interests. Of course, while considering the best interests of minors, the audio-visual media can take a variety of methods to ensure the right of adults to know, such as adjusting the broadcast time and network layout of certain news, producing different news versions, and so on, so as to achieve a balance between the rights and interests of the two. Second, gradually realize the production and broadcasting of classified audio-visual news programs. In terms of production, it can be divided into two categories: "news program production for underage audiences" and "news program production for general audiences and specialized audiences. In terms of broadcasting, the first type of programs should be encouraged to broadcast, and full consideration should be given to the broadcast time and the network page to ensure the communication effect. The second category of programs should gradually establish specific systems such as a broadcast restriction system, a live news report restriction system, a special information prompt system, a system for audio-visual media linking to third-party websites, a process for editing and publishing articles on mobile network news platforms, and news release by social media. Third, after formulating the guidelines for news reporting of minors in audio-visual media, efforts should be made to strengthen the implementation. It is recommended to establish an appropriate monitoring body for the implementation of news reporting guidelines, give news reporting guidelines a certain degree of mandatory binding force, clarify the penalties for violating news reporting guidelines, and focus on strengthening the supervision of audio-visual media news information services established by non-news units. Conclusion On December 29, 2021, China will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. "We the Children: End-decade review of the follow-up to the World Summit for Children", considered by the United Nations General Assembly at its twenty-seventh special session, begins with the statement "We are all once children. We all want the happiness of our children, which has been and will continue to be the most universally cherished aspiration of humankind." In the protection of minors, audiovisual media organizations have a special status and a great responsibility. The principles of "objectivity", "prudence" and "moderation" established in Article 49 of the new uninsured law, if they can "comply with the basic principles that are most beneficial to minors, supplemented by the specific guidelines for audio-visual media news reports", they will definitely There has been a qualitative leap in the reporting of incidents involving minors. In the broad field of juvenile news reports, it will also gradually improve professional standards. In this way, it is not only conducive to the protection of minors, but also conducive to promoting the whole society to respect the subject personality of minors, and ultimately realize the best interests of minors.

Key words: