技术·权力·结构:网络新媒体时代公共领域的嬗变

Technology·Power·Structure:The Evolution of Public Sphere in the Era of Network New Media

在中国大陆,与公私不分的政治大一统时代的"代表型公共领域"相比,改革开放后出现的"类公共领域"既部分还原了概念本身所具有的"自主权"属性,也表现出了与西方自17世纪开始持续近300年的"资产阶级公共领域"不尽相同的复杂性。一方面,在推进公民信息获取、议题参与和理性交往上,网络新媒体有着巨大的潜能,技术的赋权无疑让更多的人在网络新媒体中进行传播活动,过去被动的视听众变成了如今意见表达的参与者、政治对话的贡献者和公共舞台的行动者,颠覆了少数人的话语霸权;另一方面,网络新媒体的巨大影响力让它自身成为一种权力场域,对它的窥视、占有和利用必将改变其中的话语空间和交流方式,"公共领域的结构转型"随之发生。对网络新媒体时代公共领域变迁的考察,要坚持传播政治经济学的分析路径,不把技术看成是完全中立和价值无涉,权力因素对传播技术具有明显的控制作用和确定性影响。公共领域的独特品性和自身逻辑在网络新媒体的推动下,超越了原本狭隘的阶级利益,成为现代社会的一种结构形态。

In China's Mainland,compared with the＂representative public sphere＂in the age of political unification which didn＇t make a clear distinction between public and private interests,the＂semi-public sphere＂after China＇s reform and opening up not only partially reduces the＂autonomy＂of the conception itself,but also shows the complexities different from ＂bourgeois public sphere＂which has remained for nearly 300 years since the 17 th century in the Western countries.On the one hand,the network new media has great potential in promoting people＇s access to information,issue participation and rational communication.The empowerment of technology gives more people the chance to participate in communication activities through the new media;and turns the passive audience into the participants of opinion expression,the contributor of political dialogue and the actors of public stage;and overturns the discourse hegemony of the minority.On the other hand,the huge influence of network new media has made itself a field of power,the peepoccupationutilization of which is bound to change the discourse space and communicative means,and then＂the structural transformation of the public sphere＂occurs.Finally,the observation of changes of public sphere in the era of network new media should insist on analysis ways of the political economy of communication,and should not regard the technology as perfect neutrality and value-free since the power has obvious control and decisive effects on communication technology.Driven by the network new media,the unique features and logic of public sphere go beyond the original narrow class interests,thus become a structural form of modern society.