From The Media Speech Constitutes A Judgment Of Libel

"We Media" is a new concept born with the information technology revolution,including blog, microblogging, podcasts, micro-channel, Twitter, Facebook,and othernew media which are supported by internet technology. The transition from the era ofthe internet to the era of "We Media" is just the shift to mutual broadcasting of thetransmission mode. At the same time, the public, as a new "media" and"communicators", has changed their self-awareness. It is undeniable that "We Media"speech beyond time and space boundaries touch the bottom line of moral and legalmore and more prequently, even constituting libel crime.Serious criminal offenses are crucial in libel crime, but criminal law in ourcountry hasn’t made specific provisions of this. The judicial interpretation issued bythe Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate has adapted tothe development of the times, and it concretizes the criminal behavior of libel and themanifestations of "serious criminal offenses", while the judicial interpretation is notenough. We should define the meaning of "fabricate" and distinguish between factualstatements and opinions expressed. The standard of "reasonable person" can be usedin determining a defamatory remarks."Seriously escape social considerableresistance" can also be used in determining whether the circumstances constitute aserious situation. Defamation objects shuoud be devided into the general person andpublic figure. The standard of "actual malice" from journalism theory is needed whendefamatory statements about public figures.This paper is divided into four parts, the first part is about the overviw of "WeMedia" and libel crime, including the origin and development of "We Media", as wellas the basic characteristics of "We Media" speech and the concept and criminalconstitution of defamation. The first part is in order to introduce those two conceptsfrom different areas. The second part is a brief description of the judicialinterpretation’s background and main content, and discusses its advantages anddisadvantages. The third part proposes a reasonable standard to judge whether libel crime is founded, focusing on the concept of public figure and its particularity. Theforth part mainly discusses the differences between libel and orther similar charges,helping judicial determination.