"I've got something to say" is a popular catch phrase with youth. In fact, these days it seems as though just about everyone has something to say.

Candidates shout from platforms; students, church members, and interest groups march in the streets; even your taxi cab driver is a "news commentator"--if you happen to be of a different opinion, you may end up shouting all the way to your destination.

Why have the Chinese, who faithfully held that "silence is golden" for thousands of years, decided to give up their gold?

According to the sociologist Hsiao Hsin-huang, it's because the class structure of our society has become newly differentiated in the wake of economic development.

"Everyone is trying to exert pressure on the government in the hopes of satisfying his class interests," he says. "To attain this goal, it's extremely important to express one's opinion."

In addition, the liberal atmosphere brought on by the lifting of the Emergency Decree and the topic of the opposition forces have suddenly filled our lives with all kinds of different sounds.

"It's a good sign," says Wang Ch'i, dean of the graduate school of journalism at National Chengchi University. "Chinese people traditionally have never encouraged themselves to speak out much, but if you don't speak, the problems are still there."

People with something to say don't just whisper it in your ear, they shout it in the streets, they print underground campus papers, and they distribute tape recordings and video cassettes telling all and sundry their version of the "truth."

"This reflects one fact," Cheng Jui-ch'eng, a journalism professor at National Chengchi University, maintains. "Our mass media is too slanted in its reporting of certain sensitive areas. Some voices aren't being expressed and are seeking other channels."

Just what is wrong with the mass media?

"They don't have enough of the information they should, and they have a pack of what they shouldn't," Wang Ch'i puts it succinctly.

What they should have and don't includes primarily the voices of the political opposition and of the man in the street. The legislators belonging to the "Democratic Progressive Party" don't often appear in the news, and when they do they are usually reported negatively. Objective reporting, such as legislative voting records, and fair commentary are also needed.

What does appear in the news? According to a study by Dr. Cheng, mostly high-level government officials holding meetings (snippets of the opening and closing speeches as the camera pans across the faces of some of the more important dignitaries) or opining scholars and experts, the media's new darlings (queried, quiz-show style, on a subject outside their field).

"Intellectuals often think that they represent society," Dr. Cheng comments, "when in fact they're one of society's most privileged groups. Whether their opinions can represent the silent majority is worth pondering."

Most people think that the main reason why the media have failed to fully reflect public opinion in the past has been politics. Dr. Cheng agrees that the political structure has played a role, but he points out that mass media the world over tend to support the status quo. Some of the problems are due to concepts of newsworthiness and some to technique, he says. "And there's self-limitation by reporters, too," adds Wang Chen-pang, himself a journalist.

Now that the silent majority is no longer silent, the future of the media stands at a new turning point.

If some people held that the "invisible hand" of politics was at work behind the media in the past, then the lifting of martial law and of newspaper restrictions will mean that the hand will now be that of the marketplace. People with different viewpoints will be able to set up different newspapers, and the resulting diversity of opinion may well affect radio and television as well, where frequencies and channels are limited.

Newspapers are already making preparations for the new "Warring States Period." "The most urgent task for newspapers right now is to develop some knowledgeable columnists and independent commentators instead of relying solely on scholars as in the past," says Chang Mau-kuei, associate research fellow at Academia Sinica's Institute of Ethnology. "The most influential figures in America are journalists, and we should work in that direction."

What's more, when the rules are rewritten, not every reporter will have the ability to adapt. "They've had their feet bound for nearly forty years," quips Wang Chen-pang. "When the wraps are off, can they keep up with the times? It'll be tough for reporters who can't."

If the lifting of newspaper restrictions is a challenge for reporters, it is for their readers as well. And the latter are a focus of concern for many. Are the public's powers of judgment up to the challenge?

Different people answer differently. Wang Ch'i believes that media channels must be kept open, but that legal recourse must be available to victims of libel and slander. In addition, the media must pay attention to product quality and reputation, the same as manufacturers. Finally, readers must make a balanced assessment of what they read. "They've got to put two and two together," Chang Mau-kuei says.

"Everyone has his own viewpoint," he continues. "Readers will identify with newspapers that fit their views and reject the ones that don't. The opinions that survive will be those that people support."

Is this all that bad? Some people may be frightened. But isn't a democratic society founded on the basis of the people's power to choose?

"I don't think that our society lacks judgment, it's just never had a chance to prove it," says Hsiao Hsin-huang optimistically.

Is that true? Let's wait and see.

[Picture Caption]

The voice of the common people is seldom expressed in the newspapers.

The opposition forces have been quite vociferous in their quest for public support.

If the newspapers report everything that happens, why do people come to see for themselves? (photo by Arthur Cheng)

The Taiwan Daily News was vandalized by some readers. (photo by Yao Chieh-hsiu)

Invite a scholar for a cup of coffee, and you've got an interview.

After the lifting of newspaper restrictions, the media will have to develop more seasoned reporters.

Who can really represent the public? Cheng Jui-ch'eng thinks the question deserves reflection.

In the noisy information society of today, what should we read? And who should we listen to?

The opposition forces have been quite vociferous in their quest for public support.

If the newspapers report everything that happens, why do people come to see for themselves? （photo by Arthur Cheng）

The Taiwan Daily News was vandalized by some readers. （photo by Yao Chieh-hsiu）

Invite a scholar for a cup of coffee, and you've got an interview.

After the lifting of newspaper restrictions, the media will have to develop more seasoned reporters.

Who can really represent the public? Cheng Jui-ch'eng thinks the question deserves reflection.

In the noisy information society of today, what should we read? And who should we listen to?