簡析《衛報》信託所有權之治理模式

Analyzing the Governance Model of the Guardian's trust Ownership

Regarding the distinct governance features demonstrat Guardian in different time spans, this article takes on historical approach to analyze the nature of the Guardian's trust ownership as well as endeavors to provide a longitudinal framework of the newspaper's governance under the trust structure, which enables the Guardian to withstand the violent change of the media world while remaining independent in news reporting.
The article begins with a general introduction of the Scott Trust and then examines both the definition of trust and trust ownership models of news media enterprises to allocate the nature of the Scott Trust. To build a framework of the governance of the Guardian, this article looks back on the major governance theory and related literature on median governance. The reviews show that the integration of corporate governance and news governance is one of the key factors to foster a news media be responsible for shareholders and stakeholders of all aspects.
The second part of this article provides a longitudinal framework and discussion of the Guardian's governance composed by three periods, 1936-59, 1960-89 and 1990 till now. It concludes that both the trust ownership that guards the newspaper's editorial and financial independence, and the corporate & news governance that draws on the Guardian's tradition that respects editor, contribute greatly to the survival and success of the Guardian, which shows profit-seeking and public good-seeking are not the total opposite. This article thus points out another possible option of business model for Taiwanese news media owners.