Spring 2007CMNS 1301 THEORIES OF THE MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY Print and Modernity.

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 1

THEORIES OF THE MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY

Print and Modernity


Review: The Historical Perspective: Print

• Michelle Martin: in the early stages of the transition between oral and written cultures we can see that the change in the form of communication was not only related to economic factors, but also to political factors

• EG: the development of the book as a mass medium waited until:

• paper from wood technologies was cheaper then sheep or calfskin,

• the state began to require written and signed copies of contracts;

• education in writing and reading began to spread ( literacy)


Modern Epoch Cont’d

• Institutions:– Right to Vote, Freedom of speech, elections, the mass media

– Associated with rise of nation state and organization of political boundaries

– Wider dissemination of communication to masses as well as elites


Narrative of the Development of

Newspapers• a progress from patronage, to partisan, to penny press to the ‘golden age of the newspaper’ as it evolved into a more or less independent, non-partisan, and socially responsible commercial press of today ( Hackett and Zhao:16)

• What is overlooked: omits the enlightenment legacy and role of labour & capital


State Patronage

• After Gutenberg, States began to license guilds and typographers

– Pay them for publications/in role of Patron and Censor

• Pre and post publication censorship was customary


The Emergence of the Bourgeoisie

– Note: the profession of author was born of printing and so was the concept of copyright as legal protection for mental labour ( Martin: 13-14)

– As costs of technology fall, and literacy spreads, means of printing more widely available

– Typographers, editors and other middle class owners of newspapers emerge


The Era of the Partisan Press

• These newspaper owners become allied with the emerging middle classes challenging royalty

• Factions or parties emerge, and provide income to newspaper owners


Penny Press

• Newspaper publishers soon realize that neither the state or loyal party subscriber support is enough

• Audiences ( including local businesses) need economic news on the countries buying their resources– Early newspapers, in fact, formed alliances with

telegraphs so their content becomes central to economic trading and distribution of goods

– Businesses start to pay newspapers to advertise their goods

– Media become central to the spread of industry and business

• To attract larger audiences, costs of subscriptions are kept low and advertisers begin to pay for more than 70% of the cost of production

• Advertising allows greater ‘editorial independence’ in theory to emerge from the Ruler, State or Party

• Theory of “Free Press” emerges


Contemporary Commercial Press

• Is transition of control from Ruler, to Political Party to Business? ( Chomsky and Herman)


Newspapers and the Rise of Democracy in Canada

• ( from colonial dependents to commercial independence)

• Earliest colonial papers ( Halifax) in late 1700s were licenced by the British Crown in the colonies

• Given news from the Imperial Country and local Lieutenant Governor ( so served as agent for Crown)

• Slowly, allied with political parties ( early 1800s) some of them republican pressing for:– No taxation without representation– Representation by population ( whig and tory parties)


From Colonial to Independent Partisan

Press• Party papers ( sometime called factional papers) took money from loyalists and resisted pre publication censorship

• Covered the rebellion of 1839 in Lower and Upper Canada

• One editor: Etienne Parent of the Le Canadien jailed

• Famous Case: Joseph Howe, Nova Scotia 1835 ( read Kesterton’s History of Journalism In Canada, page 20-22)


Joseph Howe Case

• A United Empire Loyalist who fled to Halifax• Became Postmaster General, then King’s Printer• Bought the NovaScotian• Began to report on the Government• In 1835 accused it of Corruption and was

charged with Libel– Defended himself and the principle of free speech

passionately and was acquitted• Led the campaign for responsible government and

won in 1848– Opposed Confederation, but then became member of

Sir John A’s Cabinet


The Transition to Independent Commercial

Press• Integral in covering Confederation in 1867

( Globe and Mail roots back to here in various forms)

• But owners find that more money can be made from third parties: subscribers today pay less than 30% of a paper’s costs, and businesses pay ads to cover the rest

• With financial independence from the State and Parties came the need for new theories about what role the press could play

• Canada endebted to European and US theories of the role of the press


Role of the Mass Media in Political Modernization

• The Enlightenment places a value on Reason• Individual’s must acquire information and knowledge

to exercise that reason• The Mass Media provide that information, and assist

in its distribution to Individuals• Individuals must also decide the terms and

conditions under which they will cede individual freedoms for the benefits of living in a society

• Political democratization evolves from feudal to authoritarian to democratic states ( but unevenly over time)

• Other rival models: social democracy and communism arise to explain these

• The Mass Media evolve to express, represent and manufacture that consensus over the rules of political engagement


History of Democracy

• Tied to Political Ferment since the 1700s: detachment from elite, monarchical, religious or oligarchic rule a struggle for over 100 years in Canada.

• From Divine Right to Consent of the Governed as organizing philosophy

• Newspapers played a role in advancing representative democracy after 1807

• Both Actor and Reporter in the struggle to achieve relative autonomy from the monarchy and imperial country of Britain


Theories of the Media and Democracy: Ideology

and the MediaOr,

What’s the Big Idea?


Objectives of this lecture

• To introduce key concepts:– ideology,– democracy

• To introduce normative theories of the press


STUDY QUESTIONS FOR THIS WEEK

• What is the libertarian theory of the press?

• What would be its opposite?• Be sure you understand the concept of

Ideology • Identify four areas where classical liberalism and reform liberalism differ


Ideology

An ideology is a value or belief system that is accepted as fact or truth by some group. It is composed of sets of attitudes towards the various institutions and processes of society. It provides the believer with a picture of the world as it is and as it should be ( emphasis added) and, in doing so, it organizes the tremendous complexity of the world into something fairly simple and understandable…. An ideology must be more or less connected set of beliefs that provide the believer with a fairly thorough picture of the world

Custom Courseware ( page 76)


Key Attributes

1. CONSENSUAL Accepted by large numbers and passed on

in the normal channels of cultural transmission

2. MORAL Includes beliefs about how people should

act and what they should consider right or wrong

3. SIMPLIFIED Reduces complexity.

4. SYSTEMATICMore or less coherent ( courseware 77)


The Study of Ideology

• A system of ideas or way of thinking about how to relate politics and society

• Ideas in action – May be consensual, or conflictual– Unitary: where one culture is dominant, or Plural: minority

• Ideologies define what we take as commonsense, as moral ‘telos’ or goal

• They rationalize why we choose to live together in a society, and how we choose to organize the power in that society

• They may also rationalize violent or peaceful revolution


Secularism

• Conceives of religion as a doctrine of private and personal belief

• Establishes religion as private, and protecting freedom of religion commensurate with speech


Principal Secular Ideologies

• Liberalism• Conservatism• Socialism • Nationalism• Also: Democracy: especially the variant Liberal Democracy– Later forms: Feminism,Environmentalism


Liberalism

• From the world liber meaning free– The absence of coercion

• Grew out of a tradition of thinkers:– Locke, Smith, Hume, Jefferson

• Humanistic: that is human centred


Main Principles of Liberalism

• Personal freedom ( absence from coercion)

• Limited Government• Equality of Right• Consent of the Governed ( page 81 in courseware)


Historical Periods of Liberalism

• 19th century, persisting today: classical liberalism or libertarianism

• Late 20th: reform or social welfare liberalism


Classical versus Reform Liberalism

• Freedom from state

• Limited government

• Equality of rules• Rule of Law

• Consent of the governed ( property or informed consent)

• Economic Laissez-faireism

• Freedom for enjoyment, personal well being

• Positive government

• Equality of outcome• Rule of law must

imply Equity• Consent of all, with

no special status

• Economic redistribution


Classical Liberalism

• A wide ambit for individualism• The individual has the power of doing whatever

does not injure another…– the natural right of man has no other limit than those which are necessary to secure to every other man the right to free exercise…( custom courseware, 96)

• Classical liberalism theory arose out of the struggle for democracy in England, France and the US

• A minimalist model of infringements on individualism


Reform Liberalism

• TH Green:– When we speak of freedom, we should consider carefully what we mean by it.

– We do not mean merely freedom from restraint or compulsion, we mean a positive power or capacity of doing something worth doing or enjoying, … in common with others.

– The emergence of the ideas of the common good, public interest, social welfare

– Implies governments may act to curtail individual liberties for the common good under certain conditions


Democracy

• An ideology• A system of ideas about political organization of a demos: ( greek: peoples) and kratos ( rule)– Liberal democracy tied to ideology of liberalism and capitalism as its economic expression

• Literally and most simply: Rule by the People• Core assumptions:

– Reflect the key ideas of the enlightenment: – Turn on the centrality of the idea of individual autonomy AND balancing the collective good

– Establishes a set of rules where individual autonomy may be limited for the collective good ( and vice versa)


Key Features of Modern

Democracies• Elections of representatives to govern by majority

• By voters consisting of entire adult population

• Whose votes carry equal weight• Who are allowed to vote in secret without coercion

• For Limited Terms: accountable to re-election or rejection


Democracy around the World

• Now Over 180 democracies:• Democracy has become the dominant form of political organizations among nation states

• Dominance is less than 100 years old and fragile

• Just over half the world’s population lives in a democratic state: yet fewer than 50 countries offer a relatively free press ( with less than one-quarter of the world’s population)

• Right to vote did not become universal in most Western democracies until after 2nd World War


Myths and Reality

• Myth: there is one form of democracy• Reality: 311 different definitions of democracy in the study of political communication; at least eight different historical models of democracy

• Conclusion: democracy is culturally-bounded

• Modern Democracies sharply vary in their protections of minorities from majorities


Press and Democracy around the World

• media played role in rise of modern nation state, emergence of democracies, Fall of Berlin Wall, fall of communism, fall of Milosevic in Serbia– are media playing a roll in beating back fundamentalist Islamic militantism? Or its protection ( Al Jazeera)?

• creating an independent media is an important communication goal in Eastern Europe, South Africa and other regimes

• But, most countries choose a different model than the Western one of a free press: why?


Normative Theories of the Media

• A type of theory, or strain of ideology, which describes the ideal way for media systems to be structured and operated

• Normative: of or establishing a norm; customary behavior; a standard or pattern or type of preferred behavior


Four Theories of the Press

• Libertarian• Social Responsibility• Authoritarian• Development/Communist


Authoritarian Theory

• The media are a tool of the authority

• Involve a concentration of power among rulers

• A range of Authoritarian Regimes:– ‘benign’ kings/rulers: Sauds in Saudi Arabia

– Military dictatorships– One party states– Dictators/ Repressive Tyrants


Authoritarian Views

• hold that the ruling class is more discerning: rabble must be contained

• criticism and public dissent is not tolerated if it jeapardizes social cohesion, stability, economic growth or the common good

• press may be licensed: censorship before publication is prevalent

• criticizing government programs undermines the peace


Sanctions of Authoritarian Regimes

• Media become a part of the apparatus of the State\dominant military , economic or political class.

• associated with totalitarianism: forms of military, royal dictatorship *

• reporters and citizens may be jailed: all dissent is illegitimate ( range of dissent tolerated may vary)

• still present in some developing countries in Asia, Middle East and Latin America and Africa

• Authoritarianism:– Can have authoritarian market systems ( eg Korea, etc)

– Can have more closed, authoritarian democratic governments : not a theory, but describing a set of practices


Key Characteristics of Media in Authoritarian

Regimes• Strict licensing• Prior restraint on content• Post censorship• Threat of jailing, or capital punishment on editors, journalists and readers

• NO independence of journalists/ professionals

• May use tax or other powers of economic sanction

• China: withdrawal of certain press freedoms in Hong Kong


Principles of Authoritarian Press Theory

• Media should do nothing to undermine established authority

• Media are ultimately subordinate• Media should avoid offence to dominant moral

and political values• Censorship is justified to support these

principles• Unacceptable attacks on authority, deviations

from official policy, offences against moral codes should be criminal offences


Libertarian Theory

A theory that the press are an extension of the individual’s absolute right to freedom of the expression

Derived from the philosophy of ‘liberalism’ in the history of ideas

• At its most extreme: no role for the state• Makes no distinction between individual’s right to

freedom of expression or a private media corporation’s right to freedom of expression: irony: corporations have most often spoken up on individual freedoms

• Protects security of private ownership


Libertarian II

• Related to classical liberalism theory• Classical Liberalism has a romantic view of the individual as good, rational and completely able to distinguish good from bad

• Like one of its theorists: Milton’s Aereopagitica: believes that debate is always fair and that good and truthful arguments win out over lies and deceit

• This is the democratic ideal of the ‘marketplace of ideas’.


Libertarian iv

• Freedom from state intervention is the central slogan

• Media are seen as a commodity like any other: privately owned, in pursuit of profit , subject only to the ‘invisible hand’ of the market

• Freedom of press is absolute: that is, press may promote ideas of their own choosing– citizens are able to make enlightened choices of media tailored to their own beliefs

• Many vestiges of 19th century libertarian ideology remain in the newspaper industry; modern platforms of Alliance and Libertarian parties, Fraser Institute in review of media


Libertarian V

• Freedom from State Intervention also implies an important independent role for the Press

• The Press function as a Watchdog on the abuse of power by Government: guarding the rights of individuals so they are not deformed.


Principles of the Libertarian Model

• Publication should be free of prior restraint from any party

• Publication should be open without a license• Attack on any party ( save private individuals

or state security) should not be punishable even after the event

• No compulsion to publish anything• Publication of error is protected equally with

truth• No restriction on access to information• No restriction across frontiers


Problems with the Libertarian Model

• historically, costs of entry to publishing rose

• competition was not free: oligopoly and monopolies arose

• shocks of Great Depression challenged this consensus

• model of economic rationality underpinning behavior began to unravel (Freud, Resistance etc)


Problems/ Libertarian View

• central analytic questions:– does a system of private ownership promote diversity of expression and high standards of journalism?

– Are citizens “ enlightened” enough to make good choices?

– How well does an exclusively market dominated media system media serve the public?


Libertarian Model

• Closest analogy to print media ( books, newspapers)

• Closest country analogy is US• Only time these views are suspended is in time of war/extraordinary upheaval

• In times of WAR, state may license, censor or otherwise suppress news “ in the interests of national security” even for classical libertarians


Social Responsibility

• Focuses less on the individual than the balance with the welfare of society

• Concerned about equality ( where overall benefit of the many may override the individual)

• Sees a more extensive role for the State• Related to reform liberalism and rise of electronic

era• Central belief is that the media are not a commodity

like any other: central to democratic expression; therefore a public good– Possibly, a natural resource like air or water– The metaphor: democracy’s oxygen

• Democracy must protect the interests of the majority against the harm of extreme individual freedoms; but also promote diversity of views, protect rights of minorities


Social Responsibility 2

• Freedom For the pursuit of the democratic social good is the central slogan ( not freedom from)

• Associated with the rise and sunset of the welfare state: protection of basic economic and cultural freedoms

• Freedom of the press is not absolute: it is responsible to society

• Regulation may be necessary in the social interest ( and especially in case of spectrum scarcity)

• Vestiges of the social responsibility model remain in broadcasting media

• Generally: social responsibility model applies to radio, TV industries around the world

• Internationally, Canada and Europe and some of the Asian countries ( eg Singapore) conform to this view.


Principles of the Social Responsibility View

• Media should accept certain obligations to society

• Must set high standards of truth, accuracy, objectivity and balance

• In accepting these responsibilities, media should be self-regulating

• The media should avoid what ever leads to violence or civil disorder

• Media should be pluralist and reflect the diversity of their society, giving access to various points of view and rights of reply

• Intervention can be justified to secure the public good


Key Assumptions of Social Responsibility

Models• Must regulate competition to ensure sufficient diversity in market place ( perhaps order sale)

• Must create codes of fair treatment by media, and promote ethics and training in journalism

• Must protect against flagrant abuses ( false advertising, libel, hate crimes)

• Promote public subsidy or public not for profit ownership of media where underrepresented minorities frozen out


Problems with the Social Responsibility

Model• despite efforts to impose it on the newspaper industry in Canada and US, this model has not become prevalent across all media

• trend to global free trade and deregulation is undercutting models of social responsibility

• now often narrowly interpreted as the industry’s right to develop and regulate their own codes of conduct (self-regulation by professionals)


Problems Cont’d

• private sector in broadcasting, which has represented a so-called ideal type of social responsibility regulation of the media in Canada has not achieved certain democratic or national goals

• analytic question: when social responsibility conflicts with the profit motive, what then?

• Classic argument: leave it to the educated elites


Principal Differences

• Libertarian Media • State must not

intervene• Freedom of expression

is absolute• Ideal type: books,

newspapers, magazines, also internet

• Watchdog Role ( stop abuse)

• Social Responsibility Media

• State may regulate– To protect undersupply– To protect against harm or

offense– To ensure universal access– To promote effective, fair

competition

• Freedom of Expression is limited only when public interest is at stake

• Ideal type: radio or TV Acts

• Fourth Estate: ( like legislative, judiciary, executive) may generate policy recommendations


Critical Theories of the Press

• From critical political economy– Marx: in every epoch, the ruling ideas are the ideas of the ruling class ( courseware, normative theories, page 384)

– Media are central to the operation of capitalism• they sell goods and services• They carry economic news• They are important for coordinating supply and demand

• So essential to economic system, they are controlled by the bourgeoisie, or ruling elites


Neo-Marxian views

– Argue oligopoly forecloses diversity– AJ Liebling: Freedom of the Press belongs to those who own one.

– That is, the structure of ownership and control if very concentrated in the hands of a few, runs the risk that the gatekeepers may freeze out certain ideas in the desire to maximize profits ( see custom courseware, p. 389 normative theories)

– The media become tools to maintain the dominant ideology of capitalist power


A Marxist Model of the Press

• Media should serve and be controlled by workers

• Media should serve society by education, and mobilization

• Must respond to the people• People have a right, with the worker’s party, to decide when to use censorship before or after the fact

• Media should provide a complete picture of society, in accordance with Marxist principles,

• Support progressive movements at home and abroad


The Critical View of Ideology

– Ideologies are not only particular ways of seeing or systems of representation ( 393)

– They exclude, limit– They set the boundaries on what we are able to understand and what we accept as possible

– They are always contested– But a common strategy is to present dominant values as ‘normal’

– Marginalize minorities– Working at its best when unseen/unknown


Conclusions

• Normative theories of the press speak to how it ought to work

• Correspond to choices made by political elites for different systems

• In Canada, Canadians adopt more of a reform liberal/ social responsibility view of the press, like other countries


Sources

Michelle Martin. Michelle Martin Communication, and Mass Media: Culture, Domination and Opposition. Scarborough: Prentice Hall Allyn and Bacon. 1997

Mary Vipond. Mass Media.

Bob Hackett and Yuezhi Zhao. Sustaining democracy? : journalism and the politics of objectivity. Robert A. Hackett and Yuezhi Zhao. Toronto : Garamond Press, 1997

John C. Nerone. Ed. Last Rights: Revisiting Four Theories of the Press. University of Illinois Press. 1995.

Denis McQuail. Mass Communication Theory: An Introduction. London, Sage, 1983. pp. 85-98

F. Siebert, T. Peterson and W. Schramm. Four Theories of the Press. Urbana: U. of Illinois Press. 1956.

Spring 2007CMNS 1301 THEORIES OF THE MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY Print and Modernity.

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