Media Freedom:

An Introduction

Session -2
Dr Shahid Minhas
The Harm Principle

Mill’s Very Simple Principle: the only purpose for which

power can be rightfully exercised over members of a
civilized community, against their will, is to prevent harm to
others. [Mill, On Liberty]
What is Harm?

Mill is not clear on this, but in general:

An action is harmful if it involves a setback in some persons

interests

E.g. Chopping of their leg

E.g. Stealing their laptop
The Orthodox Opinion

Mill: The time, it is to be hoped, is gone by, when any defence would
be necessary of the ‘liberty of the press’ as one of the securities
against corrupt government.

We cannot be democratically free without a free press because we

need government-independent information to be able to properly
evaluate the current government and make free
voting/protesting/information-seeking decisions
Summary of Mill
 Any opinion could be true
 We shouldn’t censor any opinion because any opinion could
help lead to the truth
 Even if they’re false (which we can’t be sure of), they can still
help us appreciate the truth
 So, freedom of expression should be upheld
 That includes freedom of the press
Some Other Opinions
We need an impartial press to provide us facts (and only facts) about
how we are governed in order to exercise our democratic rights

But, we can’t because:

There is a liberal bias in the media!

There is a conservative bias in the media!

Two Kinds of Freedoms
1. Freedom of action
- Hardly anyone believes that citizens should be
allowed unrestricted freedom of action
2. Freedom of thought and expression
- But should we be restricted in what we can
think or say?
- Mill thinks its more harmful to censor
expression (even seemingly harmful ones!)
because of the importance of truth
- “It is the duty of governments, and of
individuals, to form the truest opinions they
can”
Freedom Of Press
Freedom of Press is born or ensured by Freedom of expression which is
a constitutional provision and widely acknowledged as a basic
human right that should be available to all, playing a crucial role in a
fair and open society.

Press freedom means liberty to print or to disseminate info. in print,

broadcasting, electronic or modern media, without prior restraints
such as censorship or content review and without subsequent
punishment for what is said.
Definitions:
 Freedom of Press means that the media should be free to publish
news and ideas without government control. (World Public
Opinion.com)
 It is a condition of being free or restraints. It is the liberty of a person
which empowers him/her to think, feel, do just as one please. ( William
Hazlitt)
 "I fear the newspapers more than a hundred thousand bayonets.“
Napoleon Bonaparte
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
 creating an independent media is an important communication goal in
Eastern Europe, South Africa and other regimes
 But, as seen above, 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
Four Theories of the Press
Siebert, Peterson and
Schramm

Frederick S Siebert, Theodore Peterson and Wilbur

Schramm, Four Theories of the Press. Urbana,
University of Illinois Press, 1963 (Originally published
in 1956
Four Theories of the Press

 Authoritarian
 Libertarian
 Social Responsibility
 Communist
Authoritarian Theory
 The media are a tool of the authority
 A range of Authoritarian Regimes:
 ‘benign’ kings/rulers
 Military dictatorships
 One party states
 Dictators
Authoritarian Views

 Hold that the ruling class is more discerning: rabble must be

contained
 Criticism and public dissent is not tolerated if it jeopardizes
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

 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
 Media become a part of the apparatus of the State/dominant
military , economic or political class.
 Associated with totalitarianism: forms of military, royal dictatorship.
Libertarian Theory
A theory that the press are an extension of the individual’s absolute
right to freedom of the Press
 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
 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: believes that debate is
always fair and that good and truthful arguments win out
over lies and deceit
Libertarian
 Wants to unleash the market/freedom of expression for the
media
 Opposes censorship in any form: no pre or post censorship
 Democracy is best achieved by radical protection of
individual freedoms and advancement of the market
 Free people, left to their own devices, will make
economically and intellectually profitable choices
Libertarian

 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 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”
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 question: does a system of private

ownership promote diversity of expression and high
standards of journalism?
 Are citizens “ enlightened” enough to make choices?
 How well does an exclusively market dominated media
system media serve the public?
Social Responsibility
 Focuses less on the individual than 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
 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
 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 ( e.g. Singapore) conform to this view.
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
Four Types of Political Control
over the Media

 Legal/Regulatory Controls over Freedom of

Expression
Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms
Regulation

Voluntary Controls
 News Manufacture:
 Indirect State Economic Influence
 ElectionRegulation/Marketing and
Persuasion
Communist Theory of Press
 Functions as a “mouthpiece of the government”—in which the
government determines what is “best” for its citizens to
know. Press seen as extension of the Communist Party or the
government
 China

 Cuba

 North Korea
 The former USSR
Communist Theory of Press

 Russian Revolution in 1917

 Modeled on Authoritarian Theory
 Added the agenda setting/news was to communicate the
doctrines of the state and the Communist Party to the masses
 Authoritarian did not rely as heavily on use as propaganda;
less information in general
Communist Theory of Press

 Authoritarian—controlled system of news

 Soviet Communist—planned system of news

Last Rights: Revisiting Four Theories of the Press:
 1995 book written by John Nerone
 Update of earlier four theories
 Argued four theories were not a timeless set of
categories
 Saw them as a critique set within a particular time
period

A fifth theory?
 Development theory
 Norms for the press in the twenty-first century
 Development theory:
Addresses the special needs of emerging
nations
Governments may feel that they need to
restrict freedom of the press in order to
promote industry, national identity, and
partnerships with neighboring nations