Normative Theories

Media/Press Theories/ Normative Theories

Social Development Democratic

Authoritaria Free Press Responsibility Participant
Support
n Theory Theory Theory Theory
theory

Local media,
Media role is
channels should
to bring
Complete Complete be opened for
development
Lack of media freedom of freedom of grassroot
in the society
independence press without press with empowerment
by supporting
responsibility responsibility and participation
its govt. in
in the democratic
their efforts.
governance.
Authoritarian Theory
Government Media
 (Based on
the
Recommend
ations given
by Hutchins
Commission
in 1947 )

Government Media
 Basic principles of Social Responsibility Theory summarized
by Dennis McQuail (1987)
Media should :
- Accept and fulfill certain obligations towards the society.

- Maintain professional standards of informativeness, truth, accuracy, objectivity

and balance.
- Be self-regulating within the framework of law and established institutions.
- Avoid whatever might lead to crime, violence or civil disorder or give offense
to minority groups.
- Be pluralist and reflect the diversity of their society.
- Give access to various points of view and to rights of reply back.

- Society and the public have right to ask for high standards of performance of
the media.

- Be accountable and transparent not only to the society but also to their
employers.
 Media Development Theory

Goals
It emphasizes the following goals:
·         The primacy of the national development task.
·         The pursuit of cultural and informational autonomy.
·         Support for democracy
·         Solidarity with other developing countries.

The theory envisions setting up:

·         Government agencies.
·         Monitor training and licensing of media practitioners.
·         Control development of media institutions.
·         Regularly censor-media content before distribution.
·         Issue regular guidelines for day-to-day operation of media
 Democratic Participant Theory
• Focuses on the needs, interests and aspirations of a ‘receiver’ in a
political society.
• The rights to relevant information, to answer back, to use new, local
means of communication for interaction in small scale setting.
• Favours multiplicity, smallness to scale, locality,
deinstutionalization, interchange of sender-receiver roles,
interaction.
• Media institutions are in control of their audience