Press and Government Relations

Theories of Press–Government Relations

A key distinction needs to be made between normative and empirical theories of journalism and government, that is, theories of what roles the state and media should play in relation to one another, and theories about what roles they actually play. The dominant normative theory across most of the modern world is derived from liberalism, as expressed in such classic early works as John Stuart Mill's On Liberty. This conception emphasizes the need for a press independent of the state, which will provide the basis for the independent public opinion on which the legitimacy of democratic government is based. In its later formulations, this view is connected with the idea of the news media as a “watchdog” of the state, providing a counterweight to state power.

The polar opposite to liberal theory is what Siebert, Peterson, and Schramm called, in their influential Four Theories of the Press, the Authoritarian [Page 1116]theory, in which the state is conceived as having essential responsibility for protecting the interest of society as a whole, the “oppositional” role of the press (so valued in much liberal theory) is consequently seen as socially destructive, and state control of the press or at least close cooperation between press and state are more valued than is press independence. Authoritarian theory was dominant in an earlier era. One of the most developed versions was the communist theory of journalism as an apparatus for revolutionary transformation of society. Another significant version can be found in the idea of “Asian Values” in journalism, as articulated by political leaders in authoritarian states such as Singapore and Malaysia. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahatir once wrote that the press should “conscientiously limit the exercise of its rights” and that “democratic governments have a right to control it” when it does not (quoted in Nain 2000, 146).

...