MAXWELL ADOMBILA AKALAARE
DIPLOMA 1, MORNING
INDEX NO.: DCSM 2010006
E-mail: jmarxa@yahoo.com
BlogSpot: marxadom.blogspot.com
MASS COMMUNICATION ASSIGNMENT
COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE SOCIAL RESPONSILITY THEORY WITH THE LIBERATION THEORY OF THE PRESS.
Social Responsibility Theory (SRT) and Libertarian Theory (Lib. theory) are among a total of four theories together called the Normative Theories of the press developed in 1956 by Wilbur Schramm, Siebert and Peterson.
It is meant to explain the expected relationship between the press/media and the political society, taking into consideration, structure and performance.
The SRT and the Lib. Theory are interwoven in theory and in practice so much that, a lot of similarities exist among them.
One of these is the fact that both theories advocate for the press to be independent in theory and in practice from the state and government as well as any other authority. To achieve this independence, especially in practice, a politically democratic environment which recognizes and accepts the presentation of divergent opinion on issues is also needed. This, the two theories have also captured.
This independence, they say will accord the media a neutral a machinery capable of fishing out the odds, serving as a medium for different shades of opinion and also delivering whatever information they the press deem “newsworthy”.
The two theories further advocates for the balance of ownership of the press among public and private individuals. This guard against the tendency of sole public ownership of the media which is of course, an ingredient in the authoritarian theory. As such, press independence is advocated for and practiced in both theories but can only flourish practically in a democratic environment which is again realized by both.
Another aspect similar to both theories is the demand that the press should be seen and acts as “gatekeepers “in their respective societies. By gatekeepers both theories explain that, the media should be the sole determiner of what goes in from the public (information will choose to cover) and what comes out after the processing to the public. To back this assumption, both theories demand that access to information from and to the public should not be limited by whatever means. With access to media information by the public both agreed that, the only limitation justified is ones inability to pay for the said information.
This means that both theories view the media/press as the “middleman” that exists between the “newsmakers” (governments, politicians, social institutions and other stakeholders) and the “news consumers” (the general public).
They however recognize the need to respect and protect the privacy of individuals not forgetting the media’s role to scrutinize public figures and institutions. Hence, the assertion by Peter Beaurnout and John Sweeney that the best stories are those that afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted, the ones that those in power do not want told. This means that, the media has the responsibility under both theories to dig into and report the acts and conducts of the comfortable public figures (politicians, opinion leaders, government functionaries, etc) whose lifestyles as office holders have the tendency to grief the ordinary citizens.
Again, both SRT and the Lib. theory view the public (their target audience) as rational and discerning beings capable of choosing the best among a range of divergent information. As a result, the theories advocate the gathering of wide diversity of opinions covering issues that the press deems worthy and presenting it to the public in a manner that is accessible to the public. The press according to both theories is meanwhile reminded of objectivity, impartiality and neutrality in both the gathering and delivery of these divergent opinions to the discerning rational public. This, when done will go a long way to strengthen the rational and discerning nature of the public since the press would have done its upmost duty of gathering, processing, packaging and delivering information and leaving it on to the public to exercise their discretions in which information to consume.
The SRT and the Lib theory are interrelated in principles, ideologies and even in practice such that a lot of similarities exist among them. Some of these as discussed above are;
· Both view the public as rational and discerning being as such, they (public) should be given the right to choose among a wide range of divergent information. This information should be presented on an accessible platform capable of being consumed by all interested public (audience)
· Both view the media as “gatekeepers” in the society that is mandated to watch and report the action and inaction of the newsmakers to the ordinary public. Respect for individual privacy and the need to objectively scrutinize the conducts of public figures should however be balance judiciously and
· Both theories also advocate for an independent and neutral press/media capable of being own and operated by either the public or private individuals. Both theories have however realize that, an independent press and the need for public/private press ownership as well as other principals can only thrive well in a democratic political environment.
Despite the interwoven nature of these two theories in terms of principles, ideologies and even in practice, certain contrasts still exist within them.
Among these is in the area of freedom of expression (free to criticize and publish by the press). The Lib theory sees freedom of expression by the press as an absolute right not limited by any goal or aspiration of the society. This is not the case in the SRT. It (SRT) rather sees the press as an gent of the society, as such, its freedom to expression should be done in a socially responsible manner (self limited) and also take into consideration, the private right of individuals. It has therefore advocated for a self restricted freedom of expression that tow the line of the society interest.
This means that the, press under SRT should be psychologically alert to information and opinions that have the tendency to incur developmental, peaceful, etc. interest of the society which is not the case under the Lib. theory since they advocate for absolute right to freedom of expression. As a result, Siebert, Peterson and Schramm note that “freedom of expression under the SRT is not an absolute right, as under pure Lib. theory….. One’s right to free of expression must be balanced against the private rights of others and against the vital social interest”.
More over, the Lib. theory considers the press as a part of government (the fourth estate of government alongside the executive, legislature and factionary) whereas the SRT seems to have viewed the press as an integral part of society.
This positioning of the press in relation to government and the society is very crucial especially in democratically in matured nations, if the issue of press independence and non-interference from government as advocated for by both theories is something to go by. Base on this, asserting that there is a higher likelihood of government interference in the press under the Lib. theory than it may happen under SRT is something worthy. This is because, experience (at least, to my knowledge ) has shown that in a democratically immature nation such as Ghana where the press is considered the fourth estate of government, there are difficulties and sometimes impossibilities in making the press independent from government. As usual, government will always see the press (public/state media) as a month piece in carrying out its agenda, this then result to interference which may not be the case under SRT since interference from society is only seen in the form of objective criticisms from the society (public).
Though both theories advocate for objective and balance information delivery, SRT goes beyond this to do “interpretive” reporting. This interpretive reporting takes into consideration (a) the private rights of individuals and (b) vital social interest as noted by Siebert, Peterson and Schramm earlier on. This means that the press under SRT is challenged to interpret and select the gathered information in a manner that will be beneficiary to the very social on which they exist.
In short, the SRT sees the media as a filter that is mandated to select relevant and valuable information from the various information and opinions it could have gotten. This is not the case under the Lib. theory
Another difference exists in the area of emergence and formation. The Lib theory is as a result of weaken authoritarian ideas, the emergence of progress and modernity, the need for personal freedom and democracy and the argument that, men are rational beings capable of choosing among the lot. The development of the lib theory can then be liken to the opening out of a caged bird (the press under authoritarian) into a free and liberal environment (libertarianism). This in no doubt can result in the misuse of this “strange” freedom to the abuse of individuals and society. The SRT on the other hand is a modernization of the Lib. theory having realized the potential misuse of the freedom granted the press under the lib theory. The Hutchins commission, 1947 then endorsed the principle of freedom and independence but thought it wise adding on to the press the need to be socially responsible. Due to this, the press under SRT would have had less difficulties fitting into its new environment since it was only told to maintain its liberal and independent status but add to it social responsibility. This totally differentiates the SRT from the lib theory which had to embrace itself to fit into the vast freedom and independence having being under censorship and dictatorship for quite a while.
From the above analysis, it is clear that, the interrelated nature of both theories does not spare them some differences. Among these as discussed above are;
In the SRT, the press is considered as part of the society cont in the lib, it is considered as part of the government having been taken as the fourth realm of government.
· Freedom of expression is absolutely guaranteed under the lib theory but it is self limited through responsibility under SRT.
· SRT considers the media as a filter responsible for selecting opinions that favor society but the lib theory sees the press as a “conveyor” of impartial, neutral and objective divergent views to the public and
· The Lib. theory developed from the authoritarian theory, a theory that advocated for press censorship and dependence on governments but SRT is an outgrowth or modernization of the Lib. theory, the only feature added being social responsibility.
In the nutshell, the outgrowth of SRT from the Lib. theory and the fact that, both theories are among the normative theories of the press does not take away any differences within them especially in practice. It is however crucial to admit that, their similarities outweigh the differences
REFERENCES
- MASS COMMUNICATION THEORY
- www.aber.ac.uk/media
- http://.brocku.ca/english/jlye
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