Normative Theories

Expected Values Media is

Supposed to Adhere to
Normative Theories
 Mass media are presumed not only to have
certain objective effects but also to serve a
social purpose
 So some of the effects of mass media are both
intended and socially valued
 These include – to inform, express plurality of
views & voices, help in the formation of public
opinion and facilitate debate
Normative Theories
 Entertainment and other cultural activities
can also be seen as approved purposes of
the media
 Sources are those who own or direct the
media and work in them
 Provide channels of communication for
government, authorities and individual
communicators
Normative Theories
 There are different opinion on what the media
ought or ought not be doing and how well they
are performing
 However, there are great expectations from the
media
 Normative theories refer to the rights and
responsibility that underlie these expectation of
benefit from the media to individuals and society
Normative Theories
 Sources of Normative Obligations:
 In liberal democracies media do not per se
have any obligation to fulfill positively
valued purpose
 They are usually not run by government or
run on behalf of society
 The responsibilities are largely the same
as any other individual or institution
Normative Theories
 They are expected to do no harm, beyond
that media are free to choose or avoid
various positive ends
 At the same time media collectively resent
any attempt to prescribe their role in
society
 However, certain unwritten obligations
exist and are respected in practice
Normative Theories

 Normative theories cover both internally

chosen purposes and the claims from
outside about how the media should
conduct themselves
Normative Theories
 Some of the sources of normative expectations
stem from the historical context that have
shaped the role of media institutions such as
links with democratic political institutions, source
of news and former of public opinion
 The orientation of journalism to the public life of
the national society and international community
 Expressed in custom and convention,
professional claims and aspirations
Normative Theories
 Claim laid on the media by the general
public expressed as public opinion or as
an audience
 Media are tied into a nexus of market
relation with their customers and clients
for example advertisers which has an
influence on their conduct
Normative Theories
 Another source of expectation is the state and
agents of government
 Extent of this influence may vary from system to
system but it always has some capacity of
reward or punishment
 Media usually see some self-interest in
respecting legitimate wishes and interests of the
state specially in times of emergency or threat to
public order
Normative Theories
 Other sources of influence are more diffused
and stems from many interests –
 Economic, cultural and social that are effected
by media specially in the context of news
 Powerful individuals and organizations can be
hurt by the news or may need it to further their
ends
 So they keep a close eye on the media
Normative Theories
 Media and Public Interest:
 It is apparent there are many pressures on
media to deliver certain benefits
 There is a ‘public interest’ in how media
conducts themselves
 Media carry out certain important at times
essential tasks in contemporary society
Normative Theories
 It is in general interest that media perform
these tasks and perform them well
 It also implies that media should be
operating according to the same basic
principles governing the rest of society,
specially – justice, fairness, democracy
and contemporary notions of desirable
social and cultural values
Normative Theories
 It is in public interest that media do not cause
social problems and extreme offence
 Media usually follow some goal of their own
choosing
 This goal can be defined in cultural, professional
or political terms
 But most often it is the goal of making a profit as
a business
 These goals may at times converge
Normative Theories
 Who and how do we determine what is in
‘public interest’?
 There are always diverse and conflicting
views on what is good for society
 Some would argue that it is better for
media not pursue any normative goal at all
 Media should be left free to do what they
want within limits of law
Normative Theories
 When media is run on a commercial basis
the media’s view of what constitutes public
interest tends to equate it with what
interest the audience
 This shifts the responsibility for norms,
ethics and values to society
Normative Theories
 The issue of ‘public interest is complex as it is
important
 As in the case of government there are
questions of authority and power
 Media is similarly placed
 The justification for their freedoms, the wide
ranging role in society, politics and culture and
their place in regulatory order
 Is presumed on the public interest they serve
Normative Theories
 Power of the media like the power of the
government has to be used in legitimate ways
which is linked to the notion of responsibility
 There is transcendental quality attached to the
notion of public interest
 It is different from and superior to particular
interests
 This entails a longer term perspective – in which
claims of future generations and society are
included as well as immediate needs
Normative Theories

 Public interest works in an imperfect world

which results in inevitable tension,
compromise and improvisation according
to circumstances
Normative Theories
 What constitutes public interest and how
its content maybe established?
 One is majoritarian view such as the
popular vote
 In the case of the media this would equate
the public interest with ‘giving the public
what it wants’, pleasing the majority of its
consumers in the media market
Normative Theories
 The other view is ‘Unitarian’ or ‘absolutist’
 The issue of public interest would be
decided by reference to some single value
or ideology
 May lead to a paternalistic system where
leaders and /or experts decide about what
is good for you
Normative Theories
 Between the paternalistic and the free market
model there are alternatives but non offer clear
guidance
 The other main way may involve debate and
discussion as a means of democratic decision
making on the one hand and on the other
judicial/judicious determination of what is not in
public interest in a given case
 Also a number of ways in which media can be
made accountable
Normative Theories
 Whatever the concept of public interest the mass media
everywhere have been subjected to extensive control
and regulation by law
 Both formal and informal means have been used
 With a view of getting the media to do what society
wants and prevent them from doing what it does not
want
 The actual means of control vary a great deal from one
national media system to another influenced by the
usual political, cultural & economic determinants
 They vary also from medium to medium
 And are rarely internally coherent or consistent
Normative Theories
 The usual expectations from the media for serving public interest
are:
 Freedom of publication
 Plurality of ownership
 Diversity of information, opinion and culture
 Support for public order & security of the state
 Extensive (near universal) reach
 Quality of cultural provision
 Adequate support for democratic institutions
 Respect for human rights
 Avoiding harm & offence to society & individuals
 Meeting international Obligations
Normative Theories
 Early Approaches to Normative theories:
 Initial interest and concern was for the role
of journalism in the political process
 The term ‘Fourth Estate’ was coined by
Edmund Burke in the lat 18th century
England to refer to the power possessed
by the press on par with the other three
estates Lords, Church and Commons
Normative Theories
 The power of the press came from its ability to
give or withhold publicity and from its informative
capacity
 The first key freedom was to report and
comment on the deliberations, assemblies and
acts of government
 This was considered the cornerstone of
representative democracy and of progress
 All reformist and revolutionary movements that
followed stressed on the freedom of the press
and used it practice to further their causes
Normative Theories
 Mainly in the Anglo-American thought freedom
of the press was closely linked to individual
freedom and with liberal and utilitarian
philosophy
 And found support for press freedom in
arguments against censorship and suppression
of opinion
 And later articulated as free market of ideas
Normative Theories
 The historical context of the struggle for media
freedom was invariably one of antagonism
between some publication and authority first
church and later government
 Press freedom almost came to be defined as
freedom from restriction
 That is how it has been defined in legal terms in
the United States in the First Amendment
Normative Theories
 Whereas in many other counties it is the right
given to its citizens Netherlands, India
 By the 20th century it was realized that freedom
expressed purely in negative terms of rejecting
government interference was failing to give
voice to the full meaning of freedom of
expression specially in relation to access
 Instead of being a vehicle for advancing freedom
and democracy it was becoming increasingly a
means of making money
Normative Theories
 Particularly making money and
propaganda for the new and powerful
capitalist classes, specifically the ‘press
barons’
 In response to wide spread criticism of the
American press for its sensationalism and
commercialization as also for its political
imbalance and monopoly tendencies
Normative Theories
 This led to a private commission of enquiry the
Hutchins Commission (1947)
 To examine areas and circumstances under
which the press of the US is ‘succeeding or
failing to discover where free expression is not
limited, whether by government censorship,
pressure from traders or advertisers or
unwisdom of its owners or timidity of its
management’
Normative Theories
 The Commission forms an important
milestone
 Initiated by government for the first time
the need for government intervention to
put right the ills of the press was
contemplated in the heartland of
capitalism
Normative Theories
 Set and example to other countries in the
process of reconstruction in the post
World War II scenario
 Made a theoretical contribution
 Findings of the report were critical of the
frequent failings and for limited access it
gave to voices outside the circle of a
privileged and powerful minority
Normative Theories

 The report coined the term ‘social

responsibility’ and named the key
journalistic standards that the press
should try to maintain
Normative Theories
 Criteria of Social Responsibility:
 Provide a full truthful, comprehensive and
intelligent account of the days events in the
context which gives them meaning
 It should serve as a forum for the exchange of
comment and criticism and be a common carrier
of public expression
 Press should give a representative picture of
constituent groups of society and also present
and clarify the goals and values of society
Normative Theories

 The Commission criticized the

sensationalism and the mixing of news
with editorial opinion
Normative Theories Normative
Theories
 The Commission supported the concept of
a diverse, objective, informative, and
independent press institution
 Which would avoid causing offence or
encourage crime, violence or disorder
 Social responsibility was to be attained by
self control and not government
intervention
Normative Theories
 Siebert et al 1956:
 “The social responsibility theory holds that
government must not only allow freedom;
but must actively promote it…… When
necessary, therefore, the government
should act to protect the freedom of its
citizens”
Normative Theories
 The social responsibility theory sees media
ownership as a form of public trust, rather than
unlimited private franchise
 ‘Inseparable from the right of the press to be
free has been the right of the people to have a
free press’. But the public interest has advanced
beyond that point; it is the right of the public to
have and adequate press. And of the two rights,
it is the right of the people that takes
precedence’ (William Hocking Member)
Normative Theories
 Another response to the perceived failings of
mass newspaper press, its commercialization
also its lack of political independence was the
development of professional journalism
 This took several forms in the organization of
associations, formation of press councils and
drawing up codes of practice and ethics
 The phenomenon reflects the general process of
professionalization
Normative Theories
 Principles in Journalistic Codes:
 Truthfulness of information
 Clarity of information
 Defense of public rights
 Responsibilities in forming public opinion
 Standards of gathering and presenting
information
 Respecting the integrity of the sources
Normative Theories

 Common provisions include:

 The prohibition of discrimination on the
basis of race ethnicity, religion etc
 Respect for privacy
 Prohibition of bribes or any other benefits
Normative Theories
 Codes are often little more than a
collection of disparate and practical
prescription that do not express any single
organizing idea about the nature of society
or the overall social purpose of institution
 Many different codes reflect differences in
the conventions and traditions of the
country concerned and other interests
Normative Theories
 Codes are nearly always national but
there has been some movement to
recognize the broader significance of
news in world affairs
 UNESCO initiative for a set of
‘international principles of professional
ethics in journalism’ 1993
Normative Theories
 Drew attention to right to information and
the need to respect universal values and
the diversity of cultures
 Promotion of human rights, peace,
national liberation, social progress and
democracy
Normative Theories
 There has been a certain concern about the
western bias in the codes evolved and posited
as givens
 However, studies have revealed a broad
consensus on standards of truth and objectivity
as central values for journalism
 There is a continuing search for internationally
valid standards of journalistic practice
Normative Theories
 There has also been an observation that there is
a disjunction between proclaimed adherence to
liberal theory of journalism and actual practice in
different countries
 The gap between theory and practice is on two
main points
 One relates to the investigative, critical and
advocacy of the journalist, when in practice most
journalism operates in close symbiosis with
government, political parties and powerful
economic interests
Normative Theories
 From this one could conclude that journalistic
codes are inadequate and incomplete as theory
 And may be regarded as a particular ideology
for a particular purpose
 Many organizations have their own set of
guidelines
 There are also signs of self regulation to protect
the public from possible harm or the industry
from possible outside pressure
Normative Theories
 Four theories of the Press:
 Significant contribution to the theory was
made by Siebert et. Al, in 1956 in their
book Four Theories of the Press
 They describe the then current alternative
theories of the press, concerning the
relation between press and society
Normative Theories

 The basic premise of the book being the

press always takes on the form coloration
of the social and political structures within
which it operates
 It particularly reflects the system of social
control
Normative Theories
 The four theories posited are:
 Authoritarian
 Soviet
 Libertarian
 Social Responsibility
Normative Theories
 The authoritarian theory is really a
description of two or more centuries of
control of the press by various repressive
regimes
 Its fundamental guiding principle as
articulated by Samuel Johnson 18th
century English writer
Normative Theories
 “Every society has a right to preserve
public peace and order, and therefore has
a good right to prohibit the propagation of
opinion which have a dangerous
tendency”
 Restraining opinion maybe morally wrong
but is politically right
Normative Theories
 This theory holds that the press and other media
should always be subordinate to established
authority and should do nothing to undermine it.
The press should avoid offence to the majority of
dominant moral and political values. The
authoritarian theory justifies advance censorship
and punishment for deviation from externally
set guidelines. Unacceptable attack on authority,
deviation from official policy, or offences against
moral codes should be criminal offences.
Normative Theories
 The theory is easily identified in a dictatorial or
repressive society. However, what is often not
recognized that under certain circumstances,
media are subjected to authoritarian tendencies
even in liberal democracies, an apparent
example is the Emergency of 1975 in India.
However, in India, but what is often overlooked
that despite the formation of Prasar Bharati
Normative Theories
 The Soviet Press Theory:
 The Communist Media Theory is also
known as the Soviet Media Theory. After
the 1917 revolution the Soviet media was
reorganized in line with the new political
system. The reorganization was derived
from the Marxist understanding of society
and the role of the party and the media
Normative Theories
 The premise being that the new
government under the Communist Party
represented the working class whose
interest they are meant to serve. Private
ownership of the press or other media are
ruled out. The media must serve positive
functions in society relating to information,
education, motivation and mobilization in
pursuance of socialist objectives.
Normative Theories
 The media must project society in
accordance with the Marxist-Leninist
principles. This perspective is supposed to
entail support of progressive movement
within the country and abroad.
Normative Theories
 Since the responsibility of promoting socialist
ideology rests with the government under the
leadership of the Communist party the ultimate
control of the media rests with the state and are
integrated with other instruments of political life
within these limits the media are expected to be
self regulatory: act responsibly, evolve and
follow norms of professional conduct and
respond to peoples needs and aspirations.
Normative Theories
 The presses in Communist regimes have been
seen within the frame work of authoritarian
theory and the state described as totalitarian.
However, such parameters of analysis are
based on an understanding that posits liberal
capitalist press as the ideal. But if one accepts
that there are other systemic possibilities and
those systems have different media structures
and expectations from the press one has to
acknowledge the need to study the Communist
media system on its own terms
Normative Theories
 The book was published at the height of cold
war when both sides were pitted in a battle for
the hearts and minds of the still uncommitted
world
 Freedom and unfreedom were posited as the
central issues
 It was claimed that the four theories as
articulated formed part of this program
 Nerone 1995 ‘the authors uncritically accepted
the myth of the free press in service of society
because it suited the interest of the owners
Normative Theories

 Press freedom was closely identified with

property rights – the ownership of the
means of publications neglecting the
economic barriers to access and the
abuse of monopoly
Normative Theories
 Development Media Theory
 The limited application of the four established
theories of the press to Third World countries,
which are vastly different from each other and
western countries, and with fast changing
economic and political conditions, has led to the
birth of a new approach whereby communication
is used to carry out development tasks in line
with nationally established policy –hence the
formulation of development communication
theory.
Normative Theories

 The best source for information on this

issue is the UNESCO sponsored
International Commission for the study of
Communication Problems (McBride
Commission) published in Many Voices
One World (1980).
Normative Theories
 Certain unique characteristics of developing
countries limited the applicability of other
theories to these countries. Some of these
features were absence of communication
infrastructure, dependence on the developed
world for hard ware and software, the
commitment of these societies to economic,
political and social development as a primary
national task and the developing countries’
awareness of their similar identity and interest in
international politics
Normative Theories
 As a result the developing countries;
overriding concern was how to use mass
media for nation building. Therefore, in the
interest of this task of national
development, the freedom of the media
and of journalist needs to be curbed to an
extent
Normative Theories
 Democratic Participation Theory
 The democratic participation theory is the
most recent addition to the list of
normative theories, although it has greater
relevance for liberal developed societies
but has some elements of the
development media theory.
Normative Theories
 According to McQuail this theory is most
difficult to formulate “partly because it
lacks full legitimation and incorporation
into media institutions and partly because
some of its tenets are already to be found
in some of the other theories”. However,
as this theory a challenge to some of the
dominant theories it deserves to be looked
at separately.
Normative Theories
 The main features of this theory relate to
the needs, interests and aspirations of the
active receiver in a political society. It is
concerned with the right to information and
the right to answer back, the right to use
the means of communication for
interaction in the small scale setting of the
community.
Normative Theories
 This theory supports multiplicity of media,
smallness of scale of operation and
horizontality of communication at all
levels. It opposes uniform, centralized,
high cost, highly professionalized and
state controlled media.
Normative Theories
 UN agencies have favored this approach
and can be seen in the support given to
community radio. Its relevance for
developing countries is also growing the
context of greater demand for the right to
information from the grass root level. In
India we have recently legislated a Right
to Information Bill.