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One must first understand what a democratic system is, and its importance on journalism. According to Lyman Tower Sargent, the seven types of liberty that compose a democratic ideology are:
The right to vote.
Freedom of speech.
Freedom of the press.
Freedom of assembly.
Freedom of religion.
Freedom of movement.
Freedom from arbitrary treatment by the political and legal system.
While all of the above liberties are vital to a democratic society, those most important to journalism are freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the freedom to assembly. These liberties have not always been present, and in some parts of the world they are still not awarded. One can view the present state of liberties granted to any country at the website www.freedomhouse.org. At the time of writing this paper an update with regards to Kazakhstan had been posted stating that the Kazakhstani court has ruled to shut down an independent newspaper. Kazakhstani is clearly limited in its freedoms and is not alone in these limitations. In other news, Turkey’s government is using leverage over media to limit public debate on government actions, and going so far as to punish journalists and media owners who dispute this position. Ukraine has also been the center of news recently, with protests and political strife. The Ukraine government has failed to protect freedom of expression and corruption, and poor ethical conditions continue to infiltrate the Ukraine media. This lends credence to my stating that not all parts of the world live under a democratic system of press. Journalism continues to be a very dangerous, and volatile profession for many, and numerous journalists have been killed in their quest to spread the truth. Those fortunate enough to...
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...tical Ideologies. USA, University of Missouri 2009
Siebert, Fred Seaton et al. Four Theories of the Press. USA, University of Illinois 1984
Marx, Karl and Engels, Friederich. The Communist Manifesto. London Pluto Press 2008
Online Works Cited
Democracy in Crisis: Corruption, Media, and Power in Turkey. Freedom House http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/special-reports/democracy-crisis-corruption-media-and-power-turkey#.Uw93J-NdXDk accessed February 24, 2014
Kazakhstan Muzzles Independent Press. Freedom House http://www.freedomhouse.org/article/kazakhstan-muzzles-independent-press#.Uw93feNdXDk accessed February 24, 2014
One Step Forward, One Step Back: An Assessment of Freedom of Expression in Ukraine during its OSCE Chairmanship. Freedom House http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/special-reports/one-step-forward-one-step-back#.Uw94BONdXDk accessed February 24, 2014
Epstein, Edward J. News From Nowhere: Television and the News, Vintage, New York NY. 1973, pp. 16; Pearson, David. “The Media and Government Deception.” Propaganda Review. Spring 1989, pp. 6-11.
Theses and Professional Projects from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications. Paper 2. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/journalismdiss/2
The author provides a rough timeline of the objective norm emerging in American journalism, and explains the inner origin of these co...
The old proverb “the Pen is mightier than the sword” (Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy) still holds significance in protecting of public rights. Words such as freedom, and liberty engendered the idea for democracy. Such words formed into sentences and paragraphs enlightened the public to take action against tyranny and corruption. Freedom of the press is what ensured the general masses of their public rights. The exemplary case in which the freedom of the press played a role was the endeavors of Woodward and Bernstein to unravel the corrupted politics behind the Watergate Scandal. The movie All the President’s Men depicts the proceedings of the Watergate scandal, the scheme to attack the crux of democracy: “ the open election”. Also how the two journalists of the Washington Post progressed to unveil the relationship between the Watergate Burglary and the White House. On one hand, the movie represents the role of the media in its obligation to convey the truth to the masses. On the other hand, the movie reflects political corruption and conspiracy. The accomplishment of Woodward and Bernstein presents the importance of the interaction between the media, the government, and the general masses of society. The role of the media is not only to intervene between the State and the public, but also to take account of public ideas and to apply those ideas to new policies. Also, the media acts as a safeguard to prevent the corruption of the State. Thus, the Watergate scandal signifies the significance of the media as an intermediary between the government and the public mass.
Freedom of Press. This right is designed to discourage the government from operating in secrecy and from controlling the information citizens receive. Freedom of Assembly: United States citizens have the right to peacefully assemble to either make a point or protest against something that they don’t agree with. Freedom of Petition: Citizens have the right to petition to the government. For example, if a neighborhood wants more schools or playgrounds.... ...
One way in which government achieves this objective, is by its ability to misuse the media’s ability to set the agenda. Contrary to popular belief, media is in fact an enormous hegemony. In fact, separate independent news organizations do not exist. Rather than creating an independent structured agenda of their own, generally lesser smaller news organizations adapt to a prepared agenda, previously constructed by a higher medium. Based upon this information alone, it is quite apparent that media functions in adherence to the characteristics of a hierarchy.
Stromback, J. and Esser, F. (2009) Shaping Politics: Mediatization and Media Interventionism, in Lundby, K (eds) Mediatization: Concept, changes, consequences. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc, pp. 205-223.
Much is being discovered when the public, also known as the consumers and recipients of the news, share their views on journalistic practices. One might suggest that traditional journalism has, in due course, come to an end. Although, there are definitely problems that the public runs into with public journalism taking over. A few of those arguments include their content, the journalists, and the effects that it has on their public audience.
One of the fundamental roles of the media in a liberal democracy is to critically scrutinise governmental affairs: that is to act as a watchdog of government to ensure that the government can be held accountable by the public. However, the systematic deregulation of media systems worldwide is diminishing the ability of citizens to meaningfully participate in policymaking process governing the media (McChesney, 2003, p. 126). The relaxation of ownership rules and control, has resulted in a move away from diversity of production to a situation where media ownership is becoming increasing concentrated by just a few predominantly western global conglomerates (M...
The first is the crisis of viability. The chance of success in the journalism in the mainstream is approaching a decline due to the transformations in technologies and new access to multiple sources of information. The second is a crisis in civic adequacy. The contributions of journalism to citizenship and democracy have begun to shift and this shift has caused a question of the relevancy of journalism to democratic processes. In a democratic society journalism plays the role of the government watchdog. The effectiveness of society’s watchdog is now being challenged and in turn alternating the structure of the current democratic society. Many critical theorists of the press during the beginning of the 20th century were concerned with finding appropriate forms of public regulation of the press and journalism to ensure that journalists are writing “news and information about public affairs which sustains and nurtures citizen information, understanding and engagement and thereby a democratic polity” (Cushion and Franklin, 2015: 75) (Dahlgren, Splichal 2016). Journalism is a political entity that influences and informs the public. It is meant to work as a source of public information that helps and does not hinder the general public specifically in political processes. The article
As Americans we take pride in our liberating government. But, it is essential to ask how much we, the general public, know about our democracy. Because of the representative structure of our government, it is in our best interest to remain as knowledgeable as possible about political affairs so that we can play an active role in our democracy by voting for candidates and issues. The media, which includes print, television, and the internet, is our primary link to political events and issues. (For the purposes of this essay only print and television will be considered.) Therefore, in order to assess the success of our democracy it is necessary to assess the soundness of our media. We are lucky enough to have a media, in theory, free from government influences because of our rights to freedom of press and freedom of speech, but we are still subject to the media’s interpretation and presentation of politics, as is the danger when depending on any source for information. So, we must address how the media informs us; how successful it is at doing so; and how we should respond to it.
Malcolm X, a human rights activist, once said, “The media´s the most powerful entity on Earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and the guilty innocent, and that´s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” Through numerous studies and considerable amount of research, it has become clear that the media has a significant effect on society and its perception. This applies to all topics, but mostly to issues that are difficult for the mass to experience for themselves. For example, our views of government and social institutions are largely based on the medium’s reports, not our own experiences.
India has the largest democracy in the world and media has a powerful presence in the country. In recent times, Indian media has been subject to a lot of criticism for the manner in which they have disregarded their social responsibility. Dangerous business practices in the field of media have affected the fabric of Indian democracy. Big industrial conglomerates in the business of media have threatened the existence of pluralistic viewpoints. Post liberalisation, transnational media organisations have spread their wings in the Indian market with their own global interests. This has happened at the cost of an Indian media which was initially thought to be an agent of ushering in social change through developmental programs directed at the non-privileged and marginalised sections of the society. Though media has at times successfully played the role of a watchdog of the government functionaries and has also aided in participatory
Media is the most powerful sector of an economy. It is a tool to maintain a balanced society which is characterized by well informed people, effective democracy and social justice. In fact, media has unparallel influence on all aspects of human life in modern times.
Journalism: a profession under pressure? Journal of Media Business Studies, 6, 37-59. Scannell, P. (1995). The 'Secondary'. Social aspects of media history, Unit 9 of the MA in Mass. Communications (By Distance Learning).