The liberal theory of free press- James Curran

“the freedom to publish in the free market ensures that the press reflects a wide range of opinions and interests in society”

“the market based press is independent because it owes allegiance only to the public”

“the press is not Representative, because it is owned and controlled by the powerful”

“the standard themes of liberal theory are open to more far reaching objections that are provided by the press commissions”

Broadcasting and the theory of public service- Jean Seaton

“British broadcasting was started as a public service, and this proved as creative commercially as it was innovative culturally.”

“the BBC creating a image of its audience as ‘participants’ in the great affairs of the nation”

“broadcasting in Britain- monopoly-duopoly- always depended on an assumption of commitment to an undivided good.”

“one cause of the collapse of the principle of public service broadcasting has been the deterioration in the relationship between the state and broadcasting institutions.”

capilist media- big conglumerates, making capital

public service media- BBC, dosent make profits, reinvest money into the business, role is to inform the public

civil society media- very small independent media- parish newsletter, hospital radio, etc

Liberal theory is the freedom to to publish in the free market to “ensure that the press reflects a wide range of options and interests in society.”- quote taken from ‘th liberal theory of press freedom by Curran.

“the press is the peoples watchdog, scrutinizing the actions of the government and holding the countries rulers to account.” – basically explaining that the press is the way of providing information to the public about what is happening in the world and to give flack to the government. – curran

Costs to publish used to be high however the advances of technology means that nearly anyone is free to publish whatever they like for a smaller amount of money.

In the 80’s new technologies came out and therefore should have increased the number of newspapers being produced however it didn’t, there are still the same amount of papers. This proves his theory that there is not enough diversification in the press. This can effect the American election as it may impact who people vote for. The press can do this by showing a candidate in a certain light.

Sinclair-owned tv channels- all say the same thing pushing trump. Eg fox

CAPITALIST MEDIA- CONGLOMERATES- AIM IS CAPITAL PROFITS (murdoc)

Public service media- in public interest- tax pays for public service broadcast- money goes back into the business for the public.

civil society media- really independent services- eg jersey hospital radio. Parish news letters (niche)

tension between the 3, fear that the PBC will be lost and the capital media will win.

5 quotes from The Theory of Liberal Free Press:

1. “The market-based press is independent because it owes allegiance only to the public.”
2. “In the thirty years after 1977, there was a major expansion of local press concentration, but a small reduction in the dominant three groups’ share of national press circulation”
3. “News papers have poured money into developing news sites, thereby pre-empting the rise of rivals.”
4. “The press commissions had slightly more success in seeking to keep the press and broadcasting industries separate, in the interests of maintaining media pluralism.”
5. “Public dissatisfaction with the press, registered periodically in opinion polls, continued to be high”.

5 Quotes from The Role of Public Service Broadcasting:

1. “The influence of broadcasting upon the mind and speech of the nation’, made it an urgent necessity in the national interest that the broadcasting service at all times should be conducted in the best possible manner and to the best possible advantage of the people.”
2. “Peacock exposed many of the contradictions in the Thatcherite espousal of market forces.”
3. “The independence of broadcasting from the states has recently been seen as the most important condition of the services accountability.”
4. “The significance of broadcasting independence is also disputed. One side suggests that the independence is functional and must be extended to guarantee accountable broadcasting”

THE THEORY OF THE LIBERAL FREE PRESS 

• “Ensures that the press reflects a wide range of opinions and interests in society” – Covering all grounds and not discriminating against anything
• “The market based press is independent because it owes allegiance only to the public” – Loyalty or commitment to a superior or to a group or cause, have the public’s best interest at heart
• “The press’s autonomy enables it to fearlessly scrutinize government” – Independence or freedom, as of the will or one’s actions
• “The Commission expected to to find that ‘the press as a whole gives an opportunity for all important points of view to be effectively presented in terms of the varying standards of taste’ ” – Not leaving anything out, not exclusive
• “The assumption that ‘anyone’ is free to start a new paper has been an illusion ever since the industrialization of the press” – There isn’t really any ‘freedom’ and there are limitations

THE ROLE OF PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING

• “It wanted a public service orientation, but not the framework of public regulation underpinning it”
• “It favoured a more balanced, responsible approach, but saw merit in the free market tradition of outspoken comment” – Wanted things to be more equal but found something better that they could manipulate
• “The sum total of their efforts was failed anti-monopoly legislation and ineffectual self-regulation”
• “Publishers draped the mantle of freedom around their shoulders, and created doubt and uncertainty about the desirability of reform” – Wanted it in their personal best interest, took advantage of the ‘freedom’
• “Public dissatisfaction with the press, registered periodically in opinion polls, continued to be high”

• Two levels and three political economies of information
• Economy (ownership) and Culture (public circulation of ideas)
• Capitalist media: Big conglomerates, make money, media as a commodity
• Public Service Media: Inform the public, put money back into the business, don’t want to make big profits but want to sustain, in public interest
• Civil Society Media: Independent/niche, specific to something, little groups, e.g Parish newsletter

Curran – liberal free press

• The market based press is independent because it owes allegiance only to the public
• Wartime regulation was blamed for preventing new publications from springing up to make changes in public demand
• The assumption that ‘anyone’ is free to start a new paper has been an illusion ever since the industrialisation of the press
• The emergence of sub regional monopolies in which all or nearly all in ‘competing’ local morning, evening and weekly papers were owned by the same group
• They drew attention to four underlying problems. High entry costs render the press less accountable; the growth of chain ownerships limits press diversity; wider businesses entanglements weaken the press’s claims to disinterest; and the recurrence of market failure undermines those processes which are said

3 types of media ownership

Capitalist media – owned by corporations

Public service media – in the public interest to help inform

Civil society media – citizen control and independent (Hospital Radio)

James Curran

• the free market, it is also argued, makes the press a representative institution.
• the market based press is independent because it owes allegiance only to the public.
• perhaps the closest the press commissions came to following a social market strategy was to advocate special anti-monopoly measures for the press
• the press complains commission (PCC) was established in 1991
• the campaign for press and broadcasting freedom (CPBF), established in 1979, continued to be an eloquent exponent of reform.

Jean Seaton

• British broadcasting was started as a public service, and this proved as creative commercially as it was innovative culturally

three types of media ownership

‘anyone is free to start a daily national newspaper, but few can afford even to contemplate the prospect’ – Curran

‘the national press was overwhelmingly right wing… conservative party was 71% greater than conservative votes as a percentage of votes cast’ – Curran

‘high entry costs were found to curtail the freedom to publish in other sectors of the press between 2-3 million’ – Curran

‘the leading three properties share of the national daily press had soared up 89%’ – Curran

‘ if the press commissions flirtation with social market policies was a failure, the tentative steps they took to promote the professionalization of the press were scarcely more successful’ – Curran

‘until the 1980’s the broadcasting in Britain was not fettered, but liberated for cultural and political expansion by the requirements of public service’ – Seaton

‘public serving regulation has secured the survival or a successful broadcasting industry, one which became most significant economically and which has become and important exporter of programmed while continuing to discuss and mold national issues’ – Seaton

‘in 1980 public service became unfashionable. Yet those who derided it often had a financial interest in weakening it , or alternately, or disliked the political autonomy of broadcasting’ – Seaton

Corporations- what companies tell us and want us to think- get money

Public- government and state- inform public

Civil- us people- independent i.e school radio or hospital radio

(The Liberal Theory of the Press) Curran Quotes:

“The advent of the internet has enhanced the freedom to publish by lowering entry costs”

“High entry costs were found to curtail the freedom to publish in other sectors of the press”

“It also noted that the national press was overwhelmingly right wing and manifestly unrepresentative”

“The first commission attached great importance to the role of competition in making the press responsive to the public”

(Broadcasting and The Theory Of Public Service) Seaton Quotes:

“The work of broadcasting should be regarded as a public service for a social purpose”

“We have no reason to suppose that, in practice, divergent views of public interest have been held by the Corporation and government departments”

“He suggests that the current interpretation of broadcasting independence has seriously damaged the political system”

“Thus, without a commitment of public service, broadcasters are increasingly vulnerable to detailed political interference in the content of programmes”

“Broadcasting needs to find a new relationship to the state – and a new form of commitment to public service, and indeed a new definition of public service that will work in the conditions of increased competition”

Capitalist Media – Bigger Corporation, bigger businesses trying to make a capital

Public Service Media – BBC, is in the public interest and don’t make money

Civil Society Media – Independent stations i.e (hospital radios, school or university radio)

• according to classic liberal theory, the freedom to publish in the free market ensures that the press reflects a wide range of opinions and interests in society.

• The market based press is interdependent because it owes allegiance only to the public.

• The press is the peoples watchdog, scrutinizing the actions of government and holding the country’s rulers to account.

• By 1977, all but one of the leading publishing groups in both the international and regional press were part of larger conglomerates with holdings in fields as diverse as oil, transport, mining, construction, engineering, finance or the leisure industries.”

• ” In the provincial press as a whole, it concluded, there is nothing approaching monopoly and we can see no strong tendency towards monopoly.

Capitalist Media- aim is profits

Public Service media- Tax pays for public services broadcasts, doesnt make any profit, money goes back into the service

Civil Society Media- very interdependent services (hospital radio)

Curran – Press Freedom

– Newspapers have poured money into developing new sites, thereby pre-emptying the rise of rivals.

– The advert of the internet has enhanced the the freedom to publish by lowering entry costs.

– The freedom to publish in the free market ensures that the press reflects a wide range of opinions and interests in society.

– The national press was overwhelmingly right wing and manifestly unrepresentative.

Media ownership:

Capitalist media – Fox News

Public Service media – BBC

Civil Society media – Oh Magazine

ESSAY STRUCTURE

Liberal press theory: the freedom of the press is rooted in the freedom to publish in the free market. This ensures that the press reflects a wide range of opinions and interests in society. If a viewpoint is not expressed in the press, this is only because it lacks a sufficient following to sustain it in the market-place. 

Habermas’s theory of communicative action rests on the idea that social order ultimately depends on the capacity of actors to recognize the inter-subjective validity of the different claims on which social cooperation depends.

CAPITALISM: an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state