The study of
communication and mass media has led to the formulation of many theories: structural and functional theories believe that
social structures are real and function in ways that can be observed
objectively; cognitive and behavioral
theories tend to focus on psychology of individuals; interactionist
theories view social life as a process of interaction; interpretive
theories uncover the ways people actually understand their own experience; and critical theories are concerned with the
conflict of interests in society and the way communication perpetuates
domination of one group over another .
The earliest theories were those propounded by
Western theorists Siebert, Paterson and Schramm in their book Four Theories Of the Press (1956). These were termed "normative theories" by McQuail
in the sense that they "mainly express ideas of how the media ought to or
can be expected to operate under a prevailing set of conditions and
values." Each of the four original or
classical theories is based on a particular political theory or economic
scenario.
CLASSICAL
THEORIES
Authoritarian
Theory
According to this
theory, mass media, though not under the direct
control of the State, had to follow its bidding. Under an Authoritarian approach in Western Europe, freedom of
thought was jealously guarded by a few people (ruling classes), who were
concerned with the emergence of a new middle class and were worried about the
effects of printed matter on their thought process. Steps
were taken to control the freedom of expression. The
result was advocacy of complete dictatorship. The
theory promoted zealous obedience to a hierarchical superior and reliance on
threat and punishment to those who did not follow the censorship rules or did
not respect authority. Censorship of the press was
justified on the ground that the State always took precedence over the
individual's right to freedom of expression.
This theory stemmed from the authoritarian
philosophy of Plato (407 - 327 B.C), who thought that the State was safe
only in the hands of a few wise men. Thomas
Hobbes (1588 - 1679), a British academician, argued that the power to
maintain order was sovereign and individual objections were to be ignored. Engel, a German thinker further reinforced the
theory by stating that freedom came into its supreme right only under
Authoritarianism.
The world has been witness to authoritarian
means of control over media by both dictatorial and democratic governments.
This movement is based on the right of an
individual, and advocates absence of restraint. The
basis of this theory dates back to 17th century England when the printing press
made it possible to print several copies of a book or pamphlet at cheap rates. The State was thought of as a major source of
interference on the rights of an individual and his property. Libertarians regarded taxation as institutional
theft. Popular will (vox populi) was
granted precedence over the power of State.
Advocates of this theory were Lao Tzu, an
early 16th century philosopher, John Locke of Great Britain in the17th
century, John Milton, the epic poet ("Aeropagitica")
and John Stuart Mill, an essayist ("On Liberty").
Milton in Aeropagitica in 1644, referred to a self righting process if
free expression is permitted "let truth and falsehood grapple." In 1789, the French, in their Declaration Of The
Rights Of Man, wrote "Every citizen may speak, write and publish freely."
Out of such doctrines came the idea of a
"free marketplace of ideas." George Orwell defined libertarianism as
"allowing people to say things you do not want to hear". Libertarians argued that the press should be seen as
the Fourth Estate reflecting public opinion.
Virulent critics of the Free Press Theory were
Wilbur Schramm, Siebert and Theodore Paterson. In
their book Four Theories Of Press, they stated "pure libertarianism
is antiquated, outdated and obsolete." They
advocated the need for its replacement by the Social Responsibility theory. This theory can be said to have been initiated in the
United States by the Commission of The Freedom Of Press, 1949. The commission found that the free market approach to
press freedom had only increased the power of a single class and has not served
the interests of the less well-off classes. The
emergence of radio, TV and film suggested the need for some means of
accountability. Thus the theory advocated some
obligation on the part of the media to society. A
judicial mix of self regulation and state regulation and high professional
standards were imperative.
Social Responsibility theory thus became the
modern variation in which the duty to one"s conscience was the primary basis
of the right of free expression.
This theory is derived
from the ideologies of Marx and Engel that "the ideas of the ruling
classes are the ruling ideas". It was thought
that the entire mass media was saturated with bourgeois ideology. Lenin thought of private ownership as being
incompatible with freedom of press and that modern technological means of
information must be controlled for enjoying effective freedom of press.
The theory advocated that the sole purpose of
mass media was to educate the great masses of workers and not to give out
information. The public was encouraged to give feedback as it was the only way
the media would be able to cater to its interests.
Two more theories were later added as the
"four theories of the press" were not fully applicable to the
non-aligned countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, who were committed to
social and economic development on their own terms. The two theories were:
The underlying fact behind
the genesis of this theory was that there can be no development without
communication. Under the four classical theories, capitalism was legitimized,
but under the Development communication theory, or
Development Support Communication as it is otherwise called, the media
undertook the role of carrying out positive developmental programmes, accepting
restrictions and instructions from the State. The
media subordinated themselves to political, economic, social and cultural
needs. Hence the stress on "development communication" and
"development journalism". There was
tacit support from the UNESCO for this theory. The
weakness of this theory is that "development" is often equated with
government propaganda.
This theory vehemently
opposes the commercialization of modern media and its top-down non-participant
character. The need for access and right to communicate is stressed.
Bureaucratic control of media is decried.
2)
MAGIC BULLET/ HYPODERMIC NEEDLE/ STIMULUS RESPONSE THEORY
Before the first World War, there was no
separate field of study on Communication, but knowledge about mass
communication was accumulating. An outcome of
World War I propaganda efforts, the Magic Bullet or Hypodermic Needle
Theory came into existence. It propounded the
view that the mass media had a powerful influence on the mass audience and
could deliberately alter or control peoples' behaviour.
Klapper (1960) formulated several generalizations on the
effects of mass media. His research findings are as follows: "Mass-media
ordinarily does not serve as a necessary and sufficient cause of audience
effect, but rather functions through a nexus of mediating factors and
influences. These mediating factors render mass-communication as a contributory
agent in a process of reinforcing the existing conditions."
The main mediating factors which he considers
responsible for the functions and effects of mass communications are
- selective exposure i.e., people's tendency to expose themselves to those mass communications which are in agreement with their attitudes and interests; and
- selective perception and retention i.e., people's inclination to organize the meaning of mass communication messages into accord with their already existing views.
In the early 40"s, before the invention of
television, Lazarsfeld, Berelson and Goudet conducted an American survey
on mass campaigns. The study revealed that
informal social relationships had played a part in modifying the manner in which
individuals selected content from the media campaign. The
study also indicated that ideas often flowed from the radio and newspapers to
opinion leaders and from them to the less active sections of society. Thus, informal social groups have some degree of
influence on people and mould the way they select media content and act on it.
Figure
2.1
Source:
CIA Advertising at www.ciadvertising.org/ortega/Theories.htm (used by
permission)
This theory simply
stated that mass communication media channels communicate directly to the mass
audience without the message being filtered by opinion leaders.
This was based on the
idea that there are a number of relays in the communication flow from a source
to a large audience.
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