MMC 910 Journalism and Society

Session 3: Journalism History and Journalists as Historians (cont.) and Four Theories of the Press

MMC910 Journalism and Society

Speaker Aysha Taryam isn’t coming today; she sends apologies; asks you to read in her book The opposite of indifference

Today we’ll catch up with materials unavailable last week – first Barbie Zelizer’s chapter 4 in her book Taking Journalism Seriously

History and Journalism

Barbie Zelizer is a former journalist who now studies journalism and is a media critic

She has written or edited several books on journalism as historyRemembering to Forget: Holocaust Memory through the Camera’s Eye

Covering the Body: The Kennedy Assassination, the Media, and the Shaping of Collective MemoryJournalism after September 11

History and Journalism (cont.)

Zelizer understands “the importance of taking journalism seriously, both for practitioners and scholars”

Journalism matters, but many well known writers are applauded not for journalism but for their fiction that uses the same themes: this happened to Hemingway – notes Zelizer in Chapter 1 of her book Taking Journalism Seriously. News and the Academy

History and Journalism (cont.2)Two issues:

History of Journalism and

Journalism as History

Problem is what is history – no agreement although we all think we know what it is

What is History?

What do you think?

What is History? (cont.)

Stories about great people’s actions?Chronological account of facts?Ideological frame:

political?religious? philosophical?

Witness accounts?

What is History? (cont.2)

Some approachesStories of greatsFocus on narrow topic/settingNarrative of improvement – moving from

dictatorship to democracy, from slavery to freedom, colonialism to independence

Birth of a nation, an ideologyExplanation of disasters like war, famine,

disease

History of JournalismSo,

Who decides if it’s real or true?

How do we know that something happened?

History of Journalism (cont.)Zelizer’s categories of journalism:

Small scope: Journalism history as biography, autobiography, story of organization – narrow, restricted scope, one viewpoint

Medium scope: Journalism history as study of a period, theme, series of events, technology

Grand scope: Journalism history as study of development of a nation or region

What does this mean?

Study of journalism is ongoingJournalists work within historyWhat journalists do today will be part of

tomorrow’s historyAs a journalist, knowing that what you do is

really important should be a source of satisfaction and a reason for serious ethical professionalism

History and Journalism

We discussed Zelizer’s Chapter 4 from the Week 2 reading list

The other readings from Week 2 should be available next weekThompson on media and development of societies

Lloyd on British press traditions, etc. Torney-Parlicki on Australian journalists as historians

Week 3 Readings

Also to be available next week

But let’s take an advance look now at

Four Theories of the Press

Four Theories of the Press

Important book in 1963 by Fred SeibertMedia is part of society“The press always takes on the form and

coloration of the social and political structures within which it operates”

Four theories “clarify the link between mass media and the political society”

Four Theories from 1963

The Authoritarian Theory

The Libertarian Theory

The Soviet Theory

The Social Responsibility Theory

The Authoritarian TheoryDirect government control of mediaGovernment is a small ruling classMedia cannot print or broadcast anything

against ruling group; media avoids offending government

Government punishes anyone who questions it

Media professionals are strictly controlled by their organization

Foreign media also have to obey since imported media products have to be approved by government

The Libertarian Theory

The individual is free to publish as he/she likes

Attacking the government is allowed and even encouraged

No restrictions on foreign media inside or outside the country

Media professionals are allowed to be independent in their organization

The Soviet Theory

Tied to communist ideologyNo private media companies All media have to serve the working classGovernment is superior to mediaMedia is expected to police itselfMedia organizations are responsible for

meeting the expectations of their audience – see working class above

The Social Responsibility Theory

Media has obligations to societyMedia has to be informative, truthful,

accurate, objective, and balancedMany kinds of media organizations and

products show “a reflection of the diversity of society as well as access to diverse points of view”

Before Session 4 next weekPrepare by going over Week 1, 2, 3 readings

in the Syllabus ereadings now include Week 3 readings:

Lee Chin-Chuan on China’s JournalismRichard Shafer and Eric Freedman on Mass Media in Uzbekistan

Prepare for next Monday’s class (Week 4) with Week 4 ereading by Hoffner et al. on Censorship of TV Violence

As you read

Take notes – material may be in Week 8 Exam Save information, references, titles that seem

interesting – for presentation, paper, and/or essay

Come to class with comments about your reading

Come to class with observations about what journalism is doing in today’s society: bring examples

Upcoming ConferencesWAN-IFRA 7th Middle East Conference, Feb.29-

March 1www.wan-ifra.org/events JW Marriott

MEPRA Conference, March 4-5 (free) www.mepra.org Zayed University at Knowledge

VillagePR World Congress, March 14-15 (5 free slots for

students)www.prwcdubai.com at Grand Hyatt

Arab Media Forum, May 8-9 (register for free at www.arabmediaforum.com) at Grand Hyatt

MMC910 Journalism and Society

That’s it for tonight.

See you Wednesday in MMC911 – meeting in Block 5-121

Speaker Monday, Feb. 27, is Magda Abu-Fadil. Follow her on twitter, Huffington Post, blogs, etc.