Commission on the Freedom of the Press

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From the course by University of Amsterdam

Media ethics & governance

17 ratings

University of Amsterdam

Media ethics & governance

17 ratings

Media Ethics and Governance About this course: This course explores some of the basic theories, models and concepts in the field of media ethics. We will introduce influential ethical theories and perspectives, explore changing societal demands and expectations of media creation and media use, and we will elaborate on existing ethical norms for media professionals. After following this course, you will be able to reflect on ethical dilemmas and develop a well-substantiated argumentation for ethical decision making in a variety of media-related contexts. Upon completion of this course, students should: • have knowledge of the history and development of perspectives on media ethics; • have knowledge of the dominant theoretical approaches and concepts; • be able to use this knowledge to develop a well-substantiated argumentation

From the lesson

Media Governance

In this part of the course we will discuss the developments of ideas on media governance. Media Governance refers to the entire system of rules and regulation and informal societal, ideological and economical processes that influence the behavior of our media. We will start with some basic models and then give an overview of the (historical) roots of modern governance models.

Media as Lapdogs of Kings, Councils and Corporations: Early-Modern Models of Governance3:46

A Fourth Estate3:22

The All-Powerful Media Paradigm. Examples and Their Fallout3:56

Commission on the Freedom of the Press3:41

Media Governance after World War II3:26

Meet the Instructors

Rutger de Graaf
PhD
Graduate School of Communication Science
Damian Trilling
Assistant Professor
Department of Communication Science
Lotte Salome

Department of Communication Science
Sandra Jacobs
Assistant professor
Department of Communication Science
Annemarie van Oosten
Assistant Professor
Department of Communication Science

In 1947, the Commission on Freedom of the Press published their report.

And the commission also had a different name,

The Hutchins Commission, after his Chairman,

Robert Hutchins, a well-respected scholar,

and the president of the University of Chicago.

Hutchins selected 11 respected scholars and professionals.

And with them, debated the issue of media governance,

the Fourth Estate model,

and what it meant for the Freedom of the Press and the media system in general.

In 1947, the Commission on Freedom of the Press published a landmark report,

a free and responsible press.

And you will realize that the atrocities of the Holocaust had just been revealed,

and the public's opinion of the media landscape and the press in

particular was quite negative and suspicious.

They become clear for the general audience how widespread the lies and

propaganda spread by the mainstream media had been in many countries,

and many turned a critical eye even towards their own countries journalists,

movie makers, and publishers.

The report advocated a different view on the Fourth Estate model,

and criticized the complete freedom that media organizations had enjoyed.

The introduction of reports stated,

the commission set out to answer the question,

is the Freedom of the Press in danger?

And its answer to the question is yes.

It concludes that the freedom of the press is in danger for three reasons: First,

the importance of the press to the people has

greatly increased with the development of

the press as an instrument of mass communication,

and at the same time,

the development of the press as an instrument of mass communication has greatly decreased

the proportion of the people who can express their opinions and ideas to the press;

Secondly, the few who are able to use

the machinery of the press as an instrument of mass communication,

have not provided a service adequate to the needs of society;

And third, those who direct the machinery of the press,

have engaged from time to time and practices which this society condemns,

and which if continued it will inevitably undertake to regulate or control.

So the report agrees with the premise of the Fourth Estate ideal,

that the media could serve as a much needed check on

powerful politicians, governments, and companies.

However, Hutchins and his colleague stressed that

the guiding principle freedom did not guarantee this outcome.

In fact, many examples had shown that this freedom had

let media professionals to misuse their power themselves.

And therefore, the commission proposed

a new guiding principle, responsibility to society.

And this social responsibility models that would be known,

will become the dominant ethical guideline for media governance in the world.

The model was a great leap from the old free media model.

It allowed for government interference,

but preferred a professional system of code of

ethics and commissions of peers to judge over ethical matters.

And although, this model received much criticism at

first from within the media system itself,

it quickly became the dominant model of media governance in many countries.

And the model itself evolved as more and more scholars,

professionals, and politicians started working with it.

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