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The Press: The Four Theories Of The Press

902 Words4 Pages

The media is not a constant; it is something in constant change and is moulded by the socio-political factor of a place which is consistently affecting its content. Normative theory in terms of media or mass communication refers to what the media is currently doing in the society as opposed to what they should be doing. A book exclusively written in the year 1965 to give a detailed insight to four theories that come under the normative theory is Four Theories of The Press. This book is the brainchild of three accomplished professors of communication, Fred Seaton Siebert, Theodore Peterson, and Wilbur Schramm and was published by the University of Illinois. Almost every philosophy-based reading material has some sort of reference made to this book. The normative theory of the press can be classified into four main theories, Authoritarian theory, Libertarian theory, Social Responsibility as well as Soviet Communist. These theories mainly revolve around the behaviour of the press and are highly essential for students and scholars in the fields of journalism as well as political science. The Social Responsibility theory and the Soviet Communist theory are more of variations of the initial two theories. These theories are mainly influenced by the behaviour of the rulers and the public itself. The authoritarian theory of the press mainly applies to undemocratic or illiberal societies. It is a theory that explains the control of the media by the rulers or highly influential

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