Role of Media in Democracy

Media

• Lyndon B. Johnson quote: If it was reported he walked on top of the Potomac River, the headline would read "President Can't Swim”

Word List

• Autocrat: One person possesses all the power
• Ideals: The perfect type/model
• Carnage: Bloody slaughter
• Treason: Betraying one's country
• Agitation: To excite, stir, or arouse discussion, or public feelings
• Slander: Badmouthing and spreading rumors
• Conglomerate: A corporation composed of numerous companies in diversified fields

The Role of Media

• It is designed to reach many people with a message
• Dictators, autocrats, and kings used media to strengthen their hold on power through state control and censorship
• Democracy requires well-informed citizens, evolving with media to be a third power in addition to people and government

Printed Media

• Examples include: papers, books, magazines, posters, etc
• In early civilizations, it was expensive and had limited reach
• Rome deployed slaves to mass-produce newspapers which were sent to provinces
• China produced more printed media due to its printing tech (circa 200 C.E.)
• The tech did not function with the Latin alphabet.
• Gutenberg invented the movable printing press in 1440 C.E.

Printed media in society

• Before the printing press, books were extremely expensive and libraries at Universities only had a few hundred
• The printing press made creating print much faster
• Martin Luther wanted everyone to read to save their souls
• Paper was cheaper and easier to produce
• This invention helped increase literacy rates across Europe and usher in the Renaissance
• It was the first form of mass communication in Europe
• Governments and organizations used it to communicate, create opinions, and for propaganda

Printed Media: Industrial Revolution

• The industrial revolution caused the printing process to be cheaper
• Machines were able to work non-stop, making it possible to produce daily papers
• Better school systems caused literacy rates to rise
• In 1842, Sweden got its "Peoples' School"
• Democracy grew as opinions could be spread and it was easier to organize people around an idea
• Many current papers have roots in this time period, such as Aftonbladet, DN, NyTimes etc...

Radio

• Around the turn of the 20th century, Marconi invented radio transmitters
• Radio revolutionized communication similarly to computers today
• Ships used the technology to communicate and call for help. (Titanic used it to call for help)
• Leaders and governments used radio to communicate directly with the people
• Politics were altered as many people were able to hear leaders
• F.D.R. and Hitler both used radio effectively
• F.D.R. had fireside chats to boost the spirits of a country suffering from the Great Depression; he and his party were popular for the next 50 years
• Radio was mainstream 20 years after its discovery
• BBC launched in 1922
• SR launched in 1925
• Commercial radio was allowed in Sweden in 1993

Television

• Television emerged as a way to show events instead of only tell like radio.
• It had a huge impact on entertainment, mass culture, politics, warfare, and socialization
• SVT launched in 1956
• Commercial television came in 1987
• BBC launched in 1936
• Color television was created around 1953
• Viet Nam war was the first broadcast war, thus impacting how it was fought and opinions at home
• Carnage and suffering were shown nightly
• D-Day had 8-9000 dead
• Dresden bombing had 20,000 casualties
• Tokyo fire bombing had 200,000 casualties

Internet

• Created by the US military, DARPA
• Intended to help with communication and sharing research
• The internet opened up for public use with WWW in 1991; it was revolutionary
• Older forms of media had checkpoints and controlled what was reported
• There are not any filters and people report directly on YouTube, blogs, Twitter, etc.
• Some governments attempt to censor or limit access

News event life: Traditional

• Event takes place
• Reported
• Journalist investigates
• Sent to Local AP Office
• To AP head office in NY
• To Euro office in London
• To Scandinavian office in Stockholm
• To the newspaper editor
• Reaches the consumer

News event life: Internet

• Event takes place
• Reported by someone online
• Reaches the consumer

Old Media - Pros and Cons

• Pros: Checks facts to make sure stories are accurate and offers different perspectives
• Cons: Many news stories are filtered out and not shown to the public

Internet - Pros and Cons

• Pros: Less censorship
• Cons: Nobody checks its validity

History of Freedom of the Press

• Has roots dating back to 1766, modern form is from 1949
• Anyone has the ability to create a paper
• The government is not allowed to censor the population
• Sources have a right to anonymity
• There are restrictions on publishing a person’s personal information
• If these laws are broken in Sweden, a jury trial with 9 members will be held

Freedom of Speech

• Added to the constitution in 1992 to protect new media
• Areas not protected by the constitution include: treason, spying, revealing state secrets, agitation to violence, child pornography, and slander
• Each individual has the right to express their opinions
• Courts decide when a line has been crossed
• What should be allowed in the public arena?

Principles of Public Access

• All government information without a "secret" stamp is open to the public
• Private companies are not under this principle
• The EU wants this law to be changed
• Monitoring council "Granskning nämnden” is appointed by the government to monitor TV and radio to ensure they stay within Swedish law

CNN Effect

• During the 80's CNN was a huge news source that was able to dictate what the world would focus on
• Question: Is this phenomenon still true today?

Who Controls the Media?

• State-owned - Government employs and pays for the production
• Private - Companies own the production generating income through sales and advertisements
• Media concentration is a concern because large companies control the majority of the market
• Smaller companies go bankrupt

Media Conglomerates

• Sweden Bonier, Stenbecks gruppen
• International Rupert Murdoch, Ted Turner, Silvio Berlusconi
• Non-Western media: Al Jazeera

Private Companies

• News organizations tailor messages to reach specific population segments
• CNN International offers neutral commentary, CNN America offers less news and colorful commentary
• FOX News' success in America by commenting on the news prompts CNN America to compete for viewers
• This competition affects societies and individual opinions
• Journalism and politics are closely related and dependent on each other, creating objective reporting problems
• Journalists may get kicked out of the "loop" if their reporting is too negative, leading to fewer stories and less money
• Who has the upper hand?

Subjectivity vs. Objectivity:

• Subjectivity uses opinions/or feelings in the piece
• Objectivity keeps opinions/feelings out of the piece
• Can people, journalists, or editors be objective?

Most Important Part

• Use your own mind when reading a paper or watching television
• Ask who is reporting, why are they reporting, and does this person/organization have an agenda/goal?
• Be critical and do not accept something just because someone said it in the media
• Try to get information from different sources possible

Explore the role of media in dictatorships and democracies. Autocrats use media for control through censorship. Democracy requires informed citizens, making media a crucial third power.