mass-communication-theory

Bill of Rights
The first ten
amendments to
the U.S.
Constitution
Chapter 5 Normative Theories of Mass Communication 103
Independence, wavered in his commitment to press freedom and his faith in the
self-righting principle. Jefferson, who famously affirmed Milton’s self-righting principle
in a letter to a friend—“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a
government without newspapers or newspapers without government, I should not
hesitate to prefer the latter” (quoted in Altschull, 1990, p. 117)—voiced deep frustration
with scurrilous newspaper criticism during the second term of his presidency.
Nevertheless, he placed Libertarian ideals at the heart of the United States’
long-term experiment with democratic self-government. The revolution of the
American Colonies against Britain was legitimized by those ideals. As Jefferson
himself wrote in 1779, “That truth is great and will prevail if left to herself, that
she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from
the conflict, unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free
argument and debate” (in Packer, 2006b, p. 59).
John Keane (1991) identified three fundamental concepts underpinning the
Founders’ belief in press freedom:
1. Theology: media should serve as a forum allowing people to deduce between
good and evil.
2. Individual rights: press freedom is the strongest, if not the only, guarantee of
liberty from political elites.
3. Attainment of truth: falsehoods must be countered; ideas must be challenged
and tested or they will become dogma.
As such, the newly formed United States was one of the first nations to explicitly
adopt Libertarian principles, as it did in the Declaration of Independence and
the Bill of Rights. The latter asserts that all individuals have natural rights that no
government, community, or group can unduly infringe upon or take away. Various
forms of communication freedom—speech, press, and assembly—are listed as
among the most important of these rights. The ability to express dissent, to band
together with others to resist laws that people find to be wrong, to print or broadcast
ideas, opinions, and beliefs—these rights are proclaimed as central to democratic
self-government. You can test your own commitment to freedom of
expression in the box entitled “A Stirring Defense of Free Expression.”
Despite the priority given to communication freedom, however, it is important
to recognize that many restrictions—accepted by media practitioners and media
consumers alike—have been placed on communication. Libel laws protect against
the publication of information that will damage reputations. Judges can issue gag
orders to stop the publication of information they think will interfere with a defendant’s
right to a fair trial. Other laws and regulations protect against false advertising,
child pornography, and offensive language. The limits to communication
freedom are constantly renegotiated.
In some eras, the balance shifts toward expanding communication freedom,
but at other times, most notably in times of war, freedom is curtailed. In the wake
of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, for example, Congress passed legislation
known as the Patriot Act that imposed a variety of restrictions on Americans’
communication freedom. And whenever new media technologies are invented, it is
necessary to decide how they should be regulated. The debate over communication
freedom never ends, as we see today in the ongoing and heated debates over
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