Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
Freedom and
Responsibility
Thomas Abraham
Critical issues in journalism and global communications
Week 4
20 Sept 2011
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong

We begin our story
with Henry Luce, the
founder of Time
magazine….
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong




In 1942 Luce, was puzzled by a question he could
not answer. So he asked Robert Hutchins, an
eminent legal scholar and president of Chicago
University for an answer
His question was: “ I know what my freedoms are,
but what are my responsibilities?
Hutchins reply: “I dunno”
“Why don’t you form a Commission to find out?”
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
Why was Luce asking this
question?



The modern media age began in the 18th century:
throughout the western world governmental
restrictions on the press began to be removed
The growth of literacy, and the arrival of new
printing technology had made it possible for a mass
media to emerge
It was assumed that a media market in which
newspapers were privately owned, would best serve
society’s need for accurate, unbiased information
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong


It was thought that press ownership would be widely
dispersed, and that there would be many different
kinds of newspapers reflecting many different kinds
of opinions
It was assumed that the press would be a market
place for ideas, and that individuals would be able to
use the press to reflect their ideas and opinions
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
But by the early 20th century
problems had begun to appear


Press barons like William Randolph Hearst and
Joseph Pulitzer discovered that newspapers
based on gory murders and sensational stories
were commercially very successful.
Luce commented in 1937 “ There is no
significant restraint on vulgarity, sensationalism,
or even incitement to criminality”.
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong



Instead of being a free market place of ideas, owners
and editors determined what voices could be heard:
the freedom of the press, appeared increasingly to be
the freedom of press owners
It was no longer easy for individuals to set up
newspapers and the number of voices in the media
began to reduce
Many thinking people were uneasy with the
direction that the press was taking- did press
freedom exist merely to benefit newspaper owners?
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong



So Luce asked “I know what my freedoms are, but
what are my responsibilities?”
Luce provided US$ 200,000 for Hutchins to form a
commission of eminent thinkers to go into this
question
Hutchins assembled a stellar cast of thinkers,
including the philosopher Reinhold Niebuhr, and
the poet Archibald MacLeish
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
The commission was worried
about what it found



Declining numbers of newspapers, and declining
competition. The number of cities with newspaper
monopolies had increased
The number of tabloids specialising in sensation and
trivia had increased
Newspaper proprietors were shaping news to reflect
their views. A survey of Washington reporters found
that 56% said their stories had been altered, cut, or
not published because of their owner’s policies
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
The Commission set out five functions
the press should perform
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Provide a truthful, comprehensive and intelligent
account of the day’s events in a context that gives
them meaning
Provide a forum for the exchange of commentary
and criticism
The projection of a representative picture of the
constituent groups in society
Provide a method of presenting and clarifying the
goals and values of society
Provide a full access to the day’s intelligence to all
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong



The press is given freedom in order to perform these
functions.
The Commission’s report was important because it
established the idea that press freedom has a
definite social purpose.
In the words of the Commission, the press should be
“ free and responsible.”
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
Commission suggested press freedom
should be linked to responsibility

“Freedom of the press for the coming period can
only continue as an accountable freedom. Its
moral right will be conditioned on its acceptance
of this accountability”
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
The newspaper industry hated the
report



“ The word responsible, as used by the Commission,
is no different from censorship” The Wall Street
Journal
“ A free press, Hitler style sought for the US”
Chicago Tribune
“I’m sick and tired of criticisms of the
press..responsible people in this country had better
start showing more appreciation of the press.” Paul
Thompson, Chair of Journalism at the University of
Texas
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
Others argued that the public could not
make any demands on the press

“A newspaper is a private enterprise owing nothing
whatever to the public, which grants it no franchise.
It is therefore affected with no public interest. It is
emphatically the property of the owner who is
selling a manufactured product at his own risk.”William Peter Hamilton, editor of the Wall Street
Journal in the 1920s.
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong


“It is precisely because newspapers make profits and do
not depend on the government for their livelihood that
they have the resources and wherewithal to hold the
government accountable” Rupert Murdoch
“Free society requires an independent press: turbulent
…enquiring…bustling…and free…that's why our
journalism is hard-driving and questioning of authority.
And so are our journalists” Murdoch
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
Some problems with the
Commission report



Their ideal of a serious high minded serious press
was wonderful, but did people want this?
"If the people will not buy a good newspaper and will
buy a poor one, what is a businessman to do?”
Robert Hutchins
One commission member said “ we have to ask the
press to be better than the public”- is that possible?
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong


Who was to ensure, or make moves towards a more
responsible press?
The commission toyed with the idea of suggesting an
independent commission that would be charged with
setting standards for the press, examining cases of bad
reporting and so on, but never made any firm proposals
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
Press Councils and codes of
ethics


http://www.presscouncil.org.hk/en/web_eth
ics.php
http://www.pcc.org.uk/index.html
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
Asian values theory of
journalism


Based on the idea that Asian societies were different
from western societies, and therefore Asian journalism
needed different values
Proponents argued that while westerners prize individual
rights and personal freedom, Asians prize an orderly
society and economic advancement.
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
Asian values



The concluded that the press in Asian societies should
not adversarial, but should be supportive of government.
Role of the press was to help national development
Main proponent of Asian values school: Lee Kuan Yew,
Mahathir of Malaysia and former President Suharto of
Indonesia
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
How relevant is this Asian
values school?



Most countries in Asia do not follow this modelSingapore and to a lesser extent Malaysia are the only
countries that do
Other than China, Vietnam, Laos, North Korea and
Burma, countries in Asia have largely independent media
organisations
An excuse to bring the press under the government
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
Civic journalism in the US




Going back into the community, finding out what
issues people care about and what to know
about, and then writing about that
Shifting from a conflict to an explanatory frame
Motivating citizens to try and find solutions.
Giving ordinary people a chance to express their
views
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
Development Journalism




Started in the late 1970s at the Press Foundation of Asia
in the Philippines
Based on the notion that a primary role of the media in
poor countries should be to focus on the problems of the
majority of people- poverty, development, lack of access
to health care
Media should be a tool empowering poor people with
knowledge and information
This idea fell into disrepute after leaders like Suharto in
Indonesia used it to suggest that the media should
support the government’s development efforts
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
The dilemma
1.
2.
3.
4.
An accurate, independent, serious minded press is
essential if people in a society are to be able to
monitor their government, and form opinions on
important matters
Very few people seem to want to read such
newspapers- the most popular and profitable
newspapers are those that report sensational
stories
What should the news industry do?
Is there place for quality journalism?
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
The Mohammad Cartoon
controversy

On September 30,2005, a Danish newspaper
Jyllands-Posten printed 12 cartoons of the
Prophet Mohammad in an attempt to raise
issues of freedom of expression.
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
The Mohammad Cartoon
controversy

On September 30,2005, a Danish newspaper
Jyllands-Posten printed 12 cartoons of the
Prophet Mohammad in an attempt to raise
issues of freedom of expression.
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
Muslims were upset. Why?



Islamic traditions generally forbid the
pictorial or other depictions of the Prophet
The content of the drawings were considered
offensive: one in particular showed
Mohammad as a terrorist, with a bomb in his
turban
Denmark’s Muslim community already felt
vulnerable after 9/11, and felt this was
another attack on them
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
Why were they published?

“The modern, secular society is rejected by some
Muslims. They demand a special position, insisting
on special consideration of their own religious
feelings. It is incompatible with contemporary
democracy and freedom of speech, where you must
be ready to put up with insults, mockery and
ridicule. It is certainly not always attractive and nice
to look at, and it does not mean that religious
feelings should be made fun of at any price, but that
is of minor importance in the present context. [...]
we are on our way to a slippery slope where no-one
can tell how the self-censorship will end..”
Flemming Rose, culture editor of Jyllands-Posten
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
Worldwide response


Initially, very little. In 2005, an Egyptian
newspaper reprinted the cartoons with a
critical commentary, without attracting
criticism
But as newspapers in more European
countries, and several in the Islamic world
began reprinting the cartoons, protests grew,
and editors were fired in some cases.
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
Economic and Social Cost



Danish and Norwegian embassies were set on
fire in a few countries
Street riots. Between 40-50 people are
estimated to have died in violence related to
the protests
Goods from Denmark boycotted by customs
across the Middle East
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong




You are the editor in chief of a newspaper in a country with
people from different religions and ethnicities living together
Some of your senior editors are in support of printing the
cartoons, because they see it as an important press freedom issue
“You cannot allow self censorship”
Other colleagues feel that it would unnecessarily upset Muslims
in the country and perhaps provoke violence : “We have the right
to print the cartoons, but it is not the right thing to do”
You need to decide: what are your rights and responsibilities as a
journalist in this case?