Source text - English 1. Press Concepts Journalists, once a privileged group with prestige, often find themselves overlooked and underappreciated after the fall of an undemocratic system. This is perhaps clearest in the case of communism: “We are powerless,” a Belarusian editor complains. “Before, in the Soviet Union, institutions were obliged to react to a letter from a newspaper within ten days. Today? They don’t respond at all, whatever issue we address in the newspaper.” What role should journalists expect to have in emerging democracies? There are many theories of the press, and it is useful to look at them in an attempt to answer this question. Theories of the Press Journalism in particular countries can play various societal roles, depending upon established media systems. These media systems are the result, in one definition, of “press laws, economic and political variables, cultural and social influences and such basic considerations as demographic distribution, literacy or personal income levels.” The most distinguished press theories define role of media as follows: 1) The Soviet Communist Concept has it that the government not only controls but produces the news: “The final goal of releasing information in the press is connected with influencing people’s consciousness and deeds.” 2) The Authoritarian Concept means that a powerful government controls the press either through censorship or punishment after publication. 3) The Libertarian Concept holds that an educated public will choose wisely on its own among the various kinds of information in a free marketplace, and should be allowed that privilege. 4) The Social Responsibility Concept contends that the press owes a duty to the public and must be held accountable in some way if it becomes derelict in that duty. 5) The Revolutionary Concept includes such examples as the Soviet newspaper Pravda, at its origin the typical revolutionary newspaper, or underground and samizdat publications in totalitarian regimes. These are (or were) political newspapers, with political agendas. Pravda was in fact owned by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. 6) The Developmental Concept views the press as a tool for building national identity and economic development. The subordination of media to development goals often implies some form of subtle autocratic control by a central government. 7) The Democratic Socialist Concept recognizes the need of pluralism but also allows state intervention, if necessary, in the name of protecting the interests of the people. The concept is often applied in publicly owned broadcast media in many parts of the world. The Soviet Communist, Authoritarian, Libertarian, and Social Responsibility theories were first defined by Frederick Siebert, Theodore Peterson and Wilbur Schramm in 1956. Revolutionary and Development models were added by William Hachten in 1981. Hachten also combined Libertarian and Social Responsibility concepts under a Western model. Democratic Socialist theory was added by Robert Picard in mid-1980s. Picard reasons that Hachten’s Western model, which includes the Libertarian and Social Responsibility concepts, should also include a Democratic Socialist concept. Asked which press concept they preferred, a representative group of Belarusian undergraduates and young reporters rejected absolutely both Soviet Communist and Authoritarian models. Nearly every respondent needed up to three concepts to adequately describe his preferences. In fact, as practiced in the real world, there are mixtures of these theories.
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