HUTCHINS COMMISSION ON FREEDOM, CHICAGO SCHOOL & BASIC PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY THEORY

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Theories of Communication MCM 511

LESSON 06

HUTCHINS COMMISSION ON FREEDOM, CHICAGO SCHOOL & BASIC

PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY THEORY

So during the 1920s and 1930s a new normative theory of mass communication began to emerge that

rejected both radical libertarian and ideas of technocratic control. As pressure for government regulation

of media mounted, industry leaders responded with efforts to professionalize. Rather than cede control

of media to a government agency, media managers went on record with pledges to serve public needs.

Industry codes of ethics began to formalize another important conception about the role of media-that of

a watchdog guarding the welfare of the public. It assumed that media should continually scan the social

world and alert the public to problems.

Investigations of corruption proved so popular that the media was envisioned as an independent social

institution, a FOURTH ESTATE of government, business, religion, education and family-serve the

public. This perspective assumed that once people are informed about wrong-doing, incompetence, or

inefficiencies, they will take action against it , the masthead of an a paper said that

"Give light and the People will find their way."

Despite moves toward professionalization and self-regulation, pressure for greater government

regulation of media mounted throughout World War II and continued during the anti-communist

agitation that followed.

So Henry Luce, CEO of Time Inc., provided funding for an independent commission to make

recommendations concerning the role of the press.

The Hutchins Commission on Freedom of the press was established in 1942 and released a major

report of its findings in 1947.The Commission members were sharply divided between those who held

strongly libertarian views and those who thought some form of press regulation was necessary. Those

who favored regulation were fearful that the marketplace of ideas was much too vulnerable to

subversion by antidemocratic forces; most of them were impressed by the Chicago School.

Chicago School

Chicago School envisioned modern cities as "Great Communities" comprising hundreds of small social

groups- everything from neighborhood social organizations to citywide associations. For these Great

Communities to develop, all the constituent groups had to work together and contribute. These were

referred to as pluralistic groups in recognition of their cultural and racial diversity.

The Chicago School Opposed marketplace of ideas notions and argued that unregulated mass media

inevitably served the interests and tastes of large or socially dominant groups. Small, weak, pluralistic

groups would be either neglected or degraded.

This perspective also held that ruthless elites could use media as a means of gaining personal political

power. These demagogues could manipulate media to transmit propaganda to fuel hatred and fear

among a majority unite them against minorities, e.g. as Hitler used the media to arouse hatred against

the Jews. Although majority of the Hutchins commission members had some sympathy for Chicago

School ideas, they opposed any direct form of press regulation.

The Commission members faced a serious dilemma. On the one hand they recognized that marketplace

of ideas was not self-regulating and the media were doing less than they could to provide services to

minority groups. The members also feared that any form of press regulation would open the door to

official control of media the very thing they were trying to prevent. Without some form of regulation,

a ruthless and cunning demagogue might be able to use hate propaganda to gain power in the United

States. But establishing a national press council might put too much control in the hands of existing

elites and they might abuse it.

Theories of Communication MCM 511

Ultimately the Hutchins Commission members decided to place their faith in media practitioners and

call on them to redouble their efforts to serve the public.

The synthesis of ideas put forward in the Hutchins Commission report has become known as the Social

Responsibility Theory of the Press. It emphasized the need for an independent press that scrutinizes

other social institutions and provides objective, accurate, news reports.

The most innovative feature of SR theory was its call for media to be responsible for fostering

productive and creative "Great Communities". It said that media should do this by prioritizing cultural

pluralism- by becoming the voice of all the people- not just elite groups or groups that had dominated

national, regional or local culture in the past.

Dennis McQuail in 1987 summarized the basic principles of social responsibility theory as the

following:-

1. Media should accept and fulfill certain obligations to society.

2. These obligations are mainly to be met by setting high or professional standards of

informativeness, truth, accuracy, objectivity and balance.

3. In accepting and applying these obligations, media should be self-regulating within the

framework of law and established institutions.

4. The media should avoid whatever might lead to crime, violence or civil disorder or give offense

to minority groups.

5. The media as a whole should be pluralist and reflect the diversity of their society, giving access

to various points of view and to rights of reply.

6. Society and the public have a right to expect high standards of performance, and intervention

can be justified to secure the public good.

7. Journalists and media professionals should be accountable to society as well as to employers

and the market

SR theory has proved quite durable. Most journalists take seriously the central values of social

responsibility theory such as pluralism and cultural diversity. An example of a comprehensive code,

which also has an international reference, is the International Principles of professional Ethics in

Journalism, drawn up under the auspices of UNESCO. Unlike most industry codes, it does not use the

word `freedom' but refers frequently to rights and responsibilities, there are ten clauses headed and

summarized as follows:

1. People's right to true information- the right of people to express themselves freely through the

media of communication

2. The journalistic dedication to objective reality;- this aims to provide public with adequate

material to facilitate the formation o an accurate and comprehensive picture of the world.

3. The journalist's social responsibility.- this emphasizes the fact that journalistic information is

social good not just a commodity

4. The Journalist's Professional integrity. This deals especially with rights not to work against

personal conviction and other matters of personal ethics.

5. Public access and participation. This includes the right of rectification and reply.

6. Respect for privacy and Human Dignity

7. Respect for the Public interest. This relates to respect for the national community , it democratic

institutions and public morals

8. Respect of Universal Values and diversity of cultures. This calls for respect for human rights,

social progress, national liberation, peace, democracy.

9. Elimination of War and Other Great Evils confronting humanity .This calls for abstention from

justifying aggression, arms proliferation , violence, hatred , discrimination.

10. Promotion of a New World information and communication order. This is directed especially at

the need for decolonization and democratization of information and communication.

Theories of Communication MCM 511

However there is little evidence that have developed an effective means of promoting these values

through their work. E.g. journalists continue to define the routine work of community and minority

groups as non-newsworthy, inflammatory remarks made by militant group leaders are widely publicized

with no information about the social conditions that prompt the remarks.

Before we proceed to discuss a contemporary media movement designed to breathe new life into social

responsibility theory, let's first discuss the Totalitarian media Theory.

Totalitarian Media Theory

Totalitarian media Theory is a normative theory calling for suppression of pluralistic groups and the use

of media under the control of the dominant political party to propagate a strong centralized political

culture. Just as libertarianism arose as an alternative to authoritarian ideas, social responsibility theory is

a response to totalitarian ideas. Totalitarian media theories, such as those developed by the Nazis or by

former Soviet communists, called for suppression of Pluralistic groups and exalted the necessity for

propagating a strong centralized political culture. Direct control of the media by the dominant political

party was seen as essential to prevent deviant, disruptive views from being expressed by enemies of the

people. The party whether it is National Socialist or Soviet Communist, must be trusted with total

control over media so that it can educate the masses and lead them into a utopian future.

So in contrast to totalitarianism theory, SR theory encouraged media practitioners to see themselves as

front-line participants in the battle to preserve democracy in a world drifting inexorably toward

totalitarianism.

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