FREEDOM OF THE PRESS AND ITS FREEDOM TO OPPRESS, DECEIVE AND EXPLOITATION.

1. FREEDOM OF THE PRESS AND
ITS FREEDOM TO OPPRESS,
DECEIVE AND EXPLOITATION.
By Clement Masie Daka
Extracts from school Assignment 2017
Student Media Studies,
Zambia

2. What is a free press? According (Asante, 1997) stated that
freedom of the press is generally taken to mean the
“Freedom to disseminate information and ideas through
the mass media without government restrictions.” He
further stated that a free press system is expected to
provide a factual account of what is happening in the
society and to present, analyse and clarify the goals and
values of the society. It should also provide a forum for an
exchange of comments on and criticism of the nation’s
affairs and thus serves as a watchdog of the people’s
right.

3. Freedom of expression is and freedoms of opinion are
among the most fundamental freedoms and rights in a
democratic society. The opportunity to express one’s view
and form an opinion on different issues has long been
considered an important prerequisite for political processes
to function in a democratic way. Freedom of opinion is
unlimited, while the right to freely express one’s view can be
restricted and must be exercised with particular
responsibility out of consideration for the rights and
freedoms of others. The free word can cause harm by, for
instance, by being perceived as being offensive, inciting
discrimination or acts of violence, or disclosing information
that has negative consequences either for individuals or
society as a whole. In other words, freedom of expression
has certain limitations (Martina Huber, 2002).

4. Lenin in his argument is based on the four press theories and the media
systems. These are The Authoritarian Theory, The Libertarian Theory, Soviet-
Communist Theory, and Social-Responsibility Theory (Fried S. Siebert, 1984).
Of the four theories of the relation of the press to society or to government,
the authoritarian has been most persuasive both historically and
geographically. It is the theory which was also automatically adopted by most
countries when society and technology became sufficiently developed to
produce what today we call the ‘mass media’ of communication…it
determines the function and relationship of the popular press to
contemporary society (Fried S. Siebert, 1984). And out of the seven media
systems these are western media system, revolutionary media system,
communist media system, developmental media system, authoritarian media
system, neo-authoritarian media system and the clandestine media system,
only three supports fully the claims of deception and oppression that Lenin
made. The most cardinal is the clandestine media system. This has been
developed by terrorists or groups that are wanted by security agencies. This is
a form of press or media of deception and oppression. It harbours coded
messages designed to sway public attention as they carry their acts.
According to, subversive elements, whether insurgent, terrorist, or criminal,
all require a communication system to coordinate and control operations.

5. Lenin’s argument was bias in the sense that it only focused on
media conglomerates of the western world and not the African
context of press freedom. According to (Faringer, 1991); “The
African Press was an influence element in the African nationalist
awakening. The British tradition of press freedom was a large
extent sustained in the western African colonies. The African press
did face occasional suppression but on the whole, the British
Colonial authorities were tolerant, allowing a degree of press
freedom that no other African region enjoyed…Wilcox sees the
matter differently from Hachten, however. According to Wilcox,
decisions regarding freedom of the press were often left entirely
in the hands of local colonial administrators. It is a mistake to
believe that British West Africa enjoyed extensive freedom,
because actually the British government never did clearly
formulate any guarantees or principles of press freedom.

6. Contrary to Lenin’s statement about the media and its freedom to oppress,
deceive and exploit the masses, (Kingston, 2017) states that there are
numerous instances of media harassment, intimidation, censorship and self-
censorship that undermine freedom of the press and influence how the news
is reported. (Krönig, 2004) Brings out the aspect of the media and press as the
fourth estate; explaining how to avoid any misunderstanding, a natural tension
between politics and the media has always existed and that is right and
necessary. Without a free press there is no public shere, no informed citizen
and thus no democracy.
On the other hand the media can offer unethical point of view on issues. The
press can prevent false accusations of the government presenting biased
information to society. It is possible that the press may over sensationalise
certain news to create headline (Chin, 2008). The press may be overly sarcastic
or critical of the government so as to grab the attention of readers to increase
readership and sales. As a result, the government can be put in an extremely
unfair position, even having its reputation tarnished, while society can be
deprived of relevant and objective information.

7. Having an uncritical press can allow society to understand policies and issues
more objectively without being influenced by biased and extremist
viewpoints. Over the long run, an uncritical press can prevent political unrest
and resentment of the government due to one-sided viewpoints presented
by the press. An uncritical press can therefore promote social security and
stability within a country. Freedom of the press can bore an uncritical press.
An uncritical press will allow the inflow and publication of information from
as many sources as possible, presenting an extensive range of perspectives.
We need to be aware of groups of people in society who are not media
literate. They may not be discerning of this information, and may not be
equipped with skills to sieve out object viewpoints. As a result, they may be
easily influence by the reports provided, or may even be overwhelmed with
the large amount of information and cannot make well-informed choices
(Chin, 2008). In this context Chin tries to explain the disadvantages of the
free press in relation to unfair and uncritical press, the disadvantages show
clearly that the press can deceive and oppress masses in its duty to create
checks and balances. Thomas Jefferson to Archibald Stuart in 1799 wrote
“Our citizens may be deceived for a while, and have been deceived; but as
long as the presses can be protected, we may trust them for light”.

8. We all know that freedom of the press is the freedom of
communication and expression through channels including
various electronic media and published materials. While such
freedom mostly implies the absence of interference from
overreaching state, its preservation may be sought through
constitutional or other legal protections. If the press and the
media do not fulfil its obligation as a fourth estate, it is bound
to oppress and deceive the masses.
According to (Krönig, 2004), the new information age would
be one of greater enlightenment, of a rational discourse and
greater participation has come true. Governments feel
haunted by an aggressive media. That the media act as if they
were a kind of conspiracy attempting to keep the population
“in a permanent state of self-righteous rage” is the complaint
in London…

9. In the democratic age, news and information have been transformed compared to
the time Lenin accused the media of oppress and deception. The way politics is
covered has changed radically. Papers do not report news; they quite often present it
according to their preferences and prejudices. The growth of columnists has led to
the birth of a ‘Commentariat’. It contains a few excellent and analytical minds, but all
too often reasonable, balanced voices are drowned out by journalists who seem
untainted by facts or deeper knowledge but replace this with gleefully presented
prejudices. According to (Krönig, 2004), a lot of modern political journalism ignores
context and complexity, presenting everything in black and white, while the nature of
politics most of the time is a balancing act between contradictory interests and
demands. No surprise, then, those politicians are losing control over the political
agenda.
To conclude; the press offers checks and balances, it is therefore important
democracy and civil society to have informed citizens; otherwise they will have
difficulties in surviving. Without media organisations aware of their own power and
responsibility, an informed citizenship cannot be sustained. What our democracies
have got today is an electorate which is highly informed about entertainment,
consumer goods and celebrities, while being uninterested in and or deeply cynical
about politics, equipped with short attention spans and growing tendency to demand
instant gratification. Politics in western democracies is mutating into a strange kind of
hybrid, a semi-plebiscitarian system, in which the mass media represent the new
demos.

10. REFERENCE
Asante, C. E. (1997). In C. E. Asante, Press Freedom and Development: A Research
Guide and Selected (p. 3). London: Greenwood Press.
Chin, R. (2008, February 17th). The GP Tutor. Retrieved November 23rd, 2018, from
The GP Tutor: http://thegptutor.blogspot.com/2008/02/what-are-advantages-
disadvantages-of_17.html
Faringer, G. L. (1991). In G. L. Faringer, Press Freedom in Africa (p. 8). New York:
Praeger Publishers.
Fried S. Siebert, T. P. (1984). In T. P. Fried S. Siebert, Four Theories of the Press: The
Authoritarian, Libertarian, Social Responsibility and Soviet Communist Concepts of
what the Press should be and do. (p. 9). Chicago: University of Illionios Press.
Kingston, J. (2017). In J. Kingston, Press Freedom in Contemporary Japan (p. 1).
London: Routledge.
Krönig, J. (2004, August Monday 16). A crisis in the fourth estate. Retrieved November
24, 2017, from TheGurdian: https://www.theguardian.com
Martina Huber, p. j. (2002). Mänskliga Rättigheter. Retrieved November 18th, 2017,
from Mänskliga Rättigheter: http://www.manskligarattigheter.se/en/human-
rights/what-rights-are-there/freedom-of-expression