Special Status of the Press
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Transcript of Special Status of the Press
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Special Status of the Press
• 1st Amendment Protections• Special laws (shield laws)• How do we justify this status?
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Role of Press in a Democracy
• Democracy can’t function without informed, critical citizens
• The press is the main informer of the public• Jefferson—A free nation requires a free
press
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The First Amendment
• Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
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In the modern world of corporate press, does the press fulfill the role that justifies its
special status?
• Is the modern press (or mass media) more a lap dog for corporate interests than a watchdog?
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Herman and Chomsky’s Propaganda Model
• Mass media is a tool for communicating messages to the public
• Function includes: amuse, entertain, inform, socialize (assimilate) people into institutions
• In a diverse society, this requires propaganda
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Propaganda is not always obvious
• Media are in private hands• There appears to be competition• Occasionally media attack government
or corporations
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Key Elements of Propaganda • Size, concentrated ownership, wealth &
power of owners of mass media• Advertising as the primary source of
income• A culture of ‘experts’• ‘Flak’ as a tool of discipline• ‘Civic religion’ of anti-communism and
free markets
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Media Concentration
• The dangers of concentration (CJR)• The Big Five, an American keiretsu• Consolidation of service and content
providers– Add internet access to the new mix
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Advertising as the Primary Source of Income
• The problem with advertising revenue—MS and ‘complementary copy’
• Subscription funded media can’t compete despite superior products and higher customer satisfaction
• Delivering targeted audiences• Killing stories (PEW study)
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A Culture of Experts
• Talking heads and the ‘punditocracy’• Small cadre of mediagenic quasi-
experts
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“Flak” as a Tool of Discipline
• Press attacks government, right attacks press
• Conservative ‘media watchdog’ groups
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The Religion of the Market
• The rhetoric of free markets is one thing, the reality of markets is quite another
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Markets, Market Assumptions, And The Invisible Hand
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The Market Society (17th Century)
• Emphasis of individualism (autonomy)• The sovereign consumer• The law of supply and demand
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Supply and Demand
• Elasticity of supply and demand• Price elasticity• Marginal costs and marginal benefits
(utility at the margins)
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The Market Society (17th Century)
• Emphasis of individualism (autonomy)• The sovereign consumer• The law of supply and demand• Markets, essentially unregulated businesses,
benefit society
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Business is to be considered as an autonomous and independent activity because it will then serve society
• Robert Solomon
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Markets and Freedom
• Free markets are possible only within a broader context of FREEDOM
• Freedom allows capitalism to work
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Economic and Political Freedoms
• Which take priority?
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Marx and Capitalists Agree on the Importance of Freedom
• Capitalists emphasize the freedom of individuals to pursue their own ends through the operation of markets
• Marx emphasizes the freedom of an individual from coercive market forces
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Market Assumptions
• Perfect Information• Perfect Competition
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Competitive Markets are Characterized By:
• Low costs of entry• Low costs of exit• Absence of monopolies
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Market Assumptions
• Perfect Information• Perfect Competition• Mobility Factors• Firms Maximize Profits, Consumers
Maximize Utility• Consumer Preferences are Exogenous• Few, If Any, Externalities
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Markets, Market Assumptions, And The Invisible Hand
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The Invisible Hand
• Individuals, seeking their own self interest, providing good products at a fair price, are guided by an invisible hand to promote the public interest
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BUT, Historically markets produce tremendous inequality
• ‘Free trade’ advocates rarely want free trade• Markets deal poorly with values that are
hard to monetize—Richard Cory