Roman Blikharskyi
PhD in Social Communications
Research fellow
of the Research Institute for Press Studies
Vasyl Stefanyk National Scientiffi c Library of Ukraine in Lviv
(Lviv, Ukraine)
DOI:
Normative Press Theories: a Review of key Conceptual Approaches and Analysis Directions
The article is dedicated to the conceptual analysis of normative theories of the press in the context of contemporary challenges facing media studies. The main objective of the research is to assess the validity and limitations of applying normative approaches to the study of media functions in different historical and social contexts, as well as their adaptation to the conditions of digital transformation. The tasks of the research include: identifying the main directions and conceptual approaches to formulating normative theories of the press; critically evaluating the limitations of the «four theories of the press» by Wilbur Schramm, Fred Siebert, and Theodore Peterson when analyzing media in different contexts; and addressing the issue of integrating classical models with new approaches in contemporary press studies.
The research methodology is based on a systematic review of scholarly publications analyzing the development and critique of normative theories of the press, particularly in the context of their adaptation to changing social, political, and technological conditions. The review includes an analysis of theoretical approaches to the study of media related to the evolution of press systems in different countries and historical periods.
It is established that, despite their significance in the study of media evolution, normative theories have limited effectiveness in contemporary conditions due to their universality and idealization of standards. They do not always take into account socio-cultural and political differences between countries and periods, as well as rapid changes in media technologies. A solution to this problem is proposed, which involves the synthesis of traditional normative theories with new theoretical models, enabling a better understanding of the role and peculiarities of media functioning in modern society and offering a more effective approach to studying the history and present of the press.
The novelty of the work lies in the generalization of historiographical achievements and the critical rethinking of the role of normative theories in general, as well as the classical work of W. Schramm, F. Siebert, and T. Peterson in contemporary media studies.
Keywords: mass media, press system, normative media theories, «four theories of the press».
Full text
References
Al-Ahmed, M. S. (1987). Mass media and society: The six normative theories and the role of social, political, and economic forces in shaping media institution and content: Saudi Arabia – a case study (Doctoral thesis, Centre for Mass Communication Research, Leicester University). Leicester, 1987. https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/thesis/Mass_media_and_society_The_six_normative_theories_and_the_role_of_social_political_and_economic_forces_in_shaping_media_institution_and_content_Saudi_Arabia_-_a_case_study_/10188155?file=18358742.
Baran, S. J. & Davis, D. K. (2011). Mass communication theory: Foundations, ferment, and future (6th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Christians, C. G., Glasser, T. L., McQuail, D., Nordenstreng, K., & White, R. A. (2009). Normative theories of the media: Journalism in democratic societies. University of Illinois Press.
Didit, A. T. (2013). The Four Press Media Theories: Authoritarianism Media Theory, Libertarianism Media Theory, Social Responsibility Media Theory, and Totalitarian Media Theory. Ragam Jurnal Pengembangan Humaniora, 13 (3), 194–201.
Jakubowicz, K. (1998). Normative models of media and journalism and broadcasting regulation in Central and Eastern Europe. International Journal of Communications Law and Policy, 2, 1–31.
McQuail, D. (2010). McQuail’s mass communication theory (6th ed.). London. SAGE Publications.
Maira, T. V. (2017). Four theories of the press: 60 years and counting. New York. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315160566.
Nerone, J. (2018). Four theories of the press. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.815.
Nnanyelugo, O., & Abodunrin, K. (2019). Democratic participant media theory in the Nigerian context. Covenant Journal of Communication (CJOC), 6 (2), 89–107.
Nordenstreng, K. (1997). Beyond the four theories of the press. In book Media & politics in transition: Cultural identity in the age of globalization (pp. 97–109). Leuven. ACCO.
Oluwasola, O. (2020). The normative theories of the press in the digital age: A need for revision. IMSU Journal of Communication Studies, 4 (2), 27–36. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3678282.
Picard, R. G. (1982). Revisions of the «Four Theories of the Press» model. Mass Communication Review, Winter/Spring, 25–28.
Rantanen, T. (2017). A “crisscrossing” historical analysis of four theories of the press. International Journal of Communication, 11, 3454–3475.
Rantanen, T. (2024). Dead men’s propaganda: Ideology and utopia in comparative communications studies. London. LSE Press, 209–243.
Siebert, F., Paterson, T., & Schramm, W. (1956). Four theories of the press: The authoritarian, libertarian, social responsibility, and Soviet communist concepts of what the press should be and do. University of Illinois Press.
Toepfl, F. (2016). Beyond the four theories: Toward a discourse approach to the comparative study of media and politics. International Journal of Communication, 10, 1530–1547.