The press and its role in development
Regional, Analysis, 1/25/2000

The press is the only entity providing any sense of balance to the all powerful and monopolistic nature of government, and the USA founding father Thomas Jefferson's statement that he would rather have a free press without a government rather than a government without a free press speaks of why the press was made the fifth independent branch of a functioning government (after the constitution, legislative, judicial and executive branches), through its institution in the first amendment.

The function of the press is essential for a civil society. It is simply impossible to have a civil society without a functioning press. It is this simple.

What is less simple is for countries that do not have a proper press to develop such a press. A simple answer of "just free up the press" will simply not work in most cases and in a competitive power-politic international environment.

The problem stems from transition issues that countries which started with a free press do not face. Countries that have always had a free press have developed organically and in tandem with other public institutions that together with the public at large have provided the needed mechanisms to keep each other in check. This process takes time to develop without creating great imbalances, and is organic in its development.

So what is the problem with developing countries not suddenly freeing their press (those that have not done so)? The problem is that such a decision is not taken in a vacuum. The reality is that there are political power struggles in every corner of the earth, and the superpowers or the neighboring countries are quick to use the powerful role of the press for political purposes to destabilize the country.

Why freeing the press suddenly would/may not work in a developing country is that the citizens have not acquired the needed skills and education of dealing with the press as they have not had such practice and because of lack of institutions (present in civil societies but not developing societies) that provide a buffer against the press and because of a lack of professionalism in the press where these few press outlets are outlets for governments or frequently owned by foreign entities with suspicious motives and inclinations or where these entities attempt to influence or interfere in the operation of the press in an inappropriate manner as even in the USA, the land of absolute press freedom (with minor judicial qualifications), there are laws on the ownership of media.

So the governments in developing countries are reluctant to free their less-than-developed press. But also a great concern against freeing the press is that it is usually an internal press that is not practiced in the "responsibility of the press." This is because they tend to have extreme views on issues since they have been sheltered (being a government entity) from reflecting the concerns of citizens and by the reporters/editors having views that are not tempered by the example of the society they live in, as those "developing citizens" themselves have not acquired a good balance of social rights and responsibilities in the different arenas, the press being one of them.

So the press tends to blow hot and cold and tends to give more heat than light as its internal dynamics demands so, since a normal press is a commercial entity seeking to attract an audience. While a mature and stable society can handle and deal with lots of heat in the press, a developing and fragile society may not be able to and becomes easy prey to all kinds of very serious social problems. It is not difficult to create mayhem in an underdeveloped society by the sinister use of the press, whereas a stable society would be totally unaffected. The same facts relating to a particular public issue can be debated and presented for discussion to produce good results as the aim of "the participants in the discussion" is an attempt to find a solution or produce consensus, while these very same facts when debated in the hands of others can be directed for no other purpose than sowing trouble and disunity.

So how do we transition and maintain stability and prevent ethnic or social strife? The answer is three-pronged. Governmental institutions should be civilized, homegrown civic organizations should be developed (in all fields) and be strengthened, and the public should be educated (by demonstration as in our story on public problem solving) to learn to assimilate and use information and develop expectations of how social problems should be solved. All these things need to happen and grow organically and as such, the freedom of the press would be increased. The press in develping countries have yet to show interest that they can do proper investigative and educational reports on nonpolitical issues. These issues involve more than 90% of the issues relating to cizitizens lives, be it in the "performance" of government, commercial or civic organizations that need to be investigated, or products and services that citizens consume, and special features that educate in economics, health, education, etc.. The press in developing countries already has an enormous role that it should use to participate and "do journalism and reporting" on almost every aspect of life.

One would want in a free press environment a government, social organizations, and citizens all able to use the media and capable of dealing with it. Any weak link is an indication of an undeveloped society and is a likely source of instability. The government, citizens, the press, and civic organizations should all be capable participants in the cross-action debates of public issues and public policies. A balanced system (formal or informal) of "rights and responsibilities" should be the goal for each of the participants. "The stronger any one of these participants becomes, the stronger the others need to be." That is the formula! And it uses variables that officials can use to guide their gradual opening of the press.

These issues we presented do not relate to developed countries with a highly-educated citizenry, superb civic organizations, infinite sources of press outlets and a government most adept at navigating and projecting itself on crucial issues in these kinds of environments.

We conclude by saying the following: The development of the press sector is one of the most important tasks for any country. The press in a normal society provides the data needed for decision-making by citizens. The proper press development occurs in conjunction with the development of civil governmental institutions, an abundance of civil organizations, and a citizenry that is educated enough to be able to use the press and not be used by it.

Ultimately we see that this is a tall order even for developed countries, as we see that an educated citizen is at the root and the ultimate protector of all civil institutions.

Previous Stories:
  Culture and its role in development   (1/25/2000)
  Intelligence, problem solving at the individual and social level   (1/25/2000)
  Governments and problem solving for development   (1/25/2000)
  Economic development strategies   (1/15/2000)
  The need and future of international institutions   (1/15/2000)

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