Compare and contrast the libertarian and the social responsibility theories.

The Libertarian Theory of the media is one of the basic theories propounded by Siebert, Wilbur Schramm and Peterson in 1956 when capitalism started gaining deeper roots in the so-called Western countries especially America. Siebert notes that: “Anyone with sufficient capital could start a communications enterprise… [and] the success of the enterprise will be determined by the public which it sought to serve”. Thus, this pro-western media gave rise to sensationalism and the media here enjoyed relative absolute freedom and no significant control from the government.

The Social Responsibility Theory (SRT) on the other hand is a variant of the basic theories of the press. David K. Perry explains in his book “Theory and Research in Mass Communications” that: “The social responsibility model represents an attempt to update the libertarian theory in light of changes in the media ownership, … The basic idea is that freedom carries with it responsibility. To remain in private hands, the media should meet societal expectations in a number of areas, such as providing a forum for a plurality views concerning public affairs” and further asserts that: “If not, the government steps in”.

In the light of these, the significant similarity the two models have is freedom. Freedom here means that immediately a media outlet is set up it has access to press freedom as enshrined in many codes and laws. This is the one most basic freedom that the press enjoy or ought to enjoy pillared on the fundamental human rights to freedom of expression, thought and conscience. All things being equal, the content of the messages do not matter as far as one is entitled to express his/her thoughts freely.

Key differences

· One key difference between the libertarian theory and the SRT is the economic motive of setting up media houses. In the libertarian model, the key motive for setting up the media is the principle of profit–making in a capitalist society. The media in the libertarian society view the stories they carry as a “commodity” which has a market value. It is what sells more that the media find most important. The SRT model differs in this regard. The media does not make profit-making the key motive of setting up. In Ghana, many newspapers has been criticized by the media critics that they are only there to sell sensationalized stories. People and Places (P&P), is a private news paper which has carved a niche for itself in carrying sensational stories and has suffered a lot of criticisms in its specialty. It has made profits for the kind of stories it publishes.

· The SRT model emphasizes the need to reflect social diversity and minority viewpoints giving an objective platform to the ‘masses’. It does all these for the general good of the people. The basic ideology is being responsible to the people; giving back to society what they take from it. Instead, in the libertarian model, the media sees itself as a watchdog of society and protects individual rights. It becomes extremely critical of the state authority. It reveals abuse of power (corruption) within state bureaucracy. It does not spare any public officer who is corrupt. As in the case of The Enquirer’s story on Mr. Richard Anane when he was the minister of health in Ghana, he was reported of having fathered a child with a white woman after having sex with her during an international AIDS conference of which he (Mr. Anane) was attending the conference in an official capacity. Sometimes, in the quest to be critical of the government, some news papers end up publishing scandalizing and sensationalizing stories about the government. This is what the SRT model goes against.

· The libertarian theory of the press assumes that the press or media should be free from external censorship, and that publications and distribution should be made accessible to all with a permit and also attacks on governments should not be punished. In the SRT model, the media reconciles freedom to all these with responsibility. It therefore regulates itself and is being regulated externally as well. In Ghana, the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) on 27th July 1994, adopted their code of ethics. Article Two of the ‘GJA Code of Ethics’ calls for responsibility from journalists. It states: “In collecting and disseminating information, the journalist should bear in mind his/her responsibility to the public at large and the various interests in society”. It also calls for professionalism on the part of its members in the subsequent articles.

· In the SRT model, irresponsibility is punished severely by existing laws such as Law of Contempt. A court case in Ghana, Attorney General verses Legon Observer (a newspaper) in which the former filed a writ of attachment for contempt with respect to an article published in December 1967 edition entitled, “Justice delayed is justice denied”. The article referred to a number of cases pending before the court. The article criticized the court for deliberately delaying the course of Justice. The publisher, editor and writer were found culpable for contempt of court and were punished accordingly. The libertarian theory frowns on being controlled or regulated by any state authority.