In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

3 Characteristics of Normative Theory The historical review of the previous chapter shows that the clarification of normative theory is not a deterministic process of historical progression, but a continuous conversation among major social actors seeking to understand how public discourse should be carried on in a given sociopolitical context. The past formulas are drawn upon, but the normative is best described as seeking consensus on how to carry out communication for public decisions in the present circumstances. At times there is a high degree of satisfaction with the new formulas of public communication, but these conceptions are always being challenged by new actors and new media technologies. This search continually generates new ways to guarantee respect for the moral claims of various actors, and it takes on new meaning as the conversation becomes increasingly global. Accordingly, we define normative theory of public communication as the reasoned explanation of how public discourse should be carried on in order for a community or nation to work out solutions to its problems. It is a theory in that it attempts to explain how certain forms of public discourse lead to good collective decisions. As noted in chapter 2, libertarian formulas were widely accepted in early modern Europe because they fit well with the spirit of free enterprise and the desire to challenge the remnants of a stagnant feudalistic power structure. Milton’s Areopagitica and later Mill’s On Liberty summed up well the libertarian consensus of the time. These formulas seemed to explain simply and clearly how many of the major problems of carrying on public discourse should be solved: how and why to guarantee freedom of expression, how everybody can quickly get the information they seek, how consensus can be reached without coercion, and how to sort out so-called erroneous proposals. By the twentieth century, however, there was a new sociopolitical context with new social actors and different communication needs. The libertarian formula, i-xii_1-284_Chri.indd 65 5/5/09 8:54:34 AM 66 . theory which made media the private mouthpiece of the proprietor was no longer working to the satisfaction of all. A new formula that said that proprietors also had social responsibilities had to be worked out to explain how issues of truth, freedom, and participation could be achieved in new circumstances, where the media became large corporate enterprises. Formulas such as the one offered by the Hutchins Commission report, and its popular adaptations in books such as Four Theories, explained to generations of young media professionals how the social responsibility system worked and why it was more satisfactory than earlier frameworks. We also explore in this chapter why the theoretical grounding is so important for gaining a more satisfactory organization of public communication. What is the significance of having a commonly agreed-on theory or explanatory formula of norms? Why does a society that works out a commonly held theory have more effective public communication? Does a tradition of public discourse clearly and directly grounded in normative theory orient the media much more strongly toward the support of a democracy? Finally, we ask how a community or nation arrives at a more satisfactory normative formula, so that we can work out an effective normative underpinning for press roles in a democratic society. Single or Competing Theories? Four Theories and subsequent discussions of normative theory have tended to emphasize competitive models. Analysis of the historical evolution suggests, however, that we are speaking not about competing normative theories but a relatively unified body of explanatory resources that can justify specific public policies or help judge the validity of certain actors’ moral claims. There are obviously diverse and competing orientations within the tradition of normative theory. For example, there has been a long debate between advocates of the individualistic, libertarian conception of how to realize truth or freedom in public discourse and advocates of the conception of communitarian, socially oriented approaches to normative theory. Here we shall refer to these competing orientations as paradigmatic traditions. A paradigm is a model or basic logic that colors all aspects of a field of meaning. For example, if the libertarian orientation is the dominant paradigmatic tradition of normative theory, this will influence all aspects of the normative in public discourse—personal ideals of good communication, codes of ethics, preferable communication policies, and the performance of the press that the public demands. Every tradition provides a different resource for explaining why a particular normative approach is preferable. The particular normative system supporting...

Share