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Accountability of Media to Society: Principles and Means 91

Contemporary issues of accountability

Some of the issues on which the media are held accountable are perennial and
universal, while others are variable and particular to certain places and times. In
the first category, belongs the requirement to respect the rights of individuals,
when these are touched by publication, especially in respect to reputation and
material interests (e.g. copyright). While law normally protects such rights, there
is a disputed frontier zone where the public interest in publication may transcend
individual and private rights. Matters to do with public order and the security of
the state have also been perennial topics for claims against the media by author-
ities, especially in relation to defence, terrorism or civil disturbance. Again, there
is a disputed territory where governments may use public interest claims to
maintain secrecy and deny legitimate claims for information and freedom to
publish.
In a second category of more variably arising issues, we can find a number of
public sphere expectations. These particularly relate to media contributions to the
working of political and other social institutions. This is achieved through:
publishing full, fair and reliable information; assisting in the expression of
diverse and relevant opinions, including criticism of government; giving access
to significant voices in society; facilitating the participation of citizens in social
life; abstaining from harmful propaganda. All these are necessary conditions for
an effective democracy. There are also increasing calls for the media to take
account of the greater interdependence of nations and to observe international
norms for good conduct.
In the sphere of cultural values there is more diversity, less clarity and more
disputation. The media are widely expected to respect if not support the
dominant values and moral standards of a society and, though less strongly, to
give expression to the culture, arts and language of the national society. The
media seem more often to be criticized for their failures than praised for success
in this area. We often find firm measures of control on matters where great public
offence is caused, or where the welfare of children and rights of certain minorities
are involved. In general, we need to keep in mind that issues of accountability are
not confined to potential harm, but also include positive expectations.

Concerning responsibility and accountability

The terms ‘responsibility’ and ‘accountability’ are often used interchangeably,
but it is useful to distinguish them. Here, responsibility refers essentially to
obligations which are attributed, in one way or another, to the media, and
relating to the issues just outlined. Accountability refers to the processes by
which media are called to account for meeting their obligations. Hodges (1986: 14)
puts it simply:

The issue of responsibility is the following: to what social needs should we
expect journalists to respond? The issue of accountability is as follows: how