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166 Communication Theory & Research
Democracy and the Mass Media:
The Sublime and the Ridiculous

This paper is entitled ‘telling stories’, and my first story takes us to the House of
Commons in the late 18th century. The heroic and often told battle to obtain the
right to report parliamentary proceedings had been won in 1771. But still
the struggle continued (Aspinall, 1956; Kinnear, 1905). Imagine if you will the
cramped, dark seats in the Gallery. One man sits intense and still amidst the hub-
bub, staring into the Chamber, listening to the speeches. Hours later he is still
there, unmoving and concentrated. This is William Woodfall, editor, printer, and
indeed sole reporter of the Morning Chronicle. For his prodigious feats William
has gone down in history as ‘Memory Woodfall’, because his legendary talent
was the ability to commit to memory complete debates, often after sitting
through the night listening to the House at work. Note-taking at this time was
still prohibited. Many readers will have seen his heirs, no doubt, sitting glassy-
eyed in the front rows of lectures. In the cold early morning Memory would
return to his office and write verbatim accounts of the proceedings in the House
(Smith, 1978). Undoubtedly, like Samuel Johnson a few years later, his ability to
embellish the speeches with a lucidity and oratory beyond the skills of the orig-
inal speakers did much to keep criticism and prosecution at bay. But he was
engaged in developing that central art of what we later came to call the mass
media, namely, political communication.
It has become a central assumption of modern times that Woodfall’s heirs play
a key role in making modern society work. The mass media, it is assumed, are
the vital arteries through which the information which is our democratic life-
blood flows between rulers and ruled. Those who govern keep a watchful eye on
the public mood by scanning the front pages and headlines, while for the citizen
at large, the media provide a rich and diverse diet of political information. We
read and watch, then consider judiciously among the many alternatives put to
us before arriving at conclusions and voting wisely. If journalism is ‘history’s
first draft’, then we all take part in the ritual of editing its final polished manu-
script. The media provide a supermarket of ideas, around whose counters we
freely wander before approaching the electoral check-out, our choices made
from amongst a comprehensive selection of political packages.
This view is inscribed on the hearts of those who work in and manage the
mass media. Here is Charles Curran, a distinguished former Director-General of
the BBC:

It is the broadcaster’s role, as I see it, to win public interest in public issues.
The organisation of political consent is more difficult in a complex society
than it has ever been before. If broadcasting can arouse public interest
it can increase public understanding. ... Broadcasters have a responsibil-
ity, therefore, to provide a rationally based and balanced service of
news which will enable adult people to make basic judgements about
public policy in their capacity as voting citizens of a democracy (Curran,
1979: 114).