Page 144 - Comparing Political Communication Theories, Cases, and Challenge

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Pippa Norris

Press Freedom

Nonfree Free

Widespread e.g., Singapore, Belarus, Saudi e.g., Argentina, Brazil, Estonia,
Media Access Access Arabia, Turkey, Russia Kingdom, the United States
Jamaica, Poland, the United

Limited Access e.g., Bangladesh, Rwanda, e.g., Mali, Namibia, the
Algeria, Yemen, Zimbabwe Philippines, South Africa

Figure 6.1 Typology of Media Systems. Note: Measures of media access and
press freedom. See technical appendix for details.

effectively under two conditions: In societies where channels of mass
communications are free and independent of established interests; and
in addition where there is widespread public access to these media. The
reason is that freedom of the press by itself is insufficient to guarantee
positive development outcomes if disadvantaged groups and marginal-
ized communities are excluded from the information resources provided
by the mass media. For example, the potential impact of the Internet
on democracy and social progress will continue to be limited if there
is no closure of the digital divide, and if online political resources, as
well as access to basic information about jobs, educational opportuni-
ties, news, and social networks, are unavailable to many poorer pop-
ulations in large swathes of Sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Asia, and
Latin America (Norris 2001). Yet access to communications is insuf-
ficient by itself, if the printed press remain subservient to established
interests, if television news fails to report government policy failures, if
radio broadcasters are unable to hold the powerful to account for their
actions, and if there are relatively few Web sites reflecting the concerns
of local groups and minority languages in poorer societies. For commu-
nication channels to function effectively in accordance with the hopes of
liberal theory we can theorize that access and independence are required
(see Figure 6.1).
Levels of access influence the scope and reach of mediated chan-
nels of communication, how widely politicians can reach the public
through the press, as well as how far citizens can use these channels to

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