The democratic illusion:
Liberal theory and the public sphere
as approaches to understand the media′s role in democracy

Index:

1. Introduction

2. The role of the media in democracy

2.1 The public sphere in context of its contemporary relevance
2.2 Liberal press theory

2.2.1 Privatization and commercialisation
2.2.2 The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the infiltration of the First Amendment
2.2.3 Conservative informational control
2.2.4 The influence of PR and advertising

3. Alternative models

4. Conclusion

5. References

1. Introduction

The role of the media in democracies is to connect decision makers and voters. The media should thus fulfil a basic position and serve as a foundation for the democratic process. In Rich Media, Poor Democracy R.W. McChesney argues that the media, far from providing a bedrock for freedom and democracy, have become a significant antidemocratic force in the United States and, to varying degrees, worldwide. The variables that have caused this development are the corporate media explosion and the corresponding implosion of public life and culture. M.C. Miller (2001) even states that "the generated monoculture, endlessly and noisily triumphant, offers, by and large, a lot of nothing, whether packaged as ′the news′ or ′entertainment′". Whereas the major beneficiaries are wealthy investors, advertisers and the few leading media conglomerates, this concentrated corporate control is disastrous for any notion of participatory democracy. The text contrasts the two fundamentally different positions of the media′s role in democracy, which are the media in the desirable position as provider of a public sphere in a Habermasian sense, and the media′s role in a liberal theory understanding. By focussing largely on the US media, the prototype of privatization, section two names the most influential corporate powers and presents the influence they exert. Following the description of their independence from any controlling instances, such as the FCC, the text finally points out alternatives which are basically derived from D.W. Mazzocco.

2. The role of the media in democracy

There exist two entirely different points of view concerning the media′s role in democracy (Golding 2003): First, is the approach to regard the media as a means to broadcast information that enables citizens to participate in the political process through voting - the most elementary form of political action and participation. This basic democratic scheme is sometimes rooted in Habermas′ theory of the public sphere. Second, is the liberal theory approach to see the media as a check on the state. This position parallels privatization to the most possible extent. Whereas on the one hand liberal theorists emphasize the aspect of state regulation in the interest of the common welfare, on the other hand they play down the emerging private powers that remain unaffected from any controlling instance. The myth of serving the public interest through the private sector thus has more often served as a pretext to protect corporate interest, convenience and necessity (Mazzocco 1994, p. 142). The media has become pure business, whose only purpose is to maximise profits. While advertising and sponsoring emerge as the ostensible factors, information appears as a by-product from this point of view. Orthodox liberal theory is especially well entrenched in the United States (Curran 2000, p. 121).

2.1 The public sphere in context of its contemporary relevance

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