Mass Media Freedom of Speech and Social Responsibility

Another paper I wanted to save.

Mass Media Freedom of Speech and Social Responsibility

The events that took place around the world earlier this year raised the question of the social responsibility of the media. Should it relate stories that are marketable and sensational under the label of ‘freedom of speech’ without thought of the consequences on the population at large? At some point, the media has to accept that it holds great power, and that “with great power, comes great responsibility” (Spider-man 2002).

Who is entitled to free speech?

Individual freedom of speech and that of the mass media are the same. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers” (Article 19). This is the governing body that is responsible for all individual’s rights regardless of nationality, religion or race around the world. As such, there is one standard of freedom of expression that applies to all nations.

Corporate social responsibility

Corporate social responsibility is defined as “the notion that corporations have an obligation to constituent groups in society other than stockholders and beyond that prescribed by law or union contracts” (Kreitner 61). Just as each individual has an obligation to make each society a better place, corporations do as well.

Free speech and social responsibility

One could argue that a corporation is not an individual and as such, while individuals have a right to free speech, corporations do not. In the case of newspaper corporations, the views they express are those of individuals, and by nature their business is to bring current events, viewpoints, entertainment and any other issues affecting a nation to the public. As businesses, they have a right to edit materials that can be potentially damaging to their organizations or to the community before they are aired. Also, corporations are formed and made functional by individuals and as a result, they have a collective interest in acting in the best interest of a society.

Sensationalism in the media

Over the years, many sensational stories have been aired, printed and become otherwise available to the public. While some of the stories are true, there have been many that were half-truths and some that were not fully investigated or factually checked. At other times, the media quite clearly fanned the flames of discord and at times this has directly resulted in the loss of lives and lead to great civil unrest.

One of the terrible events in our history that has aired many times over is that of the Rwandan genocide. In a land where there is constant struggle for land, water and political power between the indigenous tribes, the confrontations came to the forefront when the Rwandan President President Habyarimana’s plane was shot from the air killing him in April 1994. This started the violence that lasted 100 days in the country. Neighbors, friends and colleagues turned against each other with machetes and clubs in a killing spree that left an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus dead.

How could the death of one man instigate such violence? The media played a huge role in this. For when the Hutu President was killed, the media reported that it was at the hands of the Tutsis. “During the genocide, radio was used by the Hutu extremist conspirators to mobilise the Hutu majority, to coordinate the killings and to ensure that the plans for extermination were faithfully executed” (http://www.fahamu.org/rwanda.php). The media within the country failed its people by broadcasting inflammatory information, and the western media failed even more. They did not choose to “trust but verify” (Ronald Reagan) as it is their duty to do, they took the Rwandan media coverage as absolute truth and viewed it as yet another African nation at war with itself. As a result, the international community did not intervene until it was too late. Had the media done its job properly, stability could have been maintained at a time when it was most needed. The international media could have brought a halt to the massacre before it escalated out of control. Instead, both the national and international media fanned the flames and let it continue.

But this is not the only instance of the media’s social irresponsibility. Radio Television Serbia was bombed because it was alleged that it was used as a tool of propaganda that fanned ethnic hatred within the state. The Balkan wars were fueled by hatred propagated by the media and left many dead, displaced and missing. It was events such as this that coined the term “ethnic cleansing” in the early 1990s.

There are many more events where the media played a role in fueling crises. After many years of civil unrest, Angola is today a somewhat peaceful nation. This is no thanks to the media. The state-run newspaper Jornal de Angola on March 2, 2002, ran a one page story calling upon the nation’s people to take to the streets to “beat up or kill either slowly or at speed all remaining members of UNITA who dared to remember their slain leader Jonas Savimbi” (Marquis). The Angolan newspaper has a long history of inciting fear and warfare among that nation’s people throughout the country’s civil unrest.

Today many of the murderers of the Rwandan genocide and the Balkan wars have been called to justice for the war crimes that they have committed by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. But this justice is two-fold since for the people that are no longer alive, it is has no meaning. Individuals are brought to justice, but the media that serves as the tools of the warlords very rarely sees the insides of such a court.

The positive effects of a socially responsible media

But, not all media are negligent in their news broadcast. The ones that are socially aware and observe their social obligations to communities serve a great and valuable purpose. The television channel Lifetime which is dedicated to programs for women, boasts 1.9 million visitors on its website each month. The station partnered with organizations such as Amnesty International, United Nations Development Fund for Women and The Body Shop to bring the facts of violence against women to the forefront. The popular belief is that the channel only shows “chick flicks”, but this is certainly not the case. Over the years, Lifetime has shed light on domestic violence, kidnapping, alcoholism and most recently the issue of human trafficking.

When a corporation engages in such a major undertaking, it is not only performing a humanitarian service for the community, it is also forming a chain, giving voice to organizations that know the facts but do not have a voice. Many of us will never read an ILO report on child labor statistics or any other such atrocities, but if a movie is made of it and it’s on TV, we will most likely watch it. This is the power of the media and Lifetime recognizes it.

One of the big stories covered in the news over the past couple of weeks was that of myspace.com. The morning television shows talked about the type of images that children post, the things they say and the people they talk to on that popular website. One of the things that came to light throughout these shows was that in most instances, the parents are not aware of how their children spend their time online. Another is that everything word and image that is posted and available online is available to anyone that chooses to browse or search.

The television show Dateline in its series “To Catch a Predator” took its investigation further. Under-aged decoys were set up to engage in conversations with adults and in some instances arranged dates at their homes. From the time the date arrived at the house, Dateline’s camera followed them and then questioned them about whether or not they knew that they had arranged dates with young girls. In most instances the men knew and it wasn’t the first time they were doing it. One man stripped off his clothing from the time he walked in the door and another took his little boy on the date. What this series of shows did was to bring to the attention of the parents the practices of the predators that lie in wait for their children if they don’t take the necessary measures to protect and monitor their children’s online activity.

Until recently, many had never heard of Guantanamo Bay or its purpose. This is a place where the United States holds its prisoners of war. Images and accounts of what was taking place within the prison walls rocked the international community a few years ago. Not only were there human rights violations, but violations of the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war. According to the Geneva Convention “prisoners of war must at all times be humanely treated. Any unlawful act or omission by the Detaining Power causing death or seriously endangering the health of a prisoner of war in its custody is prohibited, and will be regarded as a serious breach of the present Convention” (A.13). If it was not for the images that were broadcasted across television screens, newspapers and websites, these atrocities would not have come to light and would have continued. In the media’s coverage, it was uncovered that not only was psychological torture prevalent in the prison, but that the United States was allegedly transporting prisoners to countries where physical torture was acceptable. Because of all that was uncovered during their investigations, Guantanamo Bay may be closed and rightly so.

The greater good of the media being socially aware and acting responsibly

Over the decades the media has had great influence on societies. It has caused wars and ended them, reported the rise and fall of great men and women alike and called on nations to help those in need. It has the ability to shape, save and end lives. The media serves as our eyes and ears to the world. Because of our inability to observe international events first hand, we have to rely on media outlets to tell us when children are dying of starvation, people are suffering from lack of shelter and women and children are used as tools of war. Without the media bringing us news of these occurrences, we will not be able to reach out with a helping hand.

It is fortunate that many of the media sources understand the power they hold and they utilize it for the greater good. During and after hurricane Kathrina, the Asian Tsunami and the September 11 terror attacks, when the media aired their rallying calls, people listened. The atrocities that take place around the world are brought into our lives and we realize that the opportunities and rights that we have are not entitlements but a gift and a luxury.