Fourth Estate

What is the role of the free press in strengthening democracy, good governance, and human development?1 Liberal theorists have long argued that the existence of a unfettered and independent press within each nation is essential in the process of democratization, by contributing towards the right of freedom of expression, thought and conscience, strengthening the responsiveness and accountability of governments to all citizens, and providing a pluralist platform and channel of political expression for a multiplicity of groups and interests.2 The guarantee of freedom of expression and information is recognized as a basic human right in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the UN in 1948, the European Convention on
Human Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. In particular, Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: "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." The positive relationship between the growth of the free press and the process of democratization is thought to be reciprocal. The core claim is that, in the first stage, the initial transition from autocracy opens up the state control of the media to private ownership, diffuses access, and reduces official censorship and government control of information. The public thereby receives greater exposure to a wider variety of cultural products and ideas through access to multiple radio and TV channels, as well as the diffusion of new technologies such as the Internet and mobile telephones. Once media liberalization has commenced, in the second stage democratic consolidation is strengthened where journalists in independent newspapers, radio and television stations facilitate greater transparency and accountability in governance, by serving in their watch-dog roles to deter corruption and malfeasance, as well as providing a civic forum for multiple voices in public debate, and highlighting problems to inform the policy agenda.3 Through this process, numerous observers have emphasized that a free press is valuable for democracy, for good governance, and for human development. This perspective is exemplified by Amartya Sen’s famous argument that in independent and democratic countries, the free press encourages government responsiveness to public concerns, by highlighting cases of famine and natural disasters. “...in the terrible history of famines in the world, no substantial famine has ever occurred in any independent and democratic country with a relatively free press.” 4 The independent media, Sen suggests, enhances the voice of poor people and generates more informed choices about economic needs and priorities.5 James D. Wolfensen echoed these sentiments when he was the president of the World Bank: “A free press is not a luxury. A free press is at the absolute core of equitable development, because if you cannot DRIVING DEMOCRACY – CHAPTER 8 9/15/2007 2:37PM 2 enfranchise poor people, if they do not have a right to expression, if there is no searchlight on corruption and inequitable practices, you cannot build the public consensus needed to bring about change.”6 Systematic evidence supporting these claims has been reported by Besley and
Burgess, who found that Indian state governments proved more responsive to external shocks, such as falls in crop production and crop flood damage, by expanding local public relief in places where newspaper circulation was higher and electoral accountability greater.7 Similarly, greater transparency and more open information is thought to be particularly important for stamping out malfeasance and misappropriations by public officials, for example, economic studies have reported that places with widespread newspaper circulation, and the existence of Freedom of
Information laws, have less corruption.8 Many case studies also emphasize the vital role of the mass media in transitions from autocracy, for instance in Georgia’s ‘Rose’ revolution.9 Likewise in
Serbia, Georgia, and Ukraine, McFaul argues that the presence of the independent media was one of the key components of successful transitions from post-communist states, for instance their role in highlighting news about rigged votes and publicizing popular protests and dissent expressed against the authorities, encouraging opposition movements onto the streets.10