The dual role of the Chinese press in the United States: Change and continuity

Abstract

Early theories of journalism have hypothesized a correspondence between the philosophy of the press and the political system under which it operates. Nationalized news media in a communist country, according to the theories, necessarily follow the Marxist (totalitarian) press philosophy that regards mass media as an ideological and cultural arm of the state. While media ownership under a capitalistic dictatorial regime remains in private hands, the press is authoritarian in character in that it supports the politico-economic goals of the regime at the expense of freedom of speech. By contrast, Western democracies have bred a libertarian press system and philosophy with ideals of freedom from outside control and freedom to perform watchdog functions vis-à-vis the political system.

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Chen Yu-hsi

A preliminary draft of this paper was presented at the International Conference on Overseas Chinese sponsored by the Department of Ethnic Studies of the University of California at Berkeley in November 1992. Substantial revisions were made following the author's further empirical study in New York in 1993–94 of old and new ethnic Chinese newspapers

Notes

The earliest discussion of the politico-journalistic correspondence is found in Wilbur Schramm, Fred Siebert, and Theodore Perterson, Four Theories of the Press ( Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1956). A strict interpretation of the theme in terms of a press-government symbiosis is contained in John C. Merill and S. Jack Odell, Philosophy and Journalism (New York: Longman, 1983).