5. Social Responsibility and the Hutchins Report

University of Botswana

Department of Media Studies

BMS 226 ETHICS FOR MEDIA PROFESSIONALS

HANDOUT 5: HUTCHINS REPORT, MEDIA AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

The Hutchins Report 1947

The Commission on Freedom of the Press 1947 in the US (known as the ‘Hutchins Report’ after its chair, Robert Hutchins) was the first scientific study of the press in the US and first social responsibility theory formulated by Theodore Paterson, Fred S. Siebert and Wilbur Schramm in their book Four Theories of the Press.

The Hutchins Commission Report said that the freedom of the press was in danger in the United States, ‘because in the hand of a few gigantic business units, the media of mass communication vital to the life of our democracy, have failed to accept the full responsibility to the public’.

The Commission observed that freedom of the press in America was in danger because ‘those who controlled’ the press did not facilitate the communication of a wide spectrum of ideas.

The American view of responsibility as contained in the Hutchins Report required that:

• The press should accept certain responsibilities towards the society

• These responsibilities can be discharged by giving a true, accurate, objective and balanced picture of the world

• The press should regulate itself, though within the context of law and other social institutions

• The press should reflect the pluralistic character of the society

• The press should play a positive role in regulating crime, violence and social conflict

• The press should be accountable to the society as well as to employers and the market

• The press should work for public good

Thus, we see rights and responsibilities go together. Nobody, individual or institution, is exempt from responsibilities.

Social Responsibility Theory

The First Amendment of the US constitution guarantees freedom of speech so that the press can remain fully free, and the public can be fully informed. This freedom may sometimes be hindered by corporate pressures and government control. In countries without freedom of the press, messages are filtered through the government, allowing only what is considered acceptable information to be released to the public.

To combat the pressures that threatened freedom of the press, the social responsibility theory was first introduced in 1947 and was recommended by the Hutchins Commission. It stated that the media should serve the public, and in order to do so, should remain free of government interference. It defined guidelines that the media should follow in order to fulfil its obligation of serving the public.

Ethics and the Media

The Social Responsibility Theory claimed that the media could be self-regulating by adhering to the following precepts:

• Media has obligations to fulfil to a democratic society in order to preserve freedom.
• Media should be self-regulated.
• Media should have high standards for professionalism and objectivity, as well as truth and accuracy.
• Media should reflect the diversity of the cultures they represent.
• The public has a right to expect professional performance. (The supporters of this theory had strong faith in the public’s ability to determine right and wrong, and take action to preserve the public good when necessary.)

The social responsibility does not only fall upon the reporters and producers of media. The responsibility also falls to the consumers to become media literate and maintain high, yet reasonable expectations of the media. In theory, if these things happen, there will be no need for government intervention.

The Social Responsibility Theory was seen as the ideal way for the media to conduct business. Over the years since its introduction, this theory has met with much criticism as well as support. It has become the standard for United States media practices. It has also set the standards for much of the currently accepted media ethics.

FURTHER READINGS:

Margaret A Blanchard, The Hutchins Commission, The Press, and the Responsibility Concept, Journalism Monographs, Association for Education in Journalism, 1977.

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/39/d9/0b.pdf

What is the Social Responsibility Theory?

http://press-freedom.suite101.com/article.cfm/what_is_the_social_responsibility_theory#ixzz0iEySzevP