I wasn't exactly nice to parts of the press in "The press as threat" and "Translation and News", and there's more to criticize. The selection of News, for example.
Otherwise it's a clear and well-known fact that democracy needs mass communication systems for effective communication and information. The voters need the information to decide - and most of them need it refined and pre-selected or they couldn't handle the quantity of news.
This means it's always bad news for democracy if the press is controlled by specific interests, incompetent, bullied or even illegal.
Have a look at the ranking of "Reporters without borders" for some surprises about this. Some of our self-proclaimed exemplary democracies don't seem to fit well into this organization's understanding of a free press.
Maybe they expect a bit too much (like the allowance to publish secret information once it leaked to them and anonymity for criminal informants) - but I guess this ranking gives overall a correct impression of the general situation.
Sven Ortmann
Otherwise it's a clear and well-known fact that democracy needs mass communication systems for effective communication and information. The voters need the information to decide - and most of them need it refined and pre-selected or they couldn't handle the quantity of news.
This means it's always bad news for democracy if the press is controlled by specific interests, incompetent, bullied or even illegal.
Have a look at the ranking of "Reporters without borders" for some surprises about this. Some of our self-proclaimed exemplary democracies don't seem to fit well into this organization's understanding of a free press.
Maybe they expect a bit too much (like the allowance to publish secret information once it leaked to them and anonymity for criminal informants) - but I guess this ranking gives overall a correct impression of the general situation.
Sven Ortmann
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