Four Theories of the Press distinguishes four normative accounts of media freedom, authority, and obligation: authoritarian, libertarian, social responsibility, and Soviet Communist. The historically situated typology helps expose commitments within institutions and decisions, without assigning permanent national types or resolving the appropriate balance of freedom and responsibility.
- FamilyModel
- CategoryAnalytical Frameworks, Typologies & Heuristics
- DomainMedia, Publics & Society
What these mean
Editorial orientation · Family
Model
In this series, Model names the editorial family primarily used to understand and explain communication: theories, frameworks, effects, traditions, principles and other conceptual resources. It is an umbrella for a route into the field, not a claim that every included object is a predictive model.
Editorial orientation · Category
Analytical Frameworks, Typologies & Heuristics
Organizes dimensions, distinctions, types or questions so that a situation can be examined systematically. A framework supplies structure, a typology distinguishes forms, and a heuristic offers a usable way to orient judgment.