Media's Influence (continued)
225 Mass Media in Democracies & Dictatorships
• In China, politician-run media hide rather than reveal powerful people's mistakes. Things were headed in the same direction in Italy during the first years of the current century when Prime Minister Berlusconi owned or ran most TV-stations (but fortunately not newspapers).
​​ • In many countries, journalists who write about a powerful man's wrong doing can be imprisioned for years.
​​ • I Russia, journalists write about problems at the risk of their lives.
• Democracy is about the people ruling. For the people to rule by voting in elections or serving as politicians, they have to know about problems. So, to have true democracy, the media must be free to tell the truth.
​​ • No one has a monopoly on truth, so freedom to influence public opinion is important in democracy.
• According to Sweden's constitution, government agencies may not review newspapers before they are printed.
• But newspapers are free to check up on political leaders (and other powerful people). It is their most important role in society.
â–º How free are journalists in China and in Russia?
â–º In dictatorships, authorities prevent journalists from working freely. Why do you think that they do so?
â–º In which way is free mass media important for democracy?
â–º Freedom to influence public opinion is important for demcracy. Why?
â–º What are the authorities in Sweden prohibited from doing, according to Sweden's constitution:
1. reviewing a newspaper before it is printed?
2. printing their own newspapers?
3. recalling a TV channel's broadcasting permit?
