
A DYNAMIC THEORY OF WORLD PRESS ACTION AND MOTIVATION By ELISABETH HUPP SCHILLINGER li Bachelo~ of Science Unive~sity of Illinois U~bana, Illinois 1965 Maste~ of Science Oklahoma State Unive~sity Stillwate~. Oklahoma 1985 Submitted to the Faculty of the G~aduate College of the Oklahoma State Unive~sity in pa~tial fulfillment of the ~equi~ements fo~ the Deg~ee of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Ju 1y, 1992 . i C 0 p y R I G H T by Elisabeth H. Schillinger July 1992 OkliJhoma State Univ. Lihrary : A DYNAMIC THEORY OF WORLD PRESS ACTION AND MOTIVATION ..-Dean of the Graduate College i i PREFACE The decision to devote this work to the construction and presentation of a new world press theory emerged from my frustration with the inadequacy of existing world press theory and my growing awareness of the relevance of a significant body of sociological theory that has been underutilized by communication macro-theorists. As an undergraduate, majoring in journalism and minoring in Soviet studies, I was particularly sensitive to the theoretical shunting aside of the Soviet media system into its own slot, a pariah press, a "bad" press. As my intellectual commitment to the Soviet press deepened and my knowledge of international media broadened, I came to see that it was not only the Soviet system that was maligned in the language and assumptions of these theories; it was any system that was not firmly dedicated to Western, and particularly American press values. I also wondered if it was the business of theory to malign anyone. It seemed ironic that mass communication, a discipline obsessed with the issues of objectivity and balance, could accept so blithely its own assessment of other nations' institutions. Sociology revealed to me the power and possibility of 11 Value-freedom 11 --and also its elusiveness. Max Weber excited me, not because he necessarily achieved objectivity, but because he recognized its importance--especially in observing and understanding macro structures. I also took inspiration from his ability to bring grand 1 i i theory down from the intellectual stratosphere and apply it to earthly institutions. It was Weber's ideas, above all, that served as the theoretical frame for the ideas that inform this work. But it was the phenomenological approaches of microtheorists and empiricists that made it possible to fill in that frame. The primary strengths of the world press theory advanced here--dynamism and validity--are derived from the concept of situated actions as precursors to articulated motives. Motives provide the key to the empirical methodology required to further test this theory--which I hope others will do. When this effort was first undertaken in the spring of 1988, few on either side of the 11 Iron Curtain" anticipated the imminent end of the Cold War within a few short years, nor the realigning of international priorities and the restructuring of political and economic alliances that followed in its wake. Even had these eventualities not come to pass, it was clear that a new theoretical approach was needed to come to terms with the power of the mass media in the age of the "global village. 11 But today, given the state of the not so orderly "new world order," the need for new analytical tools must certainly be recognized. It is in this spirit that the dynamic theory is presented here. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION. 1 Endnotes . 15 II. REVIEW OF EXISTING WORLD PRESS THEORIES •. 16 An Assessment of Four Theories of the Press . 16 Other Theoretical Perspectives on the World Press. 28 Endnotes . ". 44 III. METHODOLOGICAL AND THEORETICAL GROUNDING OF A DYNAMIC WORLD PRESS THEORY . • • • 45 Derivation and Explanation of Method ••.•. 45 Introductory Thoughts on the Integration of Method, Theory, and Empiricism •..• . 45 Reconciling Ideal Types and Grounded Theory. • 46 Expectations and Assumptions Guiding Method. 56 Application of Relevant Social Thought to World Press Theory •...........•.• . 58 Overview of Theoretical Grounding ....•• . 58 Social Action Theory as Analytical Device .•. • 59 Motivation Theory and the Justification of Press Activity ......•....• • • • 64 Endnotes • • . • • . • . • 71 IV. TOWARD A DYNAMIC THEORY OF WORLD PRESS ACTION AND MOTIVATION . 72 The Centrality and Utility of Motive in Realizing Action . • . .••.. 72 11 Subjective Interpretation 11 and Media Research . 72 Challenged Behavior and Identifying 11 Difference That Make a Di fference 11 • • • • • • . 75 Vocabularies of Motive as Cohesive Strategies. 79 The Situational Aspects of Motives . 82 Three Major Premises . • . • . 84 The First Premise . 84 The Second Premise • . 88 The Third Premise .100 The Triangle of Motives .101 v Chapter Page Ideal-Type Characteristics of Motived Press Behavior .. 106 Survival-Motived Press Characteristics .•.... 106 Idea-Motivated Press Characteristics . 109 Instrumentlly-Motivated Press Characteristics .. 117 Control of the Press . • . 120 Endnotes . 122 v. CASE SUMMARIES OF INSTRUMENTALLY-MOTIVATED PRESS SYSTEMS-­ THE UNITED STATES 1776-1992 AND BRITAIN UNDER THATCHER 1979-1990 . • • . • . • 124 Introduction . 124 The United States .... 125 National Situation and Motive 125 Instrumental Characteristics 126 Ideational Characteristics •. 143 Survival Characteristics .... 157 The U.S. Press and the Motive Triangle . 164 Britain in the 1980s .......•.•••. 166 National Situation and Motive ..... 166 Instrumental Characteristics . .••. 172 Survival Characteristics ....•...• 174 Ideational Characteristics .....•...•. 175 Britain and the Motive Triangle ..... 179 Endnotes . 181 VI. CASE SUMMARIES OF SURVIVAL-MOTIVATED PRESS SYSTEMS-­ SINGAPORE AND NIGERIA SINCE INDEPENDENCE. •.• 183 Introduction ....•.......•••. 183 S i ngapore--1963-1992 . • 185 National Situation and Motive ...... 185 Survival Characteristics ..• 190 Instrumental Characteristics ...•..•... 202 Ideational Characteristics .. 203 Singapore and the Motive Triangle 206 Nigeria--1960-1992 ..•.••.•• 206 National Situation and Motive 206 Survival Characteristics .. 211 Ideational Characteristics ..•... 220 Instrumental Characteristics .• 222 Nigeria and the Motive Triangle 222 Endnotes . 224 vi Chapter Page VII. CASE SUMMARIES OF IDEA-MOTIVATED PRESS SYSTEMS-­ IRAN 1977-1982 AND THE SOVIET UNION 1900-1991 226 Introduction . 226 Iran and Revolution ............ 229 National Situation and Motive ..... 229 Survival Characteristics of the Pah 1av i Press . • . • • . 233 Ideational Characteristics of the Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary Press ..•..•. 236 Survival Press Characteristics of the Islamic Republic of Iran ..... 245 Instrumental Press Characterstics of the Islamic Republic of Iran ..... 247 Iran and the Motive Triangle ... 248 The USSR--1900-1992 . • • . 249 Cultural Fluidity and Situated Action 249 The Revolutionary Leninist Press--1900-1921 256 The Survivalist NEP Press--1921-1927 .... 259 The Ideational Press of Stalin and Brezhnev 264 The Reform Press and Glasnost 276 Endnotes • . 288 VIII. CONCLUSION 290 Theoretical Relevance and Validity ..... 290 Methodological Considerations .•. 294 The World Press and World Press Scholarship. 296 CITATIONS 299 vii LIST· OF FIGURES Figur-e Page 1. The Motive Tr-iangle 102 2. Pr-ess Activity of Countr-ies A, B, and C 1985-1990 104 3. Pr-ess Activity of Countr-y X 1945, 1965, and 1985 • 0 0 • 104 4. u.s. Pr-ess Activity 1776-1992 . 0 . 0 . 0 165 A. 1776-1800 . 0 0 0 . 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 165 B. 1800-1830 0 0 . 0 0 0 • 0 . 0 . 0 165 c. 1830-1914 . .. 0 0 . 165 D. 1914-1960 . 0 . 0 . 165 E. 1960-1992 . 165 5. Br-itish Pr-ess Activity 179 A. 1979 ......• 179 B. 1988 . • • . • • 179 6. Singapor-ean Pr-ess Activity Since Independence 1963-1991 . 206 7. Niger-ian Pr-ess Activity Since Independence 1960-1991 223 8. Ir-anian Pr-ess Activity and the Islamic Revolution 1977-1982 • 248 9. Russian and Soviet Pr-ess Activity 1900-1991 • 255 A. Russia and the Leninist Pr-ess 1900-1927 255 B. The Stalinist Pr-ess 1927-1956 • • . • . 255 C. Khr-ushchev and the Thaw Pr-ess 1956-1964 • • • • • 255 D. Br-ezhnev"s •stagnation 11 Pr-ess 1964-1982 • • • • 255 E. 'The Glasnost Pr-ess 1985-1991 . • • . • . 255 10. Compar-ative Analysis of National Pr-ess Systems 293 A. The U.S. Pr-ess 1960-1992 •••• 293 B. The Br-itish Pr-ess Under- Thatcher- 1988 293 C. -~~ Singapor-ean Pr-ess 1963-1991 293 D. The Niger-ian Pr-ess 1960-1991 ..••• 293 E. The Ir-anian Pr-ess 1979-1982 .••••• 293 E. The Soviet Pr-ess Under- Br-ezhnev 1964-1982 293 viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The long-standing inadequacy of mass communication theory to make sense of the world/s national press systems has become increasingly apparent in recent years as media behavior has been transformed to meet the exigencies of a new post-Cold War world. The point of departure for the present work is the assumption that underlying mass media activity in all nations is a structure of prioritized motives that continually shape and alter the character of the press. By delineating that structure and identifying its parameters, national press activity and policy can be viewed as voluntaristic responses to situations arising from social, economic, and political environments. The centerpiece of this dissertation, presented in Chapter IV, is a definition of that structure, a comprehensive and holistic theory that assumes context to be a prerequisite for understanding the world/s press. Intrinsic to this understanding is the perception of dynamism as a constant--a constant that transcends time, space, and, certainly, nationality. As background for the presentation of the 11 dynamic theory," Chapter II examines existing world press theory, with particular emphasis on United States and Western contributions. American theory not only forms the nucleus of journalism and mass communication scholarship and education in the United States, but throughout the world CDissanayake, 1988). 1 Although empirical observation provided the impetus and 1 2 guidelines for the dynamic theory's construction, it was also informed by the interweaving of numerous strands of social theory, most notably Max Weber's social action theory and the dramaturgical concept of motives as integrative justifications for actions or behaviors already underway.
Details
-
File Typepdf
-
Upload Time-
-
Content LanguagesEnglish
-
Upload UserAnonymous/Not logged-in
-
File Pages336 Page
-
File Size-