Illiberal Media Control and Politics in Globalized Contexts: Hungary and Singapore

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1 Illiberal Media Control and Politics in Globalized Contexts: Hungary and Singapore Eva Polonska-Kimunguyi Monash University Hoe-Yeong Loke EU Centre in Singapore

2 Outline The liberal media model Hungary Singapore The limits of the check and balances on the abuses of media control Hungary: EU Singapore: new media/internet Refining old models of authoritarian media control 2

3 Liberal media model Government system Liberal Democratic clearly dominant across Europe as well as North America as it has across much of the world Political culture Polarized Mancini 2004) (Hallin & Media freedom No censorship Media ownership Funding of media Parallelism of media and political parties State control of media Media culture Private Market Low Low Investigative Spread of liberal model due to: Americanization Global culture of journalism Modernization Secularization Commercialization New media Limits of liberal model: Media orientation Commercial (Hallin and Mancini, 2004; Blum, 2005) Rise of extreme parties Ambiguous effects of 3 commercialization of media

4 What is free media? Free from: or Free from control of any concentrated social group or forces Governmental / Political / Economic control (Rozumilowicz 2002) From control of materials and infrastructure essential for production & dissemination of media products and programs Free to: (UNESCO 2005) To speak and to seek information Of people to access media Of media to reach out to all groups in society Must be diffusion of control and access supported by legal, institutional, economic and socio-cultural systems 4

5 Gaining independence Autonomization (Jakubowicz 1995) Political: gaining independence due to breakdown within ruling elite Economic: no more economic dependence on authorities dependence on readers & audiences Technological: adopting new technologies Professional: journalists and editors aim at impartial information 5

6 What is media pluralism? Media systems Ownership / service structures / entry costs & conditions Media institutions Professional practices User access & interaction with services & content Media contents What s on External pluralism (plurality of outlets)? Internal pluralism (diversity of contents) 6

7 Research questions In the absence of outright dictatorships and with presence of factors facilitating spread of liberal media model 1. Why do developed countries (Hungary and Singapore) adopt strict media laws and control? 1a. How is this practice exercised? 2. What are the forces (at national, supra-national, global level) that provide checks & balances on abuse of media control? 2a. Why have these checks & balances not been successful at securing greater media freedoms? 7

8 Hungary Before 1989: Media as transmission belt (O Neil, 1997) as part of a larger project seeking assimilation of the totality of culture The more control of information, the more power (Kolakowski 1989, p. 65) To impose thought control To detect information, views, ideas that did not serve the system s purpose to provide evidence of the system s successes and to demonstrate its superiority over capitalism, thus strengthen and perpetuate Communist rule (Jakubowicz 1995: 23) 8

9 Change is coming to CEE

10 Transition Media transition - Entire political systems Political (independence from state) - Entire economies Economic (economic independence) - Governance Media governance - Laws Legal - Mindsets Professional Societal Plus: - Integration into global market - Complying with EU laws Plus: - catching up with technological (r)evolution - Integration into global market - Complying with EU laws 10

11 Hungary: It s working! Or, is it? April, 2010: new conservative / nationalist government Loyal party cadres appointed to key state institutions Retrospective tax targeting former politicians Reducing powers of Constitutional Court Elimination of Budgetary Council Intimidation of independent judiciary Methodist Church & Islamic community stripped of legal status Compulsory display of (nationalistic) Proclamation of National Unity 11

12 Assault on media freedoms Media package: No consultation (society / professional bodies) State obligation to preclude information monopolies removed from Constitution Pluralism clause gone Instead: Proper and adequate information No clear definition 12

13 Assault on media freedoms Media Council (merger of authorities) With head to be appointed by PM Powers extended to all media Dual monarchy / departments of authority / media ministry (Haraszti, 2011) Sanctions on all media for: Insulting groups and majority Failing to provide balanced coverage Public Service television: Three autonomous authorities reduced to one Central production fund & news production service (for free to all broadcasters: public & commercial) Chief executive: it is unfair to accept a commission and then to offend 13 the procurer

14 Reactions Expected to bring strictness in content control, clarity in market regulation, effectiveness and rationalized operation in PBS broadcasting and transparency in authority. Instead: (Freedom House, 2011) introduced hastily, breaching the democratic law-making processes, jeopardizing media freedom and pluralism violating all European standards (Haraszti, 2011) On the whole, the law creates a climate of fear and distrust, one of the hallmarks of totalitarian rule (Cohen, 2011) 14

15 The limits of the check and balances on the abuses of media control - EU to the rescue? European Parliament / Commission questioned: Balanced coverage Reduced to broadcasting only (no extension to on-line / on demand media) Country of origin Foreign media cannot be affected by Hungarian laws Media registration After, not as previously requested a-priori registration Offensive content Law would target real situations of discrimination, not just those causing offence Problem solved? EU cornerstones: Democracy / HR / minority rights 15

16 Singapore Politics: People s Action Party (PAP) in power since 1959 Lee Kuan Yew (in Cabinet ) 1961: Split in PAP; rival Barisan Sosialis (Socialist Front) formed : Barisan MPs and members arrested without trial (for alleged communist links) or boycotted Parliament : PAP the only party in Parliament 16

17 Singapore Characterizing PAP s rule: illiberal democracy (Zakaria; Mutalib 2000) soft authoritarianism (Mutalib 2003) Asian values? (Mahbubani 1995; Kausikan 1997) Myth of Asia s anti-democratic values, Asian traditions of democracy, rule of law, respect for the people (Kim Dae-Jung 1994) Democratization in South Korea, Taiwan 17

18 Singapore Media laws 1971: arrests of editors & closure of newspapers for alleged communist or foreign links 1974: Newspaper and Printing Presses Act (NPPA) 1984: Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) By 1995: completed monopoly over all of print media Upper management staffed with former intelligence officials International press: circulation regulation & libel suits 18

19 Singapore TV and radio broadcasting station Until 1994: under control of govt ministry as statutory board 1994: corporatized as private company, but owned by govt through sovereign wealth fund Early 2000s: failed liberalization through soft competition 19

20 The limits of the check and balances on the abuses of media control Singapore circumventing mainstream media through new media? IPS survey 2011: 48% of S poreans think media is biased in coverage of domestic politics Citizen journalism, political blogging around election time No impact on electoral performance of opposition parties (Gomez 2006) Still needs an organized political force (Rodan 2004) 20

21 Comparisons Legislation process HUNGARY SINGAPORE At least 2/3 majority in Parliament: tyranny of the majority? Justification of media control Media must provide proper, adequate coverage that bears relevance to members of the Hungarian nation Role of media: to inform and educate; freedom of media subordinated to an elected govt; Asian values; S poreans trust their media ; racial harmony Question Can the party in government decide what is good for the people, even if it has a supermajority in Parliament? 21

22 Refining old models of authoritarian media control Siebert, Peterson & Schramm (1956): Four Theories of the Press Authoritarian theory of the press Social responsibility theory of the press Hallin & Mancini (2004) moves away from a social responsibility model of the press to study relations between media and politics in democracies. 22

23 Charting new comparisons National media systems not totally obsolete; media are embedded within cultural contexts (with national & international dimensions) (Thomass & Kleinsteuber 2011) illiberal democracy, soft authoritarianism (Singapore); the outsourcing of censorship to the media owners and the creation of a perfect chilling effect (Hungary) Concepts apply well to either country case 23

24 Rozumilowicz (2002): Free and independent media are not a good in themselves, but only in as much as they support other, more intrinsic values and goals (that is democracy, a particular economic structure, greater cultural understanding, general human development and so on). In a certain sense, free and independent media buttress these greater societal objectives and are, therefore, subordinate to them. 24

25 Further considerations Democratic/participatory media governance? Co-regulation? E.g. Hamelink & Nordenstreng 2007 Relocating debate from rights/principles to practical possibility/utility Lichtenberg (1991) 25