Press-State Relations: A Comparative Analysis of Euro-Mediterranean and British Models

Abstract

The objective of this article is to compare the State’s role in the progress and development of the press system in relation to the Euro-Mediterranean model and that of English-speaking countries. Within this framework, we will discuss historic moments that may be considered decisive in the configuration of both systems today, and that have influenced how they came about. Additionally, we will examine legislative measures that have been most noteworthy in the progress of the press market in recent years. The State’s influence on the transformation of the newspaper business is studied from the following perspectives: censorship, control systems, regulation of the figure of the journalist, aid to the press, pluralism of information and limits on concentration. These aspects were selected because they have been observed to be key points to understanding Press-State relations. In the four Euro- Mediterranean countries studied, a radical break took place in the information systems as a consequence of the implementation of their respective totalitarian regimes between 1926 and 1976; a situation which did not occur in Great Britain, a major figure of democratic and business continuity. Whereas the disappearance of aid to the press in the British model was understood to be a means of guaranteeing the independence of the journalism profession from those in political power, in the Euro-Mediterranean model the aim of aid for press distribution is to consolidate the cooperative distribution system, preserve the pluralism of newspapers reporting political and general news, and guarantee the development necessary for the effective exercise of liberty proclaimed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen 1789.