Crises, terrorism and restraints on the media : comparing freedoms and key controls in the United States and Turkey

This study compared key aspects of freedom and control of the press in two nations: the United States and my native country of Turkey. Three major media control areas were examined: prior restraint, seditious libel, and broadcast licensing. These control areas were compared in the United States and in Turkey in both historical context and as matters stand in 2002. One useful book underlying this study was Fredrick S. Siebert' s Freedom of the Press in England, 1476-1776, which brilliantly discusses the ancient enemies of freedom-- framework for repression -- that were struggled against in England and in England's North American colonies from the late fifteenth century through the late eighteenth century. In his book, Siebert offered two propositions that characterized governmental control of the press: Proposition I. ''The extent of government control of the press depends on the nature of the relationship of the government to those subject to the government." Proposition Il. ''The area of freedom contracts and the enforcement of restraints increases as the stresses on the stability of the government and of the structure of society increase." Using the framework suggested by Siebert, this study attempted to determine the nature of relationship between governments and the media throughout histories of both Turkey and the United States. In this context, illustration of international terrorism proved a significant point. Both in Turkey and the United States, governments have limited freedoms as a result of incidents of terrorism, in line with Siebert's Proposition II, which asserted that the more insecure the government, the more restraints are put on freedoms. Although these two countries are geographically apart and the development of the media is quite different from each other, there are still some similarities between them. The most important similarity is that both countries, under pressure of terrorism, justified their actions in limiting freedoms by asserting the imperative need to make their nations secure by eradicating terrorism.