Media Freedom and the Control of Nation’s Sociolegal Problems of Governance: A Conjunctive Analysis of Asymmetric Effects and Multiple Causal Pathways

• Published date: 01 May 2017
• Date: 01 May 2017
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/1043986216688821
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986216688821

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

2017, Vol. 33(2) 173 –188

© The Author(s) 2017

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DOI: 10.1177/1043986216688821

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Article

Media Freedom and the

Control of Nation’s

Sociolegal Problems of

Governance: A Conjunctive

Analysis of Asymmetric

Effects and Multiple Causal

Pathways

Olesya Venger1

Abstract

Using secondary data from 164 countries, the current study applies conjunctive analysis

to assess asymmetric effects and multiple causal pathways underlying how nations’ level

of media freedom influences their human rights protections, control of corruption, and

political stability. These analyses reveal that (a) countries with high media freedom are

associated with higher scores on each of these measures of effective governance, (b) these

“media effects” vary across different socioeconomic contexts and are often asymmetric,

and (c) high media freedom is a major component in the multiple conjunctive pathways

found among countries with high levels of governance practices, but the conjunctive effect

of low media freedom on nation’s likelihood of low governance is less dramatic. These

results are discussed in terms of their implications for future research in media studies

and using conjunctive methods for exploring causal complexity.

Keywords

media freedom, governance, conjunctive analysis, causal asymmetry

A free press is a fundamental characteristic of an open and democratic society. As part

of its multidimensional functions in contemporary societies, a free press offers voice

1University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, USA

Corresponding Author:

Olesya Venger, Journalism and Media Studies, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland

Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA.

Email: olesya.venger@unlv.edu

688821CCJXXX10.1177/1043986216688821Journal of Contemporary Criminal JusticeVenger

research-article2017

174 Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice 33(2)

and accountability by providing a country’s citizens with information necessary for

selecting their government and challenging its practices.

A free press is also a cause for controversies. Fulfilling one of its main functions by

disseminating information, a free press stimulates a perplexing conflict that involves

two constitutionally protected rights, fair trial and free press. In the majority of cases,

even if a defendant objects to the media coverage of the court proceedings, the right of

freedom of the press is held “paramount to the right of fair trial” (Martel, 1959). The

controversy of having a free press that supplies pretrial publicity becomes evident,

because the press may sway public opinion, including opinions of jurors.

Despite its importance and controversies associated with a free press, however,

little empirical research has documented the patterns of contextual variability in how

countries’ media freedom either enables or constrains the likelihood of sociolegal

problems of governance within them. Some attempts have been made to investigate

the advantages/disadvantages of a country having a free press (Ambrey, Fleming,

Manning, & Smith, 2016). Research has also explored how various political, social,

and cultural factors resulted in a public’s willingness to express itself more freely than

before (de Jong, Smeets, & Smits, 2006). However, a more nuanced investigation on

the impact of a free press is needed to explore how this phenomenon operates across

the world, in democratic and authoritarian societies, given certain economic, sociole-

gal, and political factors.

Using secondary data from 164 countries and the method of conjunctive analysis,

the current study examines how variation in nations’ media freedom influences vari-

ous measures of their effective governance (e.g., high levels of human rights protec-

tions, control of corruption, and political stability). These analyses assess the direct

and context-specific effects of nation’s media freedom and other social conditions,

explore the causal asymmetry of these relations, and identify the multiple conjunctive

profiles of various social conditions that always lead to specific outcomes (e.g., high

political stability, low political stability). The results of this study are then discussed in

terms of their implications for future media studies and using conjunctive methods to

explore causal complexity.

Literature Review

Freedom of the press is a basic legal principle in many contemporary societies

(Freedom House, 2013; Hallin & Mancini, 2004). However, the nature, form, and

function of a “free” press vary widely across different societies and media systems.

For example, under the liberal media systems of the United States and United Kingdom,

a free press operates within a context of little state intervention or censorship (Hallin

& Mancini, 2004). In sharp contrast, claims of a “free” press in autocratic and totalitar-

ian states are often challenged because of the state ownership of media and its subse-

quent use for political persuasion and gaining compliance to the central authority (de

Smaele, 1999; Vartanova, 2011).

Using case studies and cross-national comparative research designs, previous stud-

ies have explored the influence of nations’ media freedom on measures of the quality